Christmas smells like cookies.

Around the county, family bakers have taught their children and passed down treasured recipes each holiday season.

From sacks of flour, dozens of eggs, spices, milk, butter and culinary magic, dough is prepared and popped into an oven to create memories.

In my family's home, generations of women talked for hours while baking multi-batches of dozens of different kinds of cookies, to decorate, share and consume.

A few special ones were selected by the youngest among us to leave out for Santa to enjoy when he stopped on Christmas Eve. The beverage left for Jolly Old St. Nick was a little unorthodox in the Ungor household. My father assured us when Santa visited Middlesex Township he was ready to have a malt beverage with his cookies.

This holiday season, the Eagle is featuring “Homemade for the Holidays.” By focusing on baking and sharing some recipes, we hope to spread some holiday happiness and search for the answer to a question older than Rudolph: What is Santa's favorite cookie?

I bet he can't resist my mother's sugar cookies. While the recipe makes wonderful cutouts of Christmas trees, snowmen and stars, I love using a coffee cup and making tops and bottoms to cover raisin filling.

So from the recipe box of my mother, Mary Ann Ungor, I share this family favorite:

1/2 cup butter1/2 cup Crisco2 cups sugar2 eggs2 teaspoons vanilla4 teaspoons cream of tartar2 teaspoons baking soda1 cup milk7 cups flourRaisin filling, if desired (recipe below)Cut the butter and Crisco into small beads with a knife. Add the sugar and cream together. Beat in eggs and vanilla.Mix in the cream of tartar and baking soda.Alternate adding flour and milk. Adjust as needed to prepare a smooth dough. To Mom, that meant add a little more flour or milk until the dough felt firm and not sticky.Refrigerate dough until ready to make cookies. Turn on the Christmas music.Roll out on a slightly floured surface and make cutouts (or prepare circles for raisin filling).Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until done. Time will depend on the thickness of the cookies and your oven. Check thin cutout cookies at 8 to 10 minutes (and our raisin-filled took 20 minutes).We used to use jars of raisin filling but they became hard to find. Tucked behind the battered sugar cookie recipe, I discovered this simple recipe for raisin filling, and plan to try it.Raisin Filling1 cups of raisins1/2 cup sugar1/2 cup water1 teaspoon of flourPut all ingredients in a pan. Cook until thick.