“Nothing beats a homemade cookie”

MENDON, Ill. — Heading into the holidays, Danette Rabe starts making her list and checking it twice. Family-favorite Frosted Drop Cookies and Red Velvet Crinkles always make the list of things to bake for family and friends.

Made with brown sugar, sour cream and pecans, the drop cookies “are only Christmastime cookies. (Growing up) my family only made these at Christmas,” Rabe said. “These take more time, but I think it’s worth it.

I like how they stay so soft.” The simple three-ingredient crinkle cookies are year-round favorites, with Rabe substituting the cake mix flavor to suit the season. Planning the cookie baking is key to the season because “nothing beats a homemade cookie,” the Mendon woman said.

“Particularly at Christmas time, I still do several varieties. Between nieces, nephews and everybody, I think they kind of count on it,” she said. “My girls love to help.

” Rabe, who works as the office administrator at LifePoint Church, keeps the oven busy year-round. “I love to bake, especially when I know it’s going somewhere so it doesn’t just sit at my house,” she said, but her husband Eric doesn’t miss out. “I make sure he gets a few.

” Spending time in the kitchen takes patience and creativity. “In my case, it was something my grandma and my mom passed down,” she said. “I saw what they were doing.

They both had big kitchens. They loved it.” What Rabe learned from both women, both “great bakers,” she passed down to her dau.