St. John Bosco's Feast Day

Enjoy yourself as much as you like

- if only you keep from sin. - Saint John Bosco

We love celebrating the feast of this very joyful saint. Our tradition every January 31st is to make Bachelor Button cookies and drink (decaf) caffe lattes. From our celebration two years ago:

To celebrate this feast day, we a have a little family tradition of making Bachelor Buttons. I started this a long time ago and The Professor has never let me off the hook. I chose this recipe simply because you roll the dough into balls and then roll them in sugar before putting them on the pan to bake. I told the children they were like the juggling balls Don Bosco used to entertain people with. In exchange for the entertainment, he would ask them to go to Mass or say a rosary. I am sure there are many cookie recipes that would also require this step, but the Bachelor Buttons are the ones requested. (Maybe because they sound so masculine?)

Here is the recipe I use. It is from a friend of the family who passed away several years ago but who is remembered fondly whenever I pull out that yellowed, wrinkly card from my recipe box:

Bachelor Buttons
3/4 C. butter
1 C. brown sugar
1 egg
2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 C. nuts, chopped (optional)

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and beat well. Mix in dry ingredients. Stir in nuts. Chill several hours. Shape into balls. Roll in granulated sugar. Cook 2 inches apart at 375 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes. Use a mix of walnuts, almonds, pecans, etc... for a special treat.

(My kids are not fond of nuts in cookies so we make them without.)