One of my favorite things about the holidays is the sweet treats and fresh-baked cookies.

I have some favorites, many have chocolate, but others have something even better, a great story.

This recipe comes by way of Ryan’s Grandma, Sue. She lived well into her 90’s and her life was not met without great struggle.

As a young woman and mom, Sue was diagnosed with Polio eventually becoming wheelchair-bound.

I was always in awe of the determination and independence she possessed. Her social calendar was pretty impressive too.

She loved to play bridge with her girlfriends and was always good for a handwritten note after time spent with her at Christmas. It was Grandma Sue who taught me how to write a proper thank you.

There was something else about Grandma Sue…she baked a kickass gingersnap cookie.

I’ve wanted to share her recipe for some time now, but mostly, I wanted to talk about her.

Someday, when my kids are grown and I am gone, they will get curious about what it was their mom was always getting up so early writing about.

This blog is my legacy to them. Every bit of what I write here is a guide for them to live a good life but also very much the story of where they came from.

They follow a long line of fighters, perseveres, and survivors.

Their great-grandmother’s life was challenged in ways I hope they never experience, but the story of her strength and her delicious chewy gingersnaps are the things we will always remember.

This blog is dedicated to Sue Anderson. Gone, never forgotten. Her legacy lives on through her gingersnap cookies.

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