It isn’t a secret family recipe. Actually, it isn’t a family recipe at all.  It’s just simple orange danishes from Pillsbury.  But the idea of eating these delicious danishes every Christmas morning comes from my great grandmother, Opal.  When my mom was little, her whole family would go to her grandmother’s house Christmas morning and eat orange danishes.  The thing that made orange danishes so special was that my mom would only eat them once every year, on Christmas.  When Opal passed away, my grandfather Dan, continued the tradition of making orange danishes once a year on Christmas morning for the family.

Ever since I was born my mom would make the danishes.  My mom decided to change the tradition a little by making them on Thanksgiving morning.  Every Thanksgiving, we go to our house in Tahoe and all of our family comes. While none of my aunts wanted to keep the tradition going, this past year the first thing my aunt said to my mom was, “I can’t wait until we get to eat those orange danishes.”

When I grow up, if I keep the tradition going by making orange danishes once a year, then I will be the fourth generation to do it.  There is nothing special about the orange danishes themselves, but knowing that my great grandmother made them only once a year makes eating them special.  An orange danish is a wonderful warm winter treat! They are from Pillsbury and are called “Orange Danishes.”  You can find them at almost every grocery store. I hope your family can enjoy them as much as my family has enjoyed them!