By DEBORAH GERTZ HUSAR
Herald-Whig Staff Writer

When it comes to holiday cooking, Barb Moellring and her daughters say there's one key ingredient: Tradition.

"It gives you a lot of good memories," Moellring said.

"And a lot of good pictures," added daughter Janie Reed.

Just picture Moellring and her daughters, Reed and Jennifer Koch, busy in the kitchen of her Clayton home baking Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Chip Bars, sweet and crunchy Pecan Crunch and Koch's famous Cinnamon Rolls.

They bake throughout the year, and always at the holidays, but this year will be especially meaningful. They're baking -- and sharing the finished product -- in memory of their husband and father Dan who died in January.

In 2002, he went to work for Walmart as a driver in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Impressed with how the company treated him, he wanted to do something at Christmas for his co-workers. So his wife and daughters would get together, bake and load his truck with the treats for the trip to Mount Pleasant, where he would "play Santa" and share the homemade goodies.

"He looked so forward to that," Moellring said.

They baked last year, but he was too sick to go back to work. This year, they'll bake again -- and make the trip to Mount Pleasant on their own to visit the people who meant so much to him.

Sharing treats with other people is nothing new for the sisters and their mom, who invites in family and friends for soup and sandwiches after church on Christmas Eve.

And when the family's "cinnamon roll queen" rolls out the dough, "I'm thinking who am I going to give a pan to. I do it because I want other people to enjoy them," Koch said.

Inspiration in the kitchen came from Moellring's mother-in-law, Beatrice Moellring, known for her homemade noodles, and her mother, Betty Rigg, better known "GG" in the family. Rigg still enjoys baking, frying chicken and fixing dressing for family dinners.

Moellring prefers preparing main dish meals like roast or turkey with the trimmings, but she's also known for her cakes, pies and candies. The Bon Bon recipe came from a bowling buddy. "I've made them probably 35 years," Moellring said, and Peanut Butter Bon Bons are another tradition at the holidays.

Koch and her husband, Todd, both enjoy spending time in the kitchen cooking for their daughters, Paige and Isabelle, but she handles the rolls. Koch said her love of cinnamon rolls came from Annie Eidson, a Clayton woman who baked and sold her delicious rolls for many years.

The no-knead roll recipe came first to Moellring, who passed it along to Reed who shared it with Koch who made it her own. Even writing out the recipe was a challenge because "I'm so used to doing it," Koch said. "Don't get your water too hot because it will kill the yeast."

With her husband busy in the combine, Koch's busy grilling pork chops or steaks for sandwiches for quick meals.

"This time of year, I'm always asking when can I start baking for the field," she said.

Reed "likes to experiment with everything" for her husband, Doug, and their daughters Danielle, Shelby and twins Abbie and Carly, but she loves to make soups in the fall and winter months and bake cookies.

All three have some idea of what it takes to be a good cook.

"Patience," Koch said.

"Having the right tools," said Reed, who readily admits she really enjoys baking.

"I think it just takes years of practice," Moellring said.

-- dhusar@whig.com/221-3379