Have you ever noticed how conversations about food can lead us to learn surprising things about each other? In this week’s episode of Inside Appalachia, we talk about holiday foods. We’ve got recipes for things like cranberry salad, sorghum gingerbread, and pecan pie. But more than recipes, this show is about the power of memory, and tradition.

Co-host Caitlin Tan shares her grandmother’s recipe for stollen, a special German sweet bread that she makes each Christmas. And co-host Mason Adams sits down with his mom to talk about baking cookies during the holidays. Their conversation led her to divulge a secret. “Oh goodness, I love to make cookies. You guys would go to bed at night, and I would be up to two or three o'clock in the morning making cookies.”

And our listeners across Appalachia share some of their favorite traditions — that and more in this holiday special episode of Inside Appalachia.