December Magical Moment # 8 Cookies

[Gingerbug]

Nothing says Christmas....like fresh baked cookies. I have a love-hate relationship with cookies...more specifically decorating cookies. They just never seem to turn out quite as lovely as I envisioned them.....well okay....not lovely at all! I am not good at cutting out cookies and have resorted to cookies that are dropped or rolled into balls or anything that doesn't require a cookie cutter.

Also I'm not BIG on baking and freezing. I know its probably just me but I don't think they taste as good once they are frozen. Therefore most of my baking occurs the week before Christmas...or this year will occur on the 22nd and 23rd. One of the reasons I want everything else finished early! Oh I may make a batch or two before then to enjoy at our parties or as treats druing the season. One year I baked and made candy all day on Christmas Eve and had a wonderful time...It was snowing like crazy and everything was on schedule so I could really enjoy the experience...we ended up having a lot of stuff left over!!

This year I am trying to limit the kinds of cookies to 3-4 and two different types of candy...Honestly I'm having a hard time deciding.

So what's your "relationship" like with cookies?

 

[MrsSoup]

I love to eat them. LOL No, really, I don't mind the mixing and measuring, but I don't like the baking very much. And the rolling out, I don't like that either. I love sugar cookies and make them every year, usually several times throughout the year. I also like them decorated but am not that creative or skilled when it comes to decorating them. They never look like I want them too and I usually end up leaving the last batch or so with no decoration or just colored sugar.

I don't mind other types of cookies though, that don't require rolling out or decorating. Like Peanut Blossoms or Peanut Butter. This year I am planning on making 7 kinds of treats:

* Sugar Cookies
* Peanut Blossoms
* Peanut Butter Reindeer
* Gingerbread Men
* Oreo Balls (never done before)
* Snickerdoodles (never done before)
* Peanut Butter Balls

I guess I really like peanut butter. hehe The main things i'll be making lots of are the Peanut Blossoms, Sugar Cookies, and Peanut Butter Balls.

I've never frozen cookies before but if they are going to taste any different then I don't plan to anytime soon.

 

[momof4]

I, too, have a love-hate relationship with cookies. I love to eat them, but hate how I feel after I've eaten way too many (which is usually the case). Even though my dad was a baker and I grew up in the bakery, I don't care much for baking. I limit my Christmas baking to 2 or 3 kinds of cookies and then fill in with peppermint bark, spiced nuts, etc. Our neighborhood began a Cookie Exchange which I am quite grateful for!

Gingerbug, my cut outs never turn out well either. I don't think I have the patience for them so I rush the cutting and decorating and it shows!

 

[Ahorsesoul]

Now that I'm gluten-free, I only make candy. I've been thinking of trying a few recipes with my gluten-free flour so maybe this year I'll give it a try.

My favorite cookies are chocolate chip fresh out of the oven. Hot, a little soft and so good with a fresh cup of coffee or milk.

I have a Christmas sugar cut-out recipe from when I was in the 7th grade Home Ec (1963) that are melt in your mouth good. They also fall apart easy so you have to be very careful or you'll end up eating all the crumbs before you can share.

I really want to make Kramkaker. I have my grandmother's iron that was made in Norway. I've done them before so I know they are a little hard for me since I have an electric stove. The iron doesn't heat up very well. I problably should just buy a new electric iron instead of using the old one.

I'm funny about frozen cookies too. I don't think they taste fresh. Of course I also know it's all in my mind. My aunt use to the make the best chocolate chip cookies (recipe on the bag of chips). I would rave about her fresh cookies at every visit. They were so good and how nice she'd bake me cookies. She finally told me she'd bake a big batch and freeze them. The ones I'd been eating had come out of the freezer that morning. lol

 

[jampss]

Wow! This is me, too! Love-hate relationship with cookies. I want them. I want to eat them. But rolling out and decorating ... YIKES! However, I do it for Christmas. The rest of the year, it's bar cookies or nothing! And it's mostly nothing, because I don't do a lot of sugar baking anyway! But again, I do it for CHRISTMAS. And of course, once I sample each one ... yes, it's worth it! :haha:

Gee, for the first time ever ... I'm freezing them. I'll find out how it tastes, I guess. :huh:

I just didn't want to have all the cookies I want to make WAITING for me the week of Christmas right before parents come visit. Too hecktic for me. So, I thought I'd try this method. We'll see.

Now, I should go check out the recipe posts! I like new ones to try!
:globe:

 

[coffeenut]

I agree about the decorating part. I also love the cookies when they are warm but then can forget about them :haha:
My favorite cookies are spritz :bigsnow:

 

[campncook]

Cookies, cookies everywhere but not a crumb for me! :haha:
I make LOTS of cookies for everyone - I make all their favorites and then some.
My Annual Cookie Party is tomorrow and I made a really good new recipe this afternoon.
I usually begin baking at Halloween, but not this year - I'll be baking like CRAZY after we get out for school on the 19th.

 

[christmascreations]

I absolutely LOVE cookies But I am with all of you I do not "love" roll out ones. Maybe because right now space and time is limited. I want to try freezing cookies this year but because I am so unsure of how they will come out, I will make fresh and freeze some to see if anyone notices a difference.

Gingerbug I totally wish I could limit the varieties...lol

Rugelach
Venetians
Snowballs
Dream
Crescent
Cream Cheese
Gingerbread-might cut out this year
PB delights
Oreo Cookie balls
Pignoli's-might cut this out also
Chocolate Chip lollipop cookies

and then there's the

Cheese Tarts
Banana Bread
Blueberry Crumb
Pumpkin Bread
Cannoli's
Pizzelles
Cream Puffs

and the pies with Homemade crust

Pistachio
Pumpkin
Apple
Italian Cheesepie
Italian Love cake
"Jesus" cake
etc........

 

[SmilingSandra]

Baking cookies has always been a special memory for me as I remember making sugar cookies with my mom at the kitchen counter. They are still a favorite. I also like to make spritz and this year another favorite is a shortbread with a hershey's kiss in the middle.

I like to do the baking ahead of time, yet find that they don't stick around long!

I also like to make tins of cookies to share with family when we visit. It's something for them to enjoy once they get a moment of quiet time.

 

[momof2boys]

You knowng I love baking cookies, but its after the first batch that I hate. I am bad, right now if I need cookies for something I rely on the good old break and bake just because my homemade cookies never turn out. I have no clue what I am doing wrong....Maybe some more practice....good goal for 2008 maybe. When I make them homemade they turn out looking like flat pancakes????

 

[Cathymac]

I am so relieved that I"m not the only one who doesn't like to roll out cookies. I hate baking cookies, but I do love eating them...hmmm...that's what ya'll said, isn't it? I don't like baking anything. I leave that to those who do it well-my mom, my friend Melissa, those little elves in the trees and Nabisco!

 

[Lana]

I am taking a personal day this Friday and will get my baking and trays done. I like to take a LARGE tray to work the week before Christmas and we give SEVERAL out. We probably do a dozen or more varities a year. At work they try to make sure I have a day off to do cookies. I don't freeze any either.

 

[DebbiGall]

You knowng I love baking cookies, but its after the first batch that I hate. I am bad, right now if I need cookies for something I rely on the good old break and bake just because my homemade cookies never turn out. I have no clue what I am doing wrong....Maybe some more practice....good goal for 2008 maybe. When I make them homemade they turn out looking like flat pancakes????

Momto2boys try the Betty Crocker recipe for sugar cookies and roll them out a little thick;
I use to have the same problem, but not any more :globe:

 

[Holiday Joy]

Yes, the sugar cookies you roll and bake can be frustrating, but they're SO GOOD! I have a couple of wooden dowels that are 3/4 inch in diameter. I use these as 'rails' for my rolling pin to keep the cookie dough the right thickness.

Today is a SNOW DAY! Schools are delayed, so I'm surprising my home schooled kids by delaying them, as well. Perfect for baking some cookies together!

 

[Lolwlias]

I love making cookies, when I have the time! That's the key...time.
One year, right after I started working in the store I work in, I made batches of cookies and gave them away in a paint can with a paint can opener attached to the handle. I did decorate it a bit, but now my store no longer carries that type of empty paint can.
I'm looking forward to when the boss comes in with the cookies his wife makes. OH MY GOODNESS...they are wonderful. :grin:

 

[Lou]

I love to bake but I must admit cookies are not my speciality. I blame the high altitude!

I have a couple of tried and true recipes but for the most part I bake very few cookies.

I guess I'm fortunate in that my family is not really that big on sweets in general--WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE???

Well, I don't need to be eating alot of sweets anyway so I guess it's a good thing.... :bigsnow:

 

[DahliaDoll]

I have my cookies baked and, yes, in the freezer . . .

Spritz
Salted Peanut Chews
Gingerbread Drop
Russian Teacakes

I have had company for dinner a couple of times, and it's great to be able to put together a festive plate of Christmas cookies for dessert. That's why I bake ahead and freeze. I can just take enough out for what I need that night and save the rest. They aren't as tempting when they are outside in the freezer, and I think they tast great! I separate the different types into zip-lock freezer bags and place the bags in a shoebox in the freezer.

 

[dejavu]

I've already baked twice and will bake one more time before Christmas. My relatives start showing up on Friday.
So far I've made:

cream cheese spritz
andes mint cookies
cutout sugar cookies
molasses cookies
white chocolate cherry shortbread
white chocolate pretzels

I love to bake but the older I get, the less patience I have for decorating my cutouts. I still do it though. I've never tried freezing cookies but should probably give it a try sometime. I just love how they taste and feel fresh so I'm not sure I could stand it if I thawed them and they weren't the same.

 

[jampss]

Well, I did do the freezing of the cookies this year for the first time ... and wow! It was great to be able to pull out a few cookies here and there and not be tempted to eat them all because they are sitting out. They froze well and tasted good, too! But I did too many!
:slap:

 

[AuntJamelle]

This past Christmas was my first year trying the whole freezing thing and I absolutely LOVED it!

No last minute, 12 hr marathon on my feet till all hours of the night, baking cookies after work because they are needed the next day for an exchange or for tins being mailed.

My only regret is that I didn't freeze more ahead of time!

This year I am going to start making and freezing dough in early to mid November. I did try freezing rolled cookies, and they baked up just fine. Leaving more energy for the decorating part.

As long as you flash freeze before you throw everything in the heavy duty ziplock bag, it works great!