Christmas In July Week One

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AuntJamelle

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Oct 22, 2007
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Uh, YEEEESSS, please share your tips! I love to bake and have learned a lot over the years but I'm always eager to soak up knowledge on how to be better! :)
 

Minta

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Oct 14, 2007
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I like to make a variety of cookies for Christmas. I make them ahead and freeze.

I wrote up all my cookie baking tips that I developed over the years. I could post it here if anyone is interested. Those of you that do a lot of baking probably have your techniques down pat, but I had a learning curve. Trying to do all the baking in one or two days just didn't work for me.

Yes please share your tips. No one is ever to old to learn a new trick or two.

I try to bake my breads either a weekend or 2 before Christmas and then freeze them. The cookies all get bake in 3 days starting on the 20th. I spend the 23rd assembling my tins and cookies bags and either deliver them on the night of the 23rd or have them ready when the intend giftee stops by to pick them up. The cookie baking and decorating is a family project.
 

Ahorsesoul

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There is always something to learn. I'd love to see your tips. Everyone who has shared on this site has enriched my life!
 

DahliaDoll

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Oct 15, 2007
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Cookie baking tips

These are some tips I’ve learned over the years when making lots of cookies for the holidays. Things my DMom didn’t teach me, ‘cause I don’t think she used them. I don’t think she made as many different varieties of cookies each year as I try to do.

Parchment paper is great to bake cookies on. You can slide the whole sheet of paper off onto your cooling racks without using the spatula to move each individual cookie.

Cookie stacking racks save essential counter space while cooling cookies. Before discovering these first two tools, I would spatula each cookie onto a wood block, then after they were slightly cool, move one-by-one to an angled stack to make room for the next sheet coming out of the oven, etc. My three stacking racks easily hold one batch of cookies.

When making ball cookies (Oreo balls/peanut butter balls, etc.) Roll a log of dough then pinch off the right amount for each ball. At first I was using a small spoon to get the right amount for the ball, then rolling. Using a “log” really cuts the time.

When dipping balls in chocolate, use a slow cooker. Put water in the slow cooker (a few inches) with a bowl of chocolate sitting in the water. Use the low temp (don’t try high as I did once and ruined my chocolate). It keeps the chocolate at the perfect dipping temp. You could also use a double boiler, but I didn’t want to work at the stove. To speed up the melting, put boiling water in the slow cooker first and pre-melt the chocolate in the microwave (half power for 30 seconds at a time until the right consistency). Don’t burn the chocolate!

Make a small investment in dipping tools. They really work so much better than toothpicks that the balls keep falling off of, and they are inexpensive! Again, use parchment paper to set the dipped balls on for cooling (on the stacking racks or stacked cookie trays in the frig).

Stack cookie trays in frig using blocks (toy alphabet blocks would work well if you have them).

Baby steps: Make dough one day, roll balls one day, dip one day; or make dough one day and bake another day.

Put oil in measuring cup or spoon (then pour back out) before measuring sticky ingredients like honey. It pours right out of the cup/spoon.

I like to freeze the cookies about 1 doz. to a bag and put a bag of each type of cookie in a box (shoebox) Then when I want to make up a cookie plate, I just pull the shoe box out, put a few of each cookie on a plate, re-seal the cookie bags and replace the box in the freezer. It saves me from having to take each type of cookie out of the freezer individually. I could make up the cookie plates ahead and put them in the freezer, but it would take up more room than what I have available.

Get Christmas ceramic plates at dollar store or thrift store to make gift cookie plates. Recipient can keep the plate. Look for plates with décor around the rim so the cookies aren’t covering the festive design.

I don’t have a lot of cookies/candies that are Christmas-colored. On a cookie plate, I like to add just a few pieces of Christmas-wrapped candy (kisses are nice) or a candy cane on top of the cookies. The yogurt covered pretzels with sprinkles are pretty, too.

I stir mixed nuts into the leftover chocolate from dipping balls and make nut balls.

I use a large table cloth on the counter and wear an apron, especially when using flour (rolling pie crust or lefse) or powdered sugar (cookies). When done, I can shake the table cloth outside and put it in the wash. No mess on the counter or my clothes.

I’m short and sometimes the counters seem a bit high for rolling dough or dipping chocolates. I use my aerobics step with beach towel on it to stand on next to the counter. The towel keeps any flour or sugar from getting into the little grooves in the step. When done, I shake the towel outside and put it in the wash.

Silicon spatulas are so easy to clean. (Silicon anything!)

If you make more than one kind of chocolate dipped cookie as I do (Oreo balls and peanut butter balls), embellish one or both differently so you can tell them apart. I sprinkle finely chopped peanuts on the peanut butter balls. Chopped peppermint candies would be pretty to sprinkle on. I’ve also used melted white chocolate to drizzle over my Oreo balls.

Cookie scoops work very well. I like the small scoop the best ‘cause I don’t like huge cookies, but that’s just me.

When filling your flour or sugar canisters, put the canister in the sink. Anything that spills won’t be on your counter or the floor.

If you have to pour dry ingredients into a measuring cup or spoon and it might spill over, do it over a paper towel or piece of waxed paper. You can usually get most of the spillover back into the container and just fold up your towel or paper and throw it away. No mess on the counter.

 
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Miss JoDee

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Apr 22, 2011
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These are great tips. I didn't know about dipping tools. I will have to go look them up. The table cloth on the counter and table are a great idea. I have had to cut way back on my baking because the household as shrunk. There are only 3 of us now and we don't need to eat it all ourselves. I also get a lot of baked goodies from school which is always nice because of the variety.
 

luludou

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Dec 28, 2007
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I like the crockpot one! but all are very interesting - did not know them all. Thanks DD
 

AuntJamelle

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Oct 22, 2007
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Outstanding list of tips!!! Thank you so much for sharing!

I'll have to try the log idea! I do have several recipes that call for rolling a small amount of dough into a ball and I use a spoon to scoop it out. Even it doing it that way I've found that I work much quicker if I scoop out all the little bits of dough first, getting roughly the same amount and placing each rough piece on a piece of waxed paper.

Then when that is done I pick up each one, roll the chunk into a smooth ball between my hands, set back down on the waxed paper and move on to the next one. I can roll an entire batch of cookie dough in about half the time this way. Saves all the time moving back and forth between spoon scooping and rolling one at a time.

Another thing I do when rolling sticky dough is to lightly spray my hands with cooking spray. Makes a world of difference! I might have to respray half way through the batch but it works great.

I also spray insides of measure cups (similar to your oil tip) or even my spatulas with cooking spray if I'm struggling with a really sticky dough. I have silicone spatulas but even they can start to stick with certain recipes!

I've also found that chilling the dough - no matter what kind of cookie it is - really helps with the shaping, rolling and/or cutting process.

When it comes to cutout cookies, if I don't want to go whole hog and do different colors of flood icing, I will sometimes just make a simple glaze from powdered sugar and milk/cream then after spreading that on the baked cookie shapes I sprinkle with different colors of colored sugar or sprinkles - adds some festive color!

I love the shoebox idea for freezing the baked cookies! Will totally be doing that this year!
 

Ahorsesoul

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Oct 13, 2007
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Thanks for sharing.
 
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