Now that Thanksgiving is done and gone, I can turn my attention to the next major holiday task: Cookies. Sometimes I bake solo, and sometimes with friends and family. My favorite recipes are all safely stored on-line for easy access and sharing. Plus, when it comes time the “big bake” I can put all the cookies on one plan and use it as a check list and to make sure that no one has to run out to the store for some exotic but essential ingredient, because you really can’t make macadamia nut cookies without the macadamia nuts.
I love cookie exchanges. There are some that stand out with exceptional clarity: Like the year a co-worker’s oven broke, and she baked her cookies on her gas grill; I won’t say they were tough, but we gave them out as gag-gifts. One time we included guys, and they brought packages of Oreos and Chips Ahoy as their contribution. There was also the year that when someone went to put the latest batch of cookies on the cooling table there was a suspiciously empty patch and giggles coming from under the table. How can you be mad at chocolate covered kiddies? This year my son’s school has asked us to provide cookies for the Teacher’s Cookie Exchange, simple enough to fold into the planning!
Here are some tips for mass cookie baking:
Put the butter on the counter (under a bowl if you have a cat!) the night before. Room temperature butter keeps its integrity better than butter softened in the microwave.
Examine your recipes and figure out which ones use the same base ingredients. Make the base once; you can fold in flavorings and additions later.
Use parchment paper (you can reuse it several times) to keep production moving — very helpful if you have to press box fans or extra oven racks into service as cooling racks.
Don’t cool cookie sheets under running water, it warps them. Let them sit outside or in the garage for a few minutes.
Buy a loud timer!
C is for cookie…that’s good enough for me.
Some of my favorites:
Pan Sugar Cookies: Nice as fillers for the cookie platter.
Chocolate Chip Snowballs: My husband's favorites. These don't last very long!
Maple Pecan Cookies: I was surprised to love these. Not overly sweet.
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