Holiday Cookie Swap - Getting a Head Start
We had our first hint of a crisp day... Well, Ok, maybe it was my late-summer morning imagination. But as summer is winding down and we shift our focus to the next school year, upcoming events, routines and traditions, I am already thinking of ways to make the arrival days extra special.
Holiday Cookie Swap - Getting a Head Start
There are so many things I want to do to make holidays memorable for my family, and yet I often underestimate the time and exertion required to pull them off. This year I'm getting a head start in wee ways so my gatherings with friends and family can be focused on the prominent things - the people, not the preparations.
One of my all-time popular gatherings is the holiday cookie swap. I love that the good-natured challenge of one-ups-manship has such assorted and yummy results. And, I love that my holiday sweetmeat table has such an involving variety of homemade goodies without the exertion of baking them all.
My underground to achieving Cookie Diva status this year? A wee artificial cold weather.
While the real snowflakes are still far in the future, I've set aside a projection of my freezer for what will assure my best cookie swap ever. And, the added bonus is I've got fresh activities to share with my summer-bored kids. (Ok, the true added bonus is I will be queen of the cookie swap this year, but involving the kids sounded better!)
Cookies and cookie dough (as well as many types of bars and tartlets) frost and defrost easily. Depending on the type of dough or cookie, you can commonly store them in your freezer for 2-3 months:
Cookie dough: wrap in plastic wrap and store in an air-tight bag. Thaw at room temperature for baking. Brownies & bars: cover tightly with foil or wrap in its baking pan. Thaw at room temperature before removing the wrap Cookies: frozen cookies wrapped individually preserves taste best of all, but it is not necessary. Layer cookies on wax paper in an air-tight container. Store crispy cookies and soft cookies in separate containers. Iced/Decorated Cookies: For best results frost them undecorated and frost them once they're thawed. If you must frost them already iced, frost them uncovered in a tray until the icing has set before layering them with wax paper in an air-tight box Exceptions: Gluten-free cookies, meringues, and delicate cookies like tuiles are not recommended for freezing.
So, if you're like me, you like the easy way out without looking like you took any short cuts. Choose a versatile dough as the base for many dissimilar kinds of cookies. For example, an almond cookie base can turn into chocolate thumbprint cookies, almond crescent cookies, or be rolled with chocolate dough to form involving pinwheel cookies.
My wee guy is still too small to do much in the kitchen except hinder my baking efforts and make a mess. The solution? Homemade slice and bake dough logs. A wee making ready to make the dough ahead of time, and a lot of tolerance for misshapen kid-assisted slices, leads to a lot of pride and delight a minimum of mess.
Halloween? Thanksgiving? Hanukkah? Christmas? Bring it on! I'll be more than ready this year.
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