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Christmas Cookies
Christmas brings back a great many memories for a lot of people,
including me. I think my fondest memory is of my mother and
grandmother baking in the kitchen for days before our big Christmas
get together. Now that I have children of my own, the
Christmas holidays are filled with us baking cookies and treats of
all kinds for gifts or just for us to enjoy.
Which Christmas cookie do I enjoy making the most? Why it's
the time tested sugar cookie of course. What other cookie
tastes so good by itself and tastes even better when topped with
frosting and decorative candies. If you want to bake the
perfect Christmas cookie, check out a few of my tips below.
1. Chill your dough thoroughly before rolling and
cutting it.
I like to mix my dough, separate it into quarters,
then wrap each quarter in plastic food wrap. I refrigerate the
dough for at least an hour. After an hour, you can remove one
quarter at a time so the dough won't get too warm while rolling and
cutting.
2. Use the same cookie shape for a single batch of cookies.
For example, cut out all stars for one baking sheet and all
Christmas trees for another baking sheet. This guarantees that
you have the same size cookies, and therefore the cookies will have
the same bake times. If you can't have all the same shape on
one baking sheet, make sure you rotate the cookies halfway through
your baking time to help with even baking of your Xmas cookies.
3. For extra crispy Christmas cookies, roll the dough directly
onto a lightly greased cookie pan.
You can roll your cookie dough thinner then use your cookie
cutters to cut out Christmas shapes. Remove the dough around
the cookies and you can pop them in the oven.
4. Spray your cookie cutters lightly with a vegetable
oil spray before using them.
By spraying the cookie cutters first, it keeps the cookie dough
from sticking to your cookie cutter. You can even dip them is
slightly warm vegetable oil before using, but I've found the
vegetable oil spray is much easier to clean up.
5. Frost your cookies after the cookies have thoroughly
cooled.
The frosting won't melt off if the cookies are cooled.
Also, let your cookies sit at room temperature for a while after
decorating to allow time for frosting to set.
6. Store decorated cookies in a single layer.
When storing your decorated Christmas cookies, it is best to
store them in a single layer to keep from damaging the beautiful
frosting. If you must stack the cookies, make sure you place
sheets of wax paper between the layers. Use an airtight
container for storage of your Christmas cookie. There are many
decorative Christmas tins that can serve as cookie storage tins.
7. Package cookies correctly if mailing them.
If you're going to mail your Christmas cookies to some lucky
person, pack them in airtight containers with crumpled wax paper
filling in the spaces between the cookies. Pack the airtight
containers in a box and use popcorn (yes, the kind you eat but with
no butter or salt) to cushion the packaged cookies. Label your
final package on the top so it won't be turned over during shipping.
Most of all, have fun baking your Christmas cookies, and remember
that the holidays are for enjoying your friends and family.
Make your holidays special with your favorite Christmas cookies and
a smile!
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