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Monday, December 03, 2007 12:13 PM

The Perfect Holiday Cookie

Butter. Shortbread. Gingerbread. Who doesn't love holiday cookie-baking-time? I look forward to perfecting the stars, the little men, and the trees. My guy looks forward to when I mess up (he just loves that raw cookie dough!). Last year I had one of those grueling affairs with the batter and the tools. I just couldn't get anything right. So this year I've decided to spend a little more on modern cookie cutters from momastore.org. Made of plastic and guaranteed for the perfect form and release. (I will let you know what I think.) Do you have any cookie baking secrets to share? Please send because this baker is in need of a major comeback year.

Posted by Nest Krissy
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re: The Perfect Holiday Cookie

For things like gingerbread and sugar cookies, I prefer the simple shapes of the handmade tin cookie cutters I bought 6 years ago from Foose Cookie Cutters (www.foosecookiecutters.com) which is a family-owned/operated business in PA. The customer service is the BEST on the East Coast and the pricing is very reasonable.

When I first did cookie baking, I made almost all of my favorite childhood recipes - gingerbread, pfeffernusse, springele, sugar cookies - but ran out of time before I could make my almond crescents (which are my most favorite!)

If I have a day to spend on them, I'll do gingerbread and pfeffernusse. Gingerbread is complicated and I need to have counter space to roll the dough, but pfeffernusse are easier and require a lot less space!

When you're putting your cookies on the baking sheet, line the pans with parchment paper or silpats. Reynolds Brand is about $3 for a decent sized roll and it's often on sale this time of year. It makes it easy to bake large batches of cookies because with parchment you can pull the old sheet off (with the cookies on it!) off your pan and transfer the cookies to your cooling space (er, countertop) and slide a new sheet on to get another batch into the oven lickety-split. It reduces the possibility of burning AND makes cleanup a snap. If you line the pans with foil and then parchment, you'll eliminate the need for washing altogether! (I hate doing dishes, in case you couldn't tell.)

I was hoping to have the space to do some cookies this year, but I misplaced my rolling pin, so that's going to be a no-go! (Dang. I wanted to try out my silpats and new cookie sheets!)

Posted by Thebazile78    Friday, December 14, 2007 6:51 AM


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