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The smell of cookies baking in the oven mingling with the pungent
aroma of the freshly cut tree in the living room is an intoxicating
mix! What would Christmas be without cookies?
Cookies are categorized into five groups: shaped, refrigerated,
pressed, rolled and dropped. For an interesting holiday cookie
tray, make at least one different cookie from each category. A
fancy-dressed gingerbread man with candy eyes and an icing
coat looks wonderful beside a crescent shaped cookie dusted
with powdered sugar.
You will also find that some cookies, like
the drop variety, are much easier to make than the shaped. Keep
this in mind when planning which cookies to bake this holiday
season.
Pressed Cookies After pressing
the dough onto the cookie sheet, simply sprinkle colored sugar
or other decorations on the cookie for a festive, professional looking
result. Recipes will specifically say the dough is made for use with
a cookie press. Do not try to hand-shape this dough, as the
consistency of the dough will make this a tough job.
Shaped Cookies
Christmas cookies
mean different things to different people. One family's idea of the
traditional Christmas cookie could be completely different from
another's – and usually is. The image of gingerbread men at
Christmastime could easily be replaced by Sand Tarts, Cinnamon,
Peanut Butter or even cookies shaped like candy canes.
Drop Cookies
Drop cookies are the easiest cookies to make. The dough is
simply scooped out with a tablespoon, or even your hands, and
put on a cookie sheet. If you want the cookies more uniformed
in size, a melonballer can be used. For larger cookies, try an
ice cream scoop. Drop cookies spread a little when baked, so
leave about two inches between each cookie.
Pressed cookies are made by using a cookie press to make
uniformed, shaped cookies. Cookie presses are great for holiday
baking. Christmas trees, wreaths, stars and snowmen are a few
of the designs some cookie presses come with.
Shaped cookie dough is firm so it will hold its shape. Most shaped
doughs require refrigeration before shaping so it is easier to handle.
The dough is flattened using a fork dipped in sugar or the bottom
of a glass also dipped in sugar. Shaped cookies can also be rolled
in balls and then baked. Some shaped cookie doughs can be used in
a cookie press as well, due to their firm consistency.
Cookie Baking Tips
Rolled cookie dough is used when you want to cut cookies out with cookie cutters. Chilling the dough will make it much easier to work with. Lightly flour your hands, then roll the dough out on a floured surface. Using a cookie cutter, cut out the cookies, and then with a spatula, transfer them to your cookie sheet. Reroll the leftover trimmings to make additional cookies.
Dipping the cookie cutter and
your hands in flour will make cutting out the cookies much easier. If
your cut out dough breaks when you try to transfer it to the cookie
sheet, it might not be cold enough. Simply put the dough in the refrigerator
a little while longer, then try again.
Refrigerated Cookies
Refrigerated cookie dough is shaped in rolls or logs and refrigerated
before using. Place part of the dough on waxed paper and form into a
"log." Roll the dough back and forth, shaping with your hands, until the
dough is a uniformed shape. Wrap the roll in plastic wrap and place in
the refrigerator.
When ready to bake, simply slice off circles of the dough and place them on a cookie sheet. A serrated knife makes the job of cutting the dough much easier. If the recipe calls for nuts, be sure to chop the nuts very finely to make the cutting easier. Refrigerated dough is great because you can slice off as many cookies as you want, then put the rest back in the refrigerator – you always have fresh-baked cookies.
Christmas cookies make wonderful gifts for friends, family, neighbors,
teachers and even your mailman! They are always the right size and
are rarely returned.
Fill a Christmas tin with cookies and tie with a
pretty ribbon. Sponge paint an empty coffee can with holiday colors,
fill with cookies, and you have a wonderful gift. An inexpensive Christmas
tray looks great filled with a variety of cookies. Place some holiday candy,
such as candy canes or ribbon candy, around the cookies and cover with
plastic wrap. Who wouldn't be thrilled to receive such a gift? For a
teacher's
gift, stack cookies inside of a large coffee mug. Wrap the mug in plastic
wrap and tie the top closed with red, green and white ribbon. You can also
attach a single-serving package of flavored coffee, or a wrapped flavored
tea
bag, to the top.
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