5 (plus 1!) Ways To Simplify Holiday Cookies
Posted on December 9, 2009 by LJ Earnest
Categories: Holidays,Simplification
Wednesdays are simplicity days at SimpleProductivity blog.
I love cookies. And especially holiday cookies, because there is something about the holidays that makes it OK to eat many different types of cookies.
But baking lots of different holiday cookies can be a drag. Here are the ways I simplify holiday cookies.
Plan A Cookie Exchange
Imagine. You bake six dozen cookies (an average size batch) and you exchange dozens, receiving six dozen other cookies in return. Variety with very little effort.
Skip the Fussiness
We all know fussy cookies. They’re the type that need to be chilled, rolled and filled. Unless you have a lot of time, skip them in favor of less fussy ones. I make spritz (German pressed) cookies instead of the traditional roll-out-bake-and-frost sugar cookies. They can be decorated, but don’t require using a rolling pin (which I do not do well).
Slice and Bake
Now, before the purists out there jump all over me, know that I usually make my own dough. You make (or buy) sugar cookie dough, then slice it and bake it. I drizzle green trees and yellow stars on the baked cookies.
Go For Traditional
My family loves snickerdoodles. So I make them during the holidays. Same with chocolate chip and my favorite chocolate-peanut-butter-chip cookies. They’re not holiday cookies, but my family doesn’t care if they are mixed in with the spritz.
Make Ahead and Freeze
Many cookies can be made and frozen ahead of time. This can spread out the time for baking to a month rather than days.
Go For Other Sweets
If you want something different, try making candy. I do batches of fudge and toffee every year (this was much easier when I could put the candy on the porch to cool instead of the fridge!). Get yourself a good candy thermometer if the recipe calls for checking the doneness using cold water. The thermometer is easier.
Holiday sweets don’t have to be sour. Use some shortcuts and get to the eating quicker!
Photo by EverySpoon
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Comments (2)
We always add red and green sprinkles into the cinnamon/sugar mix for Christmas snickerdoodles.
What an awesome idea! I will definitely try that this year.