More Christmas Cookies! Hooray! And a few more tips

Decorating cakes and cookies is my favorite part of baking. But before I can even begin to think about decorating cookies for any occasion, I need inspiration. I look at dozens of pictures of decorated cookies just to get ideas and see things I never even thought to do. Here are some of the cookies I have made so far and a few more tips for decorating cookies.

our dogs, of course

in no particular order...

1. If your plan is to bond with your children over holiday baking, be realistic. Most kids, like me, could really care less about the whole baking process. Do them and yourself a huge favor and have the cookies made and ready . Cover your entire house in plastic.

2. Keep a bowl of hot water in your sink for pastry dips, small bowl, spoons, etc. Trust me on this one, just do it.

3. Think outside of the Snowman. Any cookie cutter or shape can be a Christmas cookie. Slap some green and red in there somewhere and voila!

4. Small dots and sanding sugar (colored sugars too) can cover up almost any mistake. Big mistakes, add a lot of candy.

5. Go for a cookie and icing that actually taste good. The color flow I mentioned in a previous post...not so much. Otherwise you might as well be using salt dough and paint.

6. When rolling out your dough don't be afraid of thickness. The are supposed to be Christmas Cookies, not Christmas Crackers.

7. Go 3D! My mom used to push cookie dough through a garlic press and make "hair" for the gingerbread people.

8. Sometimes less is more. I know, I know, you are on a roll and having fun and have lots of great ideas. But you have to know when to put the cookie down and say "done".

9. See above...there is a fine line between polka dots and diseased, know when to say when.

How About A Few Tips

As I am waiting for today's cookie to properly chill, I thought of a few baking tips to pass along. For you professionals: go ahead and roll your eyes and skip this post. For everyone else, pay attention! Every tip comes from a mistake I have made in one way or another.

1. Establish a "No Cleaning No Eating Rule". If your loved ones are not willing to help clean up after you bake they do not partake. (This also includes running to the store for a missing ingredient)
2. Read the recipe through before starting. Know what you need and how much, what tools, etc. Locate your tools. Because of my Rule #1 (above) my baking tools are sometimes found in the cupboard where we keep our glassware, with the pots and pans, in the kid's bedroom...
3. Own a stand mixer, preferably a Kitchen Aid.
4. Follow the recipe exactly. Unless it is a Martha Stewart recipe, then just do whatever you want. There is no way what you make is going to in any way resemble what she made.
5. Own a lot of bowls. Big, small, finger, cereal...whatever, you will need them (see tip #6).
6. "Weigh out" your ingredients before you start. It's actually fun, you get to pretend like you are hosting your own little cooking segment, or maybe that's just me. Measure everything you will need into an appropriate sized bowl to have at your fingertips.
7. Pre heat your oven accordingly. Seems simple enough, I usually don't. But you should.
8. Buy parchment paper and use it every time you bake cookies.
9. Beat the hell out of the cream and sugar. But stir, with a wooden spoon, in your dry mixture. And stop stirring as soon as it is mixed. Over mixing is the leading cause of tough cookie syndrome.
10. Do not over bake. The way your cookies look when they come out of the oven is not the way they need to look cooled. They should just be baked enough to set. They will bake a little more when you take them out. This is why most recipes say to cool them on the pan for a few minutes. If you do over bake them though, get them off the pan as soon as possible.
11. Chilled dough almost always works best.
12. Use good ingredients. That box of baking soda that has been in the back of your fridge for 6 months is not an example of a "good ingredient".

I'm sure there are plenty I have not mentioned, but it's almost time to bake.  Please feel free to post your favorite baking tip as a comment too.