Christmas baking is a big part of the season. Homemade cookies will always warm hearts and bring smiles at Christmas. Here's how to make the most efficient use of your kitchen and enjoy baking batches of cookies to share with friends and family. Christmas cookie tins are great for gifts and there are other inexpensive ways to store cookies for the little bit of time they last.
Maximize Your Kitchen Space
No matter the size of the kitchen, efficiency will add to the space and reduce the amount of time and energy needed. Cookie baking should be done when the kitchen isn't being used for any other purpose. Time baking around meals and snacks if at all possible. Clear counter tops, the stove top, the sink, and the table for cookie preparation.
Have a small space dedicated to mixing the batter, putting things away as they are used. A plastic storage bin with a tight fitting lid is a perfect container for small items used in baking, such as vanilla and other flavorings, cocoa, baking powder, and an extra set of measuring spoons. Stackable measuring cups save space.
Go vertical. Inexpensive wire folding cooling racks that stack are a great way to cool cookies in a small space. Two sets of three racks will hold a lot of cookies. Place hot trays of cookies on top of the stove, which can take the heat, with the racks on the counter next to the stove for easy transfer. Hot trays can be placed in the sink to cool.
Decorative Tins and Other Cookie Storage Ideas
Christmas cookie tins are cheerful and make a great gift filled with home made cookies. Cookie tins will rust if not properly dried, are hard to store, and don't hold a lot of cookies. For home storage, where efficiency counts, here are some other suggestions for cookie storage without investing in a lot of containers that need to be stored off season.
Gallon freezer bags are a great way to store cookies. Cut lightweight cardboard to fit inside the bags, or three layers of cheap card stock, cover with foil or plastic wrap, and place the cookies in the bags, two layers deep. Bags of cookies can be stored in the freezer, on stacked cooling racks, inside plastic storage boxes, or in a large, emptied popcorn tin. Popcorn tins hold a lot of cookies, and when they are in freezer bags, different types of cookies can be stored together.
Go ahead, bake lots of holiday cookies, they smell and taste wonderful. Give them as gifts, or eat them yourself, even the smallest kitchen space can be turned into a holiday cookie wonderland. Give decorative tins full of cookies. May all of your Christmas be filled with goodness and cheer.
Corinne Shibley - Corinne Shibley studied sculpture in art history and created her own sculpture on the way to a B.A. in Studio Art. "There's something ...
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