Morgan’s boyfriend is home from WVU. He walked in the house last night and I said, “I have cookies, pie, and homemade ice cream.” He said, “I missed you!”
With the holidays coming, I want to talk about cookies for a minute. (I have all kinds of cookie recipes here, by the way.) When I was a kid, my mother always made lots of cookies for the holidays. She baked them all at once and we had big tins of cookies to dig in to for weeks. I used to do that, too, but I never liked that the cookies weren’t fresh-baked as the days wore on as they were also, of course, competing with pies and cakes and other holiday snacks. What I do for the holidays now is prepare all the cookie doughs in advance, wrap them well, and keep them in the fridge. Every few days, I bake a little of this dough, a little of that dough, and it provides a fresh-baked, warm from the oven variety of cookies that I can whip in and out of the oven in just a few minutes first thing in the morning to refill the cake stand of cookies I keep on the table through the holidays. (I also do this when I’m running multi-day workshops at the farm.)
This morning, I’ve already baked cookies. I’ve got cornbread in the oven for the dressing I’ll be putting together in a few more days. I’ve got bread rising on the kitchen counter. And I’ll be heading out to check out Ross’s rebuilt deer stand in a little while.
You can order Chickens in the Road: An Adventure in Ordinary Splendor now!
Fran says:
Thanks for this advice. I am going to try it. I really dislike cookies that are baked and stored as they do as they dry out and taste stale.
On November 23, 2013 at 8:57 am
stacylee says:
I just woke up!
On November 23, 2013 at 9:27 am
Faith says:
Do I see snickerdoodles? One of my favorite morning cookies. Have a wonderful weekend and week preparing and cooking Suzanne!
On November 23, 2013 at 9:38 am
holstein woman says:
I wish I had a warm place and your need to bake like I used to. Have a wonderful time.
On November 23, 2013 at 10:14 am
mamajhk says:
I make a double batch of our favorite cookies (usually chocolate chip) and scoop them out onto cookie sheets and then freeze them. Then I package them in 2 dozen batches and return to freezer. Than I can pull out a package and we can have fresh cookies. With just 2 of us we don’t need all that temptation of cookies in the cookies jar.
I wrap each frozen scoop of cookie dough then place in a freezer bag. Helps when you want just a few.
On November 23, 2013 at 10:50 am
DeniseS says:
The fridge and freezer ideas are really good. That batch of cookies on your table is making me want to bake up some soon. Too busy today, but not tomorrow!
On November 23, 2013 at 11:13 am
Glenda says:
Great idea. I like fresh cookies the best.
On November 23, 2013 at 11:32 am
Jen says:
This really is the best way to keep cookies on hand. I have a few that freeze really well after they’re baked too which saves even more time.
On November 23, 2013 at 3:21 pm
Joell says:
:happyflower:
Excellent idea. I am debating wether or not to bake any cookies this year, there is a wonderful German bakery in the city, I may just oder them, it is just the two of us now, and last year the animal in the woods got plenty of cookies. I still will make some candy and a special cake, but that is all I plan to do this year.
On November 23, 2013 at 4:08 pm
Naturegirl46 says:
Where do you get all of your energy??? Very impressive. Great idea on refrigerating the cookie dough. Nobody likes a stale cookie (well, except for my doggies).
On November 23, 2013 at 7:14 pm
Carmi says:
What is your prepping schedule for a holiday dinner?
On November 25, 2013 at 11:58 am