Gourmet Cookie Bouquets Recipe Blog

Archive for the ‘Christmas’ Category

Have you ever thought that you could turn your baking talents into cash for a good cause? Hosting a bake sale is not what it used to be. Gone are the days when you made a few dollars and that was the end of it. Now you can join an organization called the Share our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale and raise money to help end childhood hunger.

This new concept has taken off recently as grass roots organizations like local PTOs have started to contribute to it. All you have to do is hold a bake sale and donate your proceeds to the Great American Bake Sale. The non-profit organization then uses your donation to help fight the hunger that runs rampant in children all across the country. Their goal is to end childhood hunger by the year 2015.

Unlike a traditional bake sale, you’ll have the backing of the organization behind you. Once you register your bake sale online at the organization’s site, www.strength.org, you can order promotional flyers and materials to help publicize your sale. People are more likely to come out in support of the organization since they see where the money is going. Read through the Great American Bake Sale’s site to find more opportunities to get involved and help fight hunger.

You can certainly host your own holiday bake sale and donate to a local charity of your choice. This is another simple way to make a difference. Many organizations like the PTO and scout troops will coordinate an effort to raise funds through baked good sales. If you combine a bake sale with another event, the proceeds will likely skyrocket. Being part of a flea market or town wide tag sale can give you more visibility and more traffic—which equals more buyers.

Usually, each family brings baked goods they make at home to donate to the sale. But it can also be fun to host a baking party at someone’s house so you can all bake together as a group. Or you can see if you can use a church or other public place’s kitchen to bake in bulk. If it’s for charity, they will usually let you.

Bake sales are still a fantastic way for young people to help a good cause. They can bake, make the table displays, run the cash register, make change and watch their delicious gourmet desserts being enjoyed by eager customers. It’s a good lesson in life and in money management.

Charities usually run dry of contributions around the winter months. So, any extra you can provide through your gift of cash raised from your bake sale will be a welcomed sight. See if you can drop off the donation along with some of the children who baked the holiday cookies. It will do a world of good for them to see where the money went and how it will be used. They will be more likely to have a charitable spirit next time an event is being planned.

Baked goods are always in demand and are easy to create. Experiment with some unique recipes and you can sell your creations for a fair price. Of course, the old favorites of chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies will still be on everyone’s favorite lists.

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It gets harder and harder to find just the right holiday gift as we are increasingly surrounded by electronic gadgets and more high-tech toys.  What do you get for people to show them your appreciation without spending a fortune?  How do you get people who seem to have everything a gift they will like?  It’s easy!  Cookies.  It's the perfect gift for virtually any occasion and any recipient.  Sure, there are people who don’t like cookies – but do you know any personally?  We didn’t think so!  Even if the recipient isn’t overly fond of sweets, he/she can take them home and watch them get devoured by friends and family.  For any occasion that leaves you at a loss, turn to Christmas cookie boxes.

When giving cookies, presentation is everything.  Well, the taste of the cookies is everything, but the box is important, too.  A careful presentation can turn this homemade treat into an elegant gift. One very easy way to make a cookie box is to find plain white gift boxes in the size that you want.  Cut strips of patterned paper (scrapbook paper is great for this, but wrapping paper can do in a pinch) and glue a strip around the sides of the box.  Cut a circle from card stock and glue it on the strip at the front of the box.

Fill your box with delicious cookies and close the lid.  Tie a ribbon around the box and tie it at the top.  Next, cut circles from cardboard or cardstock and layer them. This will be the tag, and you can draw on the recipient’s first initial or name.  Glue the tag over the ribbon and the cardstock circle on the front of the box for a personalized seal.

You can make your own cookie boxes, as well.  Associated Content has a helpful instructional video on making an origami box from plain computer paper.  This makes a great box for a small amount of cookies or perhaps some homemade candies.  If you either want to make a bigger box or aren’t dexterous enough to do origami, you can print cookie box templates online.  There are great ones at DontEatthePaste.com.

You can either print one on a paper or cardstock of your choice or you can print it and then trace it onto the paper of your choice.  In either case, all you have to do is cut and fold along the lines.  In no time, you will have a beautiful homemade box for your cookies.

Before you put the cookies into the box, it is a good idea to line it with wax or parchment paper.  Tissue paper is also a great choice, especially if you want to add color to your presentation.  Arrange the cookies carefully, close the box, and secure with a ribbon or sticker.

Here are some other tips for making your gift look and taste perfect:

• Do not store soft and crisp cookies in the same container, because the crisp ones won’t stay crisp.
• Make sure they are stored in a tightly covered container with a sealable or snug lid.
• If your soft cookies have begun to dry out, cut an apple in half and place it skin side down on top of the cookies.  Remove the fruit after a day or so.
• If you need to store cookies longer, put them in freezer-safe containers or bags.  Before serving or giving, make sure they are completely thawed in their original freezer packaging.
• If you are storing dough, shape it into rolls until you are going to use it.
• If you are shipping cookies, brownies, bar cookies, and drop cookies, like chocolate chip, are the least likely to become damaged.  Sugar cookies very often crack or break.  Avoid shipping cookies that have moist or creamy fillings or frostings because they can get sticky and misshaped.
• Add the recipe you used on a decorative tag for a nice homey touch.

Give the gift of homemade cookies; it is sure to be appreciated.  This is one gift you can be sure will be used and loved.

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Cookies can be so ornate these days that they are actually works of art. If you are interested in creating your own little artistic masterpieces, consider cookie stenciling. Many stencils can be purchased online or in a kitchen store for cookie baking, but you can also make your own. Heart shaped cookies with the words "I Love You" stenciled across them would make a thoughtful valentine's day cookie bouquet.

It’s labor intensive, but fun to make a cookie stencil. Think of the stencils you used as a kid or stencils you see in art stores. You can, in fact, use any stencil that you find. You just need a clean stencil and a clean X-Acto knife to cut the cookie out.

Start with a sugar cookie dough. It’s best not to use a dough that is store bought. Those doughs are designed for slice and bake recipes. They tend to flatten out and burn in the oven if you try to do anything else with them.

Make your cookie dough batter from your favorite recipe. Then let it chill while you create your stencil.

You’re going to need sheets of acetate or vellum which you can find in office supply or discount stores. The acetate sheets are the ones that teachers use for overhead projectors. Vellum is just a clear sheet that artists use. It’s thicker than tissue paper so you can cut it, but you can see what’s underneath much like a tracing paper.

Find a design you like. It can be from a book or from online. Use a design that is not so intricate that you will be cutting until all hours of the night. You want to start with a simple stencil. Maybe a leaf or a bird.

Once you have found your design, print it out. Lay it down on your work surface. If it’s not the right size, you’ll want to reduce or enlarge it now on a copier. Place the acetate or vellum over the image. Trace it with marker. Remove the image and cut it out. Intricate parts of it will need to be cut with the tip of an X-Acto knife, so work on a rubber mat or a cutting board, never your table.

Once the design is cut out, you’ll be placing it on the cookie dough. Round up a ball of cookie dough and then press it flat. Or roll out a big piece so you have a whole sheet to stencil on. Place the stencil on top of the cookie area you want to cut out. Cut out the areas that make the design on stencil. Then cut around in a square or circular shape for the size of the cookie you want. Lift with a spatula carefully and transfer to a cookie sheet. Bake as per your recipe’s instructions.

If you want a less labor intensive way to use a cookie stencil, use food coloring powder and a stencil brush. You can tamp your brush into the powdery food coloring and stamp it onto the cookie directly. Cut the shape of the cookie out with a cookie cutter in a circle or other shape that fits your stencil’s design. Food coloring powders can be found at large craft stores or in cake supply stores.

It’s fun to make stenciled cookies. They’ll look like you spend a long time making them, but actually, once you cut the stamp they are very easy to do. Try cutting out flower shaped cookies and create a beautiful flower cookie arrangement. Have a stencil making party where you and friends get together and make a bunch of stencils. Then you can all trade stencils so everyone gets a chance to go home with a luscious batch of delicious and adorable cookies.

Another version you can do with a stencil is to make ornaments with it. Do the same thing you would with the cookie dough, but use home made salt dough or a baking clay. Of course, you can’t eat them, but they’ll look pretty on your tree or as package ties.

If you’re planning on doing a mega-marathon baking session this holiday season, you’ll need to figure out how and where you’re going to store your cookies until you distribute them. There are many ways you can preserve them so that you can bake ahead of time.

Many people choose to bake ten or more cookie recipes starting as early as October. They keep their cookies fresh for the giving in December by storing them in the freezer. Some avid bakers have even gone as far as buying a second freezer just for the purpose of storing their Christmas cookies!

Your regular freezer will do just fine. Plan to use up most of your freezable foods before your first cookie baking session. You’ll need the room. The last thing you want is frozen vegetables toppling over onto your cookies or having to cram your cookies in causing them to break. If you put the hard work in, you want them to remain intact.

After you’ve baked and cooled your first batch of cookies, you’ll be ready to store them. In the space you’ve created in the freezer, find a flat surface. Lay a row of six cookies down on plastic wrap. Put a sheet of wax paper between them. Continue layering this way until you have a stack of cookies five or six high. It’s better to make skinny stacks than wider stacks. That way you can slip them into narrower spaces. When you’ve completed your final layer, wrap the entire bundle in another layer of plastic wrap. Then do an outer wrap of aluminum foil. Two would be even better. You’re aiming to keep freezer burn, which can spoil your cookies, out. You may even want to place the whole stack into a zippered freezer bag. Stores now sell aluminum foil and freezer bags especially designed to keep freezer burn away from foods. It’s worth investing in a stash.

If you follow these steps, your cookies will be safely stored for a few months. That means you can start baking in fall for the winter holidays. Aim to stagger your baking so you bake a batch every week or so. That way you won’t feel overwhelmed and you’ll still enjoy the baking process.

When it’s time to distribute the cookies, take them out of the freezer and leave them on the counter to thaw. Don’t unwrap them until they are no longer cool to the touch. Start arranging cookies on pretty trays. You can place a paper doily on the bottom of the cookies before you start to give a little extra special look. Try to alternate cookie types so that your tray looks well-rounded.

Cover the cookie arrangements with pretty red or green plastic wrap. Add a festive bow. And, of course, after all your hard work you’ll definitely want to put a tag on your trays letting them know who baked them. Another nice touch is to include the recipes you used on index cards. This not only allows the recipient to make the cookies themselves if they choose but it also alerts them to the ingredients you used in case they have any allergies.

Cookies are a great way to share the joy of the season. Bake ahead and store well, and you’ll be sure to have incredibly delectable cookies to share.

Learn how to make different types of  Christmas cookies!

Today was a very exciting morning for us here at Gourmet Cookie Bouquets. We were absolutely thrilled to have some of our cookie bouquets showcased on Kathie Lee and Hoda's fourth hour segment of the Today Show. It was actually their co-host, Sara Haines who went into the detail of how much she adored our cookie bouquets! It was so fun to see that our cookies are enjoyed all over the states and even by celebrities!

On their show, they highlighted two of our very popular holiday bouquets. The first was the "Sweet Snowmen Bouquet of Cookies". These are delicious iced cookies decorated as cute, assorted snowmen with darling scarves on. In the middle it has a special cookie with "Happy Holidays" iced onto it. All of the cookie bouquets come in sets of either 5, 7, 9, or 12 cookies. Each set varies in price, however the set of 5 cookies starts at $29.95 but you can't put a prize on a truly unique holiday gift, now can you?

The next gift basket that they featured on the Today Show, was the "Season's Greetings Bouquet". Much like the snowmen bouquet, this one featured iced shortbread cookies with decorated presents and trees. This bouquet also comes in sets of 5, 7, 9 or 12 cookies with the set of 5 cookies starting at $29.95.

Both of these cookie bouquets can be easily ordered from our website by going to their individual links and going through the checkout steps. Even by ordering them today with ground shipping would get them there just in time for this holiday season!

Thank you to the Today Show, for featuring our cookie bouquets! We're delighted to have such an honor.

If you missed the show, you can see the short clip of our cookies and a few other holiday gifts here:

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