Gourmet Cookie Bouquets Recipe Blog

Archive for the ‘Christmas’ Category

Have you heard about this thing called a cookie press? Maybe you’ve seen it used on a cooking show or asked a baker how they make those amazing Spritz cookies. The cookie press is a great help to the home baker who wants to turn out perfectly shaped cookies every time with little effort.

The cookie press is one thing that can’t and shouldn’t be automated unless you are working in a bakery. For the home baker, it’s your elbow grease that’s going to make the press work. You won’t need to put much muscle into it, but know that it’s one kitchen gadget that still works the old fashioned way.

Cookie presses work when they are loaded with a special type of dough. You will need to have inserted a cookie shape onto the head of the press, and then you can push down on the plunger or crank the handle. The press will turn out one perfect shape of the design you have chosen. Most cookie presses come with several discs like Christmas trees, poinsettias, snowmen, and other familiar shapes - perfect for those holiday cookie gifts!

Once you have pressed a cookie onto a sheet pan, move onto the next. Fill the cookie sheet with pressed cookies that you extract one by one from the press. Once you have them all laid out, you can sprinkle edible glitter, jimmies, or any decoration you like onto them.

Each recipe will give you the exact time necessary for the cookies to bake. But it’s usually about seven minutes. While the cookies are in the oven, change your disc if you like and press out another batch onto your next cool cookie sheet. Keep the process going. You’ll want a cookie press that allows you to change discs easily without emptying the entire press.

You can find antique cookie presses on auction sites like eBay and at vintage shops. If you see one, pick it up. They usually cost very little and are charming reminders of yesterday.

Here is a recipe from allrecipes.com for a classic pressed Spritz cookie:

Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies

1/2 cup shortening

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese

1/3 cup white sugar

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, cream together shortening, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and lemon extract. Combine flour and salt; gradually mix into the creamed mixture in three additions, mixing well after each. Load dough into a cookie press, and press cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly golden. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks.

Need more cookie ideas? Try making these reindeer cookies!

It’s so easy to make homemade brownie gift jars. You provide the dry ingredients and the recipe and your recipient has everything she needs to make a delicious batch of brownies. You can decorate your jar to match your tastes and make it really personal. These gifts are thoughtful, welcomed, and don’t cost much. Here’s how you do it.

You’re going to layer ingredients needed to make the brownies in a clear container. A Mason jar works well as does any glass container that’s tall and has a lid. Get fancy or just go basic. It’s up to you. You’re going to need the following:

Brownies in a Jar

1 cup Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

2/3 cup Brown sugar

1/3 cup Good Cocoa

1/2 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup Walnuts (optional)

2/3 cup Granulated Sugar

It’s best if you also have a wide mouth funnel on hand. Grab some card stock and ribbon too as well as a decorative pen.

The idea is to layer the ingredients so that they look pretty. You’re not going to mix them. So start with the flour and go down the list. Add one ingredient at a time to the jar and tamp it down. The sugar will be the last thing you add on top of the mix. It’s looking great at this point, but you’ll still need to include the recipe on a piece of card stock or on a label. Print on a computer or hand write these directions:

You’ve got everything here you need to make a luscious batch of brownies except 3 eggs and 2/3 cup of oil and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. Dump out the jar’s contents and add the additional ingredients. Mix until blended but don’t over mix. Pour your batter into a greased pan. 9” square works best. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Test with a toothpick. When it comes out of the center clean, your brownies are done. Allow to cool before cutting.

That’s it! Now it’s time to decorate the lid. You can place a circle of festive fabric on top of the lid of a mason jar and then screw on the lid. Tie a ribbon around the neck of the jar and punch a hole through the recipe card. Tie the recipe card firmly to the jar using the ribbon. You can create different patterned lids based on the season or the holiday.

These jars are great as holiday and birthday gifts, but they also make great raffle prizes or basket fillers. Think about all the PTO and church events that are coming up. You can contribute a few of these to raise money for a good cause. People love them because they are getting the convenience of home baking without the hassle of running out to gather all the ingredients.

They also make great little gifts for your kids’ teachers, your manicurist or hairdresser, the school bus driver, a friend at the office or a music teacher. You can even make these as wedding favors. Just choose pretty jars and make one for each couple (not each person). Singles, of course would get their own as well. These jars are easy to make and the kids can help.

Up for making more jar gifts? Try these:

• Homemade jar mixes for every holiday
• How to make a cookie jar gift

Some of the cookies best loved at Christmas time are the ones that are richly decorated. Everyone loves sprinkles, sparkles, and frosting in happy, bright colors. If you want to decorate your own batch of delicious and beautiful Christmas cookies this year, here are some tips to get you started.

• Cookie decorating is supposed to be fun. Don’t aim for perfection. Just do your best and see what kind of results you get. Remember, the cookies that you see in stores are done by bakers who’ve had years of practice. You’re just starting out, so give yourself some time to learn.
• Anyone can decorate cookies with a little know how. Children love to help out. Make a festive occasion of it. Set out all your supplies and let the fun just happen.
• There are a few kinds of decorations you can place on cookies before they bake. These include sprinkles, jimmies, candied sugars, and silver and gold balls (called dragees) as well as nuts, dried fruit, and chips. You can also mix an egg yolk with food coloring to paint designs on your cookies.
• The rest of the items you’d use for decorating need to be applied to cookies after they have come out of the oven and cooled.
• If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can easily make one. Cut the corner off a large zip lock bag. Fill with icing and this will work as a vessel for putting on icing.
• Color your frosting with food coloring. You’ll need much more than you think. For example, to make red, you’ll need many dots of red food coloring or the frosting will be pink. If you are going for deep, rich, dark colors, you’re better off using icing coloring from a candy supply or craft store. The pigments in these specialty colors will make for darker colors.
• If you want to make your own icing, it’s easy to do. But store-bought icings will save you time. Get a few tubs of white icing and you can add whatever colors you like to it.
• For spreading icing, you’ll need an offset spatula. This is a spatula that’s got a step built into it so that it’s the right shape for smoothing out icing. Get one at a craft or kitchen store. It will make your cookies’ surfaces smooth out easier.
• Put your supplies into small bowls on a table. Get creative with your designs. You don’t have to color Santa hats red and white. Use any colors you like. Make festive designs or polka dots. The more creative, the better.
• After you’ve spread the icing and sprinkled on the goodies, allow cookies time to set. Leaving them overnight is the best idea. That way they have a chance to harden enough so that you can pack them.
• When you are ready to store them, place layers of wax paper between the cookies inside a plastic tub that has a tight-fitting lid. Layer the cookies until an inch or so below the top of the container. Cookies can be frozen and used later in the month or if you refrigerate them, they should last a week or so.
• If you really like decorating cookies, don’t limit yourself to just the Christmas holidays. Try your hand at Valentine’s Day, Easter, Summer, and birthday cookies as well.  Every day is a perfect day for decorated cookies!

Want more tips on cookie decorating? Check out this article about making royal icing for cookie decorating.

If you’re a multi-tasker and love to bake holiday cookies, there’s a fun way to challenge yourself this year. Create an assembly line for your cookie baking and you’ll get several batches done in one evening. It’s a time-saver as well as a dishwasher’s dream: less to clean up and more time to spend baking.

Here’s how it works. You set up stations for the items you’ll need in your recipes. One station will be for dry ingredients like flour, baking powder, and spices. Have a sifter and a big bowl ready here. Have a set of mixing bowls and spoons set aside at this station that will be for dry ingredients only. Have all your dry ingredients gathered at that station so you can easily measure them out.

Next, set up a wet ingredient station. This will be the station your stand mixer will be at. You’ll cream butter and sugar here as well as add in milk, oil, eggs, and any other wet ingredients. You’ll want a set of ingredients devoted to wet measuring at this station.

The next station will feature nuts, chips, and any other add-in or ingredients that are special to one recipe like pumpkin or currants. Lay everything out at this station along with measuring cups and a knife for chopping.

When all is set up, you’re ready to begin baking. Start with the first recipe. Do each of the recipe steps in the order the recipe lists them. Usually you will sift the dry ingredients first at station one and then move on to the butter creaming at the second station. If steps are different than the station order you have, skip the station and carry the steps out as listed in the recipe.

As you progress through each of the steps, you’ll complete the recipe. Chill the dough if the recipe calls for it and move onto the next recipe. If the recipe calls for baking the cookies right away, get the first batch onto cookie sheets and bake.

Now, head back to the front of the assembly line and start your next recipe. Because you’ll have left your mixing bowls and spatulas and measuring cups from the last recipe, you won’t have to wash everything and start over. Work your way through the next recipe all the way down the assembly line and chill the dough until the first batch of holiday cookies are completely baked.

One thing to think about when working with an assembly line is that you’ll have to keep track of which ingredients you’ve already put in. One person should be in charge of each batch to avoid doubling up on ingredients by accident. Also, if you have an ingredient that is especially pungent (ginger or nutmeg), you’ll probably want to wash the bowl in between batches so your next batch does not become infused with the taste.

You can easily make several batches of cookies all at one time by creating a working assembly line. Enlist the help of others so that you can each concentrate on one type of cookie from start to finish. When all the cookies are finished baking, store them in tightly lidded plastic containers in the freezer. They’ll last until you’re ready to dole them out for the holidays.  Holiday Cookie gifts are one-size-fits-all and will never be returned!

Learn more cookie baking tips!

My Dad can eat a whole batch of this Christmas candy in one sitting, but that might be why he has a jolly tummy just like Santa.  Seriously, this peanut brittle is quite tasty and oh so easy to make. It's not quite the usual Christmas cookie, but it's close in shape.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups raw peanuts
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda

In a glass bowl, stir together the salt, corn syrup and sugar.  Place the bowl in the microwave and heat on 100% Power for 9 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir in the butter and vanilla.

Then microwave on 100% power for an additional 3 minutes.

Remove from microwave and stir in the baking soda stirring really well...note the mixture should be foamy.  Stir in the peanuts. Then pour the mixture onto a well-greased cookie sheet (or on a cookie sheet lined with Sil-pat).

Cool the mixture completely and then break into edible-sized pieces.

If you're looking to just make a traditional Christmas cookie batch, look no farther. Try this recipe for Easy Christmas cookies - 1 Dough Made 5 Ways!