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| A Cookie Assembly Line: Efficient Cookie Baking for Busy Cooks |
by Mimi CumminsAs a busy working mother, I'm short on time, especially during the holidays, but baking Christmas cookies is a family tradition I'm unwilling to give up. Over the years, I've come up with many ways to make the process of baking a large variety of cookies go much smoother and take less time out of my busy life. You may want to start by checking out my Hassle-Free Holiday Baking: 6 Easy Days to Perfect Christmas Cookies. In addition to the 6-step method, I've found an efficient way to prepare a large variety of cookie dough with minimum fuss by setting up a cookie assembly line. The best part about this process is that you can make 12 different batches of cookies and only have to wash the dishes once!
You may need to make some adjustments depending on your individual recipes, but for most recipes, you can set up your assembly line like so: Flour Line: -Large mixing bowl -Measuring cups and spoons -Fork for stirring -Flour -Baking powder and baking soda -Salt -Cocoa powder -Spices -Any other dry ingredients that are added to the flour in your recipes Butter Line -Another large mixing bowl (or the bowl from your stand mixer) -A second set of measuring cups and spoons -Electric mixer -Wooden spoon -Rubber spatula -Butter, shortening, margarine and/or cream cheese -Sugar (white and brown) -Eggs -Vanilla and other extracts -Chunks such as raisins, nuts, chocolate chips -Rolled oats -Any other ingredients that are added to the butter and eggs in your recipes -Plastic wrap -Felt-tip marker To avoid transferring flavors from one recipe to another, you will start with basic recipes that have no spices, chocolate, or other strongly flavored ingredients. Starting with your first recipe, go down the line measuring out the amount of flour, baking powder/soda and salt into one bowl. Then, combine the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla in your larger bowl as directed. Gradually stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture. After that, stir in any chunks. Next, scrape down the edges of the mixing bowl so that it's fairly clean, shape the dough into a ball, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Identify the recipe by writing its name on the plastic wrap with a felt-tip marker, and refrigerate it. If it is a slice-and-bake refrigerator cookie, form it into a log instead of a ball, according to the directions in your recipe. If you plan to bake much later, you can even freeze the dough. Most cookie doughs freeze very well. Defrost at room temperature while still wrapped in plastic wrap, and unwrap only when dough is thoroughly defrosted. Otherwise condensation could add too much moisture to your dough. When your first batch of dough is prepared, wrapped, and stored in the refrigerator or freezer, return to the beginning of your assembly line, without washing your dishes, and begin preparing the next batch of dough. When you have prepared all the recipes that contain no spices or cocoa, move on to the recipes that contain cocoa, and finally those that contain spices. This way, you will only have to do dishes once at the end of the process, and you will have several different kinds of dough waiting to be baked. When all your dough is prepared, then you can finally put away all your ingredients, clean up the kitchen, and do your dishes. Now if you plan to finish your baking today, you'll have lots of space for rolling out your dough or setting out your cooling racks. If you plan to bake another day, you're done! Copyright 2004 Mimi Cummins. All Rights Reserved. About the Author: Mimi Cummins is co-author of the book "Christmas Cookies Are for Giving: Recipes, Stories, and Tips for Making Heartwarming Gifts." This book, "enthusiastically recommended" by Midwest Book Review, is full of baking tips and hints, including nearly 50 recipes each with a full-color photo. For more information visit http://www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com/ or order from your favorite online bookstore.  Recommended ReadingChristmas Cookies Are for Giving: Recipes, Stories and Tips for Making Heartwarming Gifts by Kristin Johnson, Mimi Cummins More than a cookbook, Christmas Cookies Are for Giving is a celebration of family, friends and the joy of giving. Stories, recipes, tips and more... Smells of cinnamon...cookie cutters...rolling and baking...eating dough...warm times with friends and family...Christmas cookies are a universal symbol of sweetness and family tradition at Christmas. But the joy of Christmas cookies goes beyond eating. In Christmas Cookies Are for Giving, Kristin Johnson and Mimi Cummins reawaken the fun of giving Christmas cookies, as they remember doing when they lived next door to each other when young children. From the original short story "The Giving Christmas Cookie," which shows a family brought together by a special cookie recipe at Christmas, to nearly 50 scrumptious recipes with mouth watering photos, to the timely, easy directions for making homemade "Gifts in a Jar," Christmas Cookies Are for Giving shows that old-fashioned Christmas gifts are an antidote to cynicism about Christmas. The secret to celebrating your family and friends may not be in the mall, but in your pantry where you’ll find the ingredients to make Butterball Santas, Cranberry Decadent Cookies, and Vanillekipferl—The Giving Christmas Cookie. Give this book as a present, and you may be rewarded when someone you love bakes the goodies in this book for you. (courtesy: Amazon)
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