You Need To Know This Before Baking Christmas Cookies
The Biggest Mistakes To Avoid This Year
1. Not planning ahead
Christmas cookies taste best during the advent season. It’s as if after Christmas they lose all their attraction. And they ranked high on the attraction scale before, so it’s a low fall, to be honest.
Cookies made in the second half of December are doomed. Trapping us in a race to consume them before their fall from grace.
And no one wants the weeks leading up to Christmas to be more stressful than they already are. So, plan ahead. Schedule your cookie baking in early December.
Like right now.
Imagine the blissful weeks ahead of you. With jars full of freshly baked delicacies to keep you company during long winter nights.
2. Use baking utensils you normally wouldn’t
Whatever it is about the tradition of making Christmas cookies. It makes a child out of me. And I don’t mean in a ‘connect with my inner child’ kind of way.
No, what I’m talking about is the transformation of my adult self into a naïve, clumsy, and clueless mess. Hopping around the kitchen and forgetting all I’ve ever known about cooking, natural sciences, and common sense.
That’s my only explanation for the time I melted chocolate by putting a ceramic bowl on a hot stovetop. And thought it was very smart.
Imagine my surprise when the ceramic bowl blew up in pieces.
The chocolate melted, I give myself that. But it now clung to the hot stove top and pieces of destroyed ceramic bowl. The beautiful, old, and expensive ceramic bowl I might add.
Since this day I sticked to melting chocolate in a pot or the microwave. Even though I can also tell a tale of putting it in the microwave for far too long.
But let’s leave it at sometimes it’s beneficial to stick to what you know. And in baking, it’s recommended to stick to what you know about the basic laws of nature.
3. Let the dough get warm
Put your dough wherever it’s coolest. The refrigerator is the most obvious choice. But depending on where you are baking, the great outdoors is even better.
There you surely won’t run out of space, no matter how enthusiastic you are about producing baked goodies. One of the only upsides of freezing winter temperatures in my humble opinion.
Just make sure to put it where no animal will eat the dough away. As much for the animals as your hard work’s sake.
4. Only follow new recipes
Last year we only made new cookies based on fancy Pinterest recipes. No old favourites like cinnamon stars or ‘Mailänderli’ (swiss german word for a specific kind of swiss shortbread cookie). It sounded like a good idea at the time. Needless to say, it wasn’t.
This year I would say one new recipe at a time is more than enough.
5. Blindly trusting the baking temperature and duration
Every oven is slightly different. So, when you are not in an incredibly close relationship with the one you are using, don’t trust it.
Especially as the altitude has an impact on the baking process. The closer you are to sea level, the faster your cookies will be ready. Hence, stay glued to the oven if you don’t want your cookie beauties to be burned.
6. Bake in a hurry
It’s never a good idea to rush baking. As it’s an activity meant to be enjoyed. To listen to music, swell in nostalgic memories, and lose yourself in the process.
So, whether you’ve done it before or not. Take your time to enjoy baking your Christmas cookies this year.
Let’s recap what I’ve been saying
When baking Christmas cookies this year, try to
1. Schedule the baking ahead of time.
2. Use your usual baking utensils. Don’t put a ceramic bowl on a hot stove top to melt chocolate.
3. Keep dough as cold as possible without tempting wild or domestic animals to take a bite.
4. Rank childhood favourites over new recipes.
5. Watch the oven and adjust baking time according to altitude. The nearer to sea level the sooner your cookies will be done.
6. Never bake in a hurry. Take your time and enjoy the process.
Last word of advice
Don’t strive to make perfect cookies. As a wise person once said:
If you were to make perfect cookies, who could tell they weren’t bought?
Hopefully, this inspired you to go bake your own favourite Christmas cookies. And try out new recipes with a grain of salt.
Please feel free to share your own mistakes, thoughts, and experiences in the comments section.
Thanks for reading. It means the world to me.
