I love decorating desserts. Whether its a cupcake or birthday cake or big pile of cookies, I love dressing them up. Then when you add the fact that these cookies are baked up in festive holiday shapes and will also be a big part of making my friends and family feel all holly and jolly inside… I’m totally in!
What Kind Of Cookies Do You Want To Bake?
There are so many different options when it comes to holiday cookies and you can really customize the amount of effort that you will have to put into your spread by picking the right type of cookies. If you are all about high end textures and flavors, then you can use my rich and delicate alfajores de chocolate or my beautiful clementine canestrelli.
But, if you have enough going on at the moment or just prefer something easy, I would suggest going with a classic sugar cookie, my spicy gingerbread cookies or my comforting chai butter cookies.
When Are You Going To Bake Them?
Once you decide what kind of cookies you want to bake, deciding when you want to bake them up is important. No one wants to have to bake up a ton of cookies on Christmas day, so planning to bake them in advance and having good quality air tight storage available is important.
If you are baking cookies to give as Christmas gifts, decide when you want to deliver them and work from there. Baking them up with just enough time for them to cool and be packaged will ensure that your lucky recipients receive the best version of their sweet treats.
To Decorate or Not To Decorate?
If you are going to decorate your holiday cookies, take this into consideration for both timing and storage. Some frostings and glazes need some time to set up, so be sure to either use a quick setting frosting or give yourself enough time for things to set up before packaging or stacking your cookies.
If you are making the cookies ahead of time, consider which cookies can be stacked and which cookies are decorated in a way that requires more storage space. I typically go for more simple cookies decorated in a hard setting frosting, so I can gift them in simple bags or stack them high in tupperware containers until the big day, but sometimes you want Santa Claus cookies with big fluffy beards or snowman cookies with pointy carrot noses and they will need a little more customized storage solutions.
Storing Your Cookies
When it comes to storing cookies, you definitely want to keep them in an airtight container. I love large rectangular tupperware containers that are wide enough for several rows of cookies and easy to stack.
If you are storing undecorated cookies, it is typically ok to stack them one on top of the other, but if your cookies are decorated or glazed, I suggest slipping a sheet of parchment or wax paper between the layers of cookies to prevent the cookies from sticking to each other.
I also suggest adding a slice of bread into the container along with the cookies. The bread will help to absorb any additional moisture that may work its way into the container or that is given off by the cookies keeping them soft, chewy or crisp.
If you have baked several different batches of cookies, I suggest storing them separately. Storing strongly flavored cookies, such as gingerbread cookies along with a more mild cookie like sugar cookies can alter their flavors, so store them separately if possible.
Thinking Outside The Cookie Box
When you are thinking about holiday cookies, it can be easy to get tunnel vision ad think only about sugar cookies or chocolate chip cookies. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not disappointed when I see either one of these classics, but they are definitely not your only options.
Of course, there are plenty of ways to get creative when decorating cookies, but if you don’t feel like decorating cookies this holiday, consider branching out to something more unique like these adorable Christmas Tree Meringues or even something like biscotti or snickerdoodles.
Your creativity does not have to stop once your cookies are baked though. Using little gingerbread men or snowflake cookies to decorate cupcakes or cakes can be quite fun too…
I hope talking out your holiday baking plans help you to plan for the most organized and stress free holiday season possible. Bake your favorite cookies, decorate them in your favorite colors and share your gifts with friends and family. Cookies are one of the easiest ways to feel both holly and jolly…
Happy holidays & Merry Christmas everyone!
