Betty Kaiser
Yikes! I hate to tell you this but…Christmas is less than three weeks away. So, if homemade Christmas cookies are a tradition are your house, you’d better get baking.
I struggled for years making cookies during Christmas week so they would taste fresh. When I was working 60-hour weeks, the timing of the making, baking and decorating would sometimes overwhelm me. Then I began making the dough for each batch of cookies a week before and either refrigerating or freezing it.
Most cookie dough will freeze very nicely, especially those that have egg in the batter and are firm. Light, cake-like cookies made with egg whites or a liquid batter won’t freeze as well. But at this time of year we’re usually thinking of sugar cookies and that dough will easily withstand the freezer.
Most of my sources say that the dough should not be frozen longer than 4-6 weeks. Well, you don’t have to worry about that since Christmas is just around the corner. Go ahead and make up a few batches of dough tonight and if you’re not going to bake for a couple of weeks, your frozen dough should be just fine.
Be sure and double-wrap the dough in plastic wrap and again in either a large sealed plastic bag, foil or freezer paper. Now this is important: Be sure and write the type of cookie dough and the date it was frozen on the outside of the package. I know you think you’ll remember but trust me—it’s easy to forget. Next June you’ll be wondering what you’re supposed to do with those balls of dough hiding in the corner of the freezer!
The next hurdle is to remember to take the dough out of the freezer and let it defrost in the refrigerator before baking. Plan ahead. I suggest that you write on your calendar “Defrost Dough!” the day before baking.
Once the dough is defrosted, I bake the cookies, decorate and put in a tightly sealed container. Sometimes I freeze them plain if I’m short of time and decorate later. My grandsons will still lend a hand when it comes to decorating. Again, double wrap them tightly and write the type of cookie and date on the package.
Because kids love to eat Gingerbread men I’m starting off today’s recipes with an old recipe from my ancient “Cookie Jar Cookbook.” It makes a bunch of cookies and you’ll have plenty for hostess gifts or you can freeze the excess.
The popular Cream Cheese Cookie dough is here with a couple of suggestions. It can be used almost anywhere that a basic sugar cookie is needed. You can even use it as a base for bar cookies.
All of these cookie recipes are old as the hills and you can bet that your family will gobble them up as quickly as any fancy store-bought creation. Next time we’ll tackle some bar cookies or maybe a pie to be made at the last minute for Christmas dinner. Enjoy!
German Molasses Cookies or Gingerbread Men
Makes 8 dozen
1 cup butter
1 1/4 cups light molasses
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Melt butter in a saucepan; add molasses and brown sugar and heat until sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally. Pour into a bowl; cool.
Sift remaining ingredients together; add to cooled mixture in fourths, mixing until blended after each addition.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until easy to handle, using additional flour if necessary. Wrap in moisture-vaporproof material; refrigerate and allow dough to ripen one or two days.
Roll one fourth of dough at a time about 1/8 inch thick on a floured surface; cut with a 3-inch round cutter or fancy cutters. Transfer to ungreased cookie sheets. Bake about 7 minutes.
Note: For gingerbread men, roll dough 1/4 inch thick and cut with a gingerbread-man cutter. Bake about 13 min.
Cookie Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
Food Coloring of your choice
Frost cooled cookies lightly and put faces on gingerbread men or snow ladies. Use raisins for eyes, Red Hots for lips or decorate with your favorite sprinkles.
Cream Cheese Cookie Dough
1 pkg. (8 ounce) Cream Cheese, softened
3/4-cup butter (1-1/2 sticks) softened
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2-1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add flour and baking soda; mix well. Cover and refrigerate. When ready to bake proceed to the variation of your choice.
Sugar Cookie Cut-outs
Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Using the above recipe roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness on lightly floured surface. Cut into assorted shapes using 3-inch cookie cutters. Place on greased baking sheets.
Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Transfer cookies to wire rack; immediately press about 1/2-teaspoon crushed candies onto each hot cookie or cool completely on rack and frost using your favorite recipe or the one above.
Thumbprint cookies
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
Using above recipe add 1-cup finely chopped pecans to dough along with the flour and baking soda. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Indent centers. Bake 10 minutes.
Fill each cookie with about 1 teaspoon of your favorite preserves. Apricot and raspberry are always favorites. Continue baking 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
Keep it simple and keep it seasonal!
Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes
that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.
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