Christmas Cookies...A Reflection

Every year, I have the intention to start my Christmas cookie production early and get it out of the (shopping) way. That never actually happened. Every year, I ended up baking like a mad woman for days just before the big day. This year, thanks for my new commercial kitchen, I got it done in less than 8 hours. Big oven, full size sheet pans, cooking racks, lots of refrigeration and working space definitely help.
It got me into thinking about all the time (and nerve) saving ways I've learned 12 years in the restaurant business. Here are some of the tricks:

• Freeze cookie dough in logs, cut, or scooped (think sugar cookies, gingersnaps, chocolate chip, etc).
• Biscotti can be made early on; they last practically forever. Or, freeze the logs unbaked.
• Cream puff dough (or Pate Choux) can be piped onto a sheetpan and frozen, then pop them into a ziploc bag. To bake, just lay them on a sheetpan and bake (no need to thaw).
• Pie/Tart doughs are freezer's best friends. For easier handling (if you have the space), roll them out before freezing and place them on a sheetpan with a piece of parchment paper in between. It will take minutes for them to thaw out and be ready to use.
• Most sweet tart dough also works well as cut out cookies. One dough, two results.
• Make extra. If you're making a pie, make enough dough for 2. It will take about the same time, but less clean up.

For me, the hardest thing about putting together a Christmas box is deciding what should go in it. When I was working in restaurants and having daily changing menus, people used to ask me how I decide what to make for a particular day. To be honest, I made what I felt like eating that day, even if I didn't get to eat them all. My taste naturally change with the seasons. By March, I would be sick and tired of pears and apples, and dying for the first taste of strawberries and couldn't wait for the cherries to pop up. By September, I would miss pears and quince all over again. So basically, I made what I thought sounded good. For my boxes, I want to have a good selection, so everyone can find at least one thing they like, but I don't want to go too crazy and have 20 different items. Christmas always got me into thinking chocolate, mint, cranberries, citrus, spices, caramel, and nuts. So this year, I made chocolate-mint cookies, vanilla butter cookies (it's made with my favorite tart dough) sandwiched with caramel, meyer lemon shortbread, cranberry-pistachio biscotti, spicy gingersnaps, almond-cocoa nib brittle with gray sea salt, and soft caramel candies.

It is a very satisfying experience, now that the sweets are done. The best part? I got to eat a piece (or two) of everything. There's only one thing I missed...my mom's red soup (literal translation from an Indonesian dish called "Sup Merah"). Other than that, I am ready for Christmas.