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Cookies make Christmas

Sylvia Carter |
A La Carter

December 12, 2007

Friends don't let friends bake alone.

When I mentioned to a friend that I needed to make hundreds of Christmas cookies, she pitched right in. For several evenings, we baked together and told stories. Get together with a like-minded friend for baking this year's cookie stash if you can. It's merrier.

Our baking philosophies are similar. We might add a new wrinkle or two, but Christmas is a time for old favorites.

Perhaps a tried-and-true cookie can be shaped in a new way, or more nuts can improve an already delicious recipe. An impeccable butter cookie might acquire a new sparkle when filled with chocolate or jam and turned into a sandwich cookie. Would almond extract add a new twist to a vanilla cookie? Give it a try.

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To help you along, here are some tips:

Quality matters. Your baked goods will not taste better than the ingredients, so buy the best you can afford. It would be a shame to undercut your hard work by using less than the best.

Make sure baking powder and baking soda are very fresh. Outdated leavening is one of the most common causes of baking failures. To test baking powder, combine 1 teaspoon with 1/3 cup hot water. If it bubbles, it is fresh. To test baking soda, combine 1 teaspoon with 2 teaspoons white distilled vinegar. If it bubbles, it is active and fine to use. To be on the safe side, discard opened tins in 6 months if they are unused

Check dates and buy the freshest butter you can. Butter with an expiration date that is far away is usually rotated to the back of the case at the store.

If a recipe calls for unsalted butter and you only have salted, omit additional salt, or use only half as much.

Try a little more salt, especially with brown sugar and chocolate flavors. Start with a half teaspoon extra. Or add 3 grains of sea salt to the top of each cookie. The flossy chefs use salt to accent these flavors, and you can, too.

Toast nuts lightly, 7 or 8 minutes at 350 degrees, before adding to a dough. They will have more flavor. Watch delicate nuts such as slivered almonds carefully; pecans and walnuts are not as fragile.

Do what you can ahead, or in stages. Make doughs that require refrigeration a day or two before "baking off," as the pros call it. Or make them weeks ahead and freeze the dough. Alternatively, bake the cookies, wrap securely and freeze, either plain or decorated.

Roll dough out right on the cookie sheet, to lessen the problem of transferring from a board to the cookie sheet. (I've been doing it the other way for so long that it was hard for me to get the hang of this, but other bakers swear by this method.) Nudge the cookies apart carefully, and brush excess sugar or flour off the sheet before baking.

Roll out cookies on a surface dusted with powdered sugar instead of flour. Sure, the cookies will get a little sweeter as you reroll them, but they will not get tough as they are likely to when you use flour.

ALMOND-JELLY COOKIES

These charming little cookies are a favorite for cookie exchanges. They always turn out perfectly and look fetching on a tray.

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups finely ground almonds

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract