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SO YOU ENJOY BAKING AT CHRISTMAS TIME?

Yes, I really do. I’m actually more of a cook than a baker – so baking isn’t necessarily my strong suit – but I think it can be a lot of fun to spend a weekend baking Christmas cookies, and I think I’ll be doing some of that this weekend and in the weeks ahead.

Baking is a good thing to do with your family and friends, and it’s something that can really get everyone into the holiday spirit.

Of course everyone loves home-baked cookies and candy. So when you’re finished baking, you have some lovely treats that you can package up for gifts, and you’ll never need to make dessert over the holidays.

BUT AREN’T ALL OF THOSE PRETTY LITTLE CHRISTMAS COOKIES DIFFICULT AND REALLY TIME CONSUMING TO MAKE?

Well, that just depends on what kinds of cookies you choose.

Of course, the tradition during the holidays is to make smaller, prettier cookies – the kind that can be displayed together on a dessert tray.

So I try to make a variety of smaller cookies rather than the usual big chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies.

But they don’t have to be difficult to make.  I would never make more than one rolled cookie – like gingerbread or sugar cookies – because I think they’re more work than cookies that can be rolled into balls or just dropped onto the cookie sheet for baking.

There are easy bar cookies you can make, cookies or truffles that don’t even require baking, and simple ginger cookies, reminiscent of old-fashioned gingerbread that are super simple. Often I will make ice-box style cookies – using the kind of cookie dough you can make into a log and chill or freeze it, then you can just slice off nice little round or square cookies and bake them as needed.

SO HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHICH COOKIES TO MAKE?

Baking holiday cookies is a good family event to get into the holiday spirit – a nice tradition to pass down to your kids, so think about making a kind of cookie that’s significant for your family, an ethnic recipe passed down from your grandmother or just a family favourite.

Christmas cookies are supposed to be the kind of dainty morsels that you can combine on a sweet tray for a buffet, or pass after a big meal. So, again, think small.

When you’re planning your holiday baking, imagine that  mixed tray of sweets, and make a variety of items – something buttery, something chocolately, something nutty or chewy like nougat or macaroons. It’s also a good time of year to create homemade candy, nut brittles, hand-rolled truffles and even homemade fudge or marshmallows are welcome on a sweet tray.

WHAT ABOUT DECORATING COOKIES?

That’s a great creative activity for kids which can be a lot of fun. You can just bake a bunch of ginger bread people or stars and let your kids get creative with coloured sugar, Smarties and silver candies, secured with a slather of royal icing, either homemade or squeezed from a tube.

Icing always makes a cookie look fancier, whether you spread your cookies with a thin layer of icing or just outline the edges with thicker icing in plain white or festive colours.

Decorated cookies, especially firm cookies like gingerbread, can also be hung on the Christmas tree as edible decorations. If you’re making gingerbread to hang on the tree, make sure you make a hole in each cookie with a straw before you bake, then you can string them with ribbons for hanging.

But there are other easy ways to decorate cookies – try sifting some icing sugar over them when they’re warm from the oven or drizzling with just a few lines of melted white and dark chocolate, drizzled from a fork.

I made some pretty icebox cookies by rolling the log of dough in egg white and coarse grained raw sugar before cutting the cookies and baking them – each cookie was perfectly ringed in a crunchy and glittery sugar coating. Or you can just sprinkle decorations over cookies before baking, things like chopped nuts, colored sugar decorations of coconut.

You can even scatter bits of edible gold or silver leaf – the kind of thing you can buy at an Indian grocery – over your chocolate brittles and bars for a festive touch.

OTHER COOKIE BAKING TIPS?

Like all holiday food, I think Christmas baking is all about decadence so ingredients are key – lots of butter and chocolate and nuts, liqueurs like Grand Marnier or peppermint schnapps.  This is the time to break out all of the really good ingredients. That means super good quality baking chocolate – like Callebaut or Valrona – lots of hazelnuts and pecans, fresh unsalted butter, and things like maple syrup, dried exotic fruits like candied ginger and cherries, or crystallized cane sugar.

Don’t be tempted to substitute low fat spreads or margarine for real butter – they often have added water and make runny dough and flat cookies. Make sure nuts are very fresh – they can turn rancid quickly in the cupboard so store them in the freezer. Always use large eggs – not medium or extra large, they can throw off the whole recipe – and bring ingredients to room temperature before baking. Whole wheat flour is good in bread but not always great in cookies, so use only a small portion if you must. Don’t add too much flour or overbeat the dough – this makes tough cookies.

If your cookies come out flat and overbaked, it may be an altitude problem (Calgary is at 3,000 feet) – so reduce the baking temperature by 25, use a little less baking powder and a little less sugar (about 2 tablespoons less per cup)

Like anything, when you have really good ingredients, you often don’t have to do that much with them to end up with a great result.

We always make a white chocolate brittle, for example, using good white chocolate, with chopped green pistachios and sundried cranberries or cherries sprinkled on top. It’s really festive and beautiful, yet it only requires that you melt the chocolate and spread it on some parchment, chop the nuts and cherries and scatter them around, chill it and break it into pieces.

You can also do this with good dark chocolate and chopped candied ginger, or crushed candy canes.

Packed into a pretty cellophane bag with a big bow – or into a nice little tin – it’s a great gift.

ANY IDEAS FOR STORING OR PACKAGING CHRISTMAS COOKIES?

Some cookies are delicate, so they really need a tin or a box for storage. Others look really nice in a little cellophane bag with a bow or a bit of greenery tied on.

Some cookies can be packaged together, but often it’s best to keep them separate.

I like to snoop around in stationary stores or hobby craft stores for interesting containers. I’ve seen some really funky little Chinese-style take-out boxes that make great little boxes for cookies, or you can use miniature paper bags or frosted plastic boxes. If you are making chocolate truffles or homemade marshmallows, it’s good to set each piece in a tiny foil or paper cup, and then to present them, like chocolates in a single layer. Christmas card boxes, with clear plastic tops, work well for this.

If you’re planning to ship cookies, make sure to stick with small, firm cookies – nothing too crumbly or sticky. First they need to go into tins or boxes, then into a larger box filled with crumpled newspaper or Styrofoam bits.

WHAT IF YOU DON’T HAVE TIME TO MAKE SEVERAL DIFFERENT TYPES OF COOKIES?

I think a great way to solve that dilemma is to share the work – either organize a baking bee, or a cookie exchange party.

I like the latter idea, because that way you can have a great assortment of cookies, and you only need to bake one kind.

It works like this. Say you invite eight of your friends to gather for a cookie party. Everyone makes eight dozen of one kind of cookie, and packages them in one-dozen bags or tins. Then everyone goes home with eight dozen cookies – but eight different kinds.

You can do it with fewer friends two – say four friends, and you each do four dozen cookies, or double it up. Then everyone still has eight dozen cookies, four different kinds – plenty to get you through the holidays.

SO GIVE US SOME EXAMPLES OF THE EASY COOKIES YOU’LL BE MAKING?

Well, I’ve brought several recipes this week that we will be posting on the CBC website so that everyone can get started on their holiday cookies.

I always like to make a butter cookie and that means my grandmother’s Scottish style shortbread, which is basically just butter, flour and sugar. This is really easy, you can make it in the food processor – and we do it traditional style, just cut into thick squares and baked until barely golden. If you want to get fancy, you can press it onto molds, or cut it into bars and dip each one in dark chocolate. Some people even like to add things to their shortbread, like coconut or chocolate.

I think ginger cookies are important at this time of year – but I don’t like to take a lot of time rolling and cutting cookies. Instead, I always make my favourite ginger sparkle or crackle cookies – you roll the ginger cookie batter into balls, then roll the balls in sugar and bake – they crackle on top and look pretty. The trick is to make them small. You can also add some chopped candied ginger to the batter for extra zing.

My grandmother always made a little Viennese crescent cookie – reminiscent of a Greek or Mexican butter cookie, with ground nuts, butter, sugar and flour. Very simple really – each cookie is rolled into a little pin, then curved into a crescent on the baking sheet, but you can also just make little snowballs. When they come out of the oven you dust them heavily with icing sugar so they’re pretty, too.

For chocolate lovers, I always do a simple chocolate hazelnut truffle – it’s just a matter of whirling up some toasted hazelnuts, sugar and orange zest in the food processor until its all finely chopped, stirring in some melted good quality chocolate and brandy, and then chilling the mixture until it’s stiff enough to roll. It’s a bit messy, but you just roll the truffles into small balls, toss them in some good Dutch process cocoa to coat them and set each in a paper or foil cup and refrigerated.

The same goes for the date and nut balls – no baking required. Just cook up a slurry of butter, brown sugar, vanilla and chopped dates. Mix in an egg, then pour it over a mixture of Rice cereal and chopped nuts. Make the mixture into balls, roll them in coconut or powdered sugar and you’re done. Sticky but addictive.

I’m also going to try to make some home made marshmallows this year – something one of my aunts always used to do – and I’ll likely resurrect my friend’s easy chocolate addicts bar, made with a base of graham crackers, topped with a simple brown sugar and butter caramel, then baked and spread with expensive chocolate while hot – this is easier to make than peanut brittle and really, totally addictive.

SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE WILL BE A LOT OF SUGAR PLUMS DANCING THROUGH YOUR HEAD THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

Yes, it is the season for sweets - it’s a good thing that Christmas only comes once a year. In a month, we can diet, but even if you only bake once a year like me, this is the time to do it.

So set aside a day for baking, gather together all of the ingredients and equipment you need, then make a pot of spicy mulled apple cider, play some Christmas carols and let it snow.

By the end of the day, you’ll have several batches of delicious cookies to eat, or give away, and some nice warm holiday memories.

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©Cinda Chavich 2007

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