Holiday Baking
This is my first year in my own home (husband, no room mates!), and I'm hours away from family. I want to bake this holiday season, and I want to bake a lot. I want to get a head start on this, as I am normally terrible at planning ahead. Does anyone have bread and/or cookie recipes that freeze well, both in dough and baked form? Ideally I would like to make massive amounts of dough, and bake it a bit at a time, or to be able to make a million cut outs, and decorate them at my leisure.
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9 Comments:
Actually, I haven't found a cookie dough that doesn't refrigerate well, and many improve over a day or so. And I've frozen quite a few, too. Sometimes I freeze in logs so I can do the "slice and bake" thing and right now I've got frozen balls of chocolate chip cookies in a bag in the freezer so I can take out a few at a time and bake them.
Usually what I do if I'm making billions of cookies (it seems like billions) is that I'll make the doughs as I have time in the weeks before I need them, and then I refrigerate or freeze depending on what kind of time I've got. Then I'll spend the last few days in a massive baking event. For one thing, the dough takes a lot less space than the baked cookies, and for another, I think they taste a little fresher if you don't freeze the baked cookies. And it's kind of fun to spend a day baking cookies and watching them pile up like that.
And some cookies, like sugar cookies or other hard cookies have a pretty long storage life. So those are the ones I'd bake first if I was going to bake over several days time. And then you've got time to do the decorating
As far as freezing bread dough, that's pretty hit-and-miss for me if you're talking about yeast doughs. Sometimes it works, and sometimes I don't get a good rise from the bread after the dough is frozen. Breads and quickbread freeze well after they're baked, though.
dbcurrie at 12:40PM on 11/02/09
All your drop cookies you can form into actual cookies and freeze (as cookies) and then bake them right from the freezer.
I always bake my cakes ahead and yank them out and frost them frozen. This reduces crumb mess and also allows it to thaw the day you frost it.
Chocolate cake taste better after being frozen. Regular cakes seem moister.
Now that it is getting cool, your basement/garage area is great for storing baked cookies. I will start my baking in a week or so. They get put in some containers and go out to a holding area (on the picnic table in the garage)
Moist bar cookies will not store so well. Do those last.
I freeze brownies, blondies, raspberry bars etc
Butter also freezes nicely. So stock up. When butter is on sale for 1.50 a box grab lots and freeze that.
Biscotti, shortbread and hard cookies will keep for weeks.
So make them and store them, cool, dry and dark in tight fighting containers.
JerzeeTomato at 2:16PM on 11/02/09
I don't have any specific recipes to share (will dig through files later) but will share a tip.
I bake in "stages" where possible. I will mix several batches of cookie dough in an afternoon. I form dough rolls on waxed paper, wrap tightly and refrigerate or freeze. Then I thaw dough and slice or hand form cookies (as recipe calls for) and bake another day.
I will also premeasure dry ingredients and assemble what I need on a tray the night before baking head for quick breads, etc. Then when it's time to mix and bake, it's ready to go. (mise en place)
I don't know if it will work for you but it keeps me from going into baker's coma (mixing, dirty dishes, need bowls for something else, timed baking, more mixing, dirty dishes, change baking temp, make way for cooling cookies....eyes roll back in head....)
CJ McD at 2:58PM on 11/02/09
This is my default gingerbread cooky recipe. It's Nick Malgieri's Decorated Gingerbread Cookies. I know for a fact the dough freezes beautifully because I made it one year on T-Giving weekend and baked the cookies off the second week of December for my office. I increased the recipe to make 455 gingerbread cookies.
Even gingerbread haters love these. The tip is NOT to roll them too thinly. Don't try to get three thousand cookies from one batch of dough. Roll them just around 1/4" thick and don't overbake them. They come out nice and chewy with no burnt bits. People who hate gingerbread because it's "bitter" have had cookies by someone trying to stretch the batch.
You will NOT be disappointed.
therealchiffonade at 3:07PM on 11/02/09
Pumpkin gingerbread freezes REALLY well (http://kitchendreamer.blogspot.com/2009/10/baking-fail.html) - sometimes for holidays my mom and I would bake tons of mini-loaves instead of two big ones and give them for gifts.
Sugar based cookie dough freezes really well - the kind you roll out and do cookie cutter shapes with colored frosting. As does the dough for snickerdoodles.
If you're doing lots of baking, I like to go back and forth -- Make a bread dough, bake some cookies while it's proofing, etc.
ec_washington at 5:58PM on 11/02/09
I try to make unusual cookies/baked goods that folks are unlikely to encounter elsewhere, and then they come to expect them from year to year. Springerle is a favorite, and lasts for a month or more baked, as it's designed to be hard as a rock. Sugar plum cookies are also special but don't take a lot more work than others, and I wrap them individually.
lemonfair at 8:50AM on 11/03/09
Thank you so much for the advice! Those gingerbread cookies sound amazing!
PrettyNicola at 6:00PM on 11/03/09
@PrettyNicola - Here are a few pix of the cookies.
The Dough
Cookies cooling on a speed rack.
Nekkid cookies (waiting to be iced).
Iced cookies.
I cannot stress enough - do not roll them too thin and don't overbake them. They are nice and moist and not dry and bitter.
therealchiffonade at 7:44PM on 11/03/09
@therealchiffonade Those are adorable! I will not be making quite so many, but I will definitely keep in mind not to roll them too thin.
PrettyNicola at 10:43AM on 11/04/09