December's food of the month: Cookies!!!

Happy National Cookie Day! (Well, yesterday now...)

The holidays are upon us and with them come the arrival of lots of treats (and stretchy-waisted pants, gotta love leggings and yoga pants!)…  more specifically, COOKIES!  In the coming weeks, we’ll share some of our favorite recipes along with a few that are new to us.  

Mint meringue cookies from Tinsnips and Scissors

Storage

Many cookie doughs can be made ahead of time then refrigerated or frozen until you’re ready to use them.  The general rules are as follows:

• Chunky cookies (anything with chips, fruit or nuts), drop cookies, or cookies that you roll into balls before baking should be portioned as if to bake, then frozen.  Once frozen, the dough balls should be placed in an air-tight bag or container for storage.  Bake them all, or just one or two at a time.
• Slice-and-bake cookies (like shortbread) can be pressed into a log, then wrapped in parchment or waxed paper and stored in freezer bags.  Allow these to thaw in the fridge for a few hours prior to baking or give them at least a few minutes to warm up so they don’t crumble when you start slicing them.
• cookie dough can be frozen in discs (like you would do for a pie crust).  Again, allow to thaw for a few hours in the fridge if possible, or for a few minutes on the counter top.
• Most cookies will take a minute or two longer to bake after being frozen.
• Most cookie dough can be frozen for up to three months.

(reference: thekitchn.com)

When storing the cookies after baking

• Be sure to allow them to cool completely, then layer them between sheets of parchment or waxed paper.  
• Cookies will stay crisp and fresh longer in metal tins rather than plastic storage containers.  
• If you plan to give them as a gift in a cardboard box, be sure to line it with parchment or waxed paper.  
• Keep crisp and soft cookies in separate containers (the crispness of cookies can be restored by heating in a 300° oven for about ten minutes).  

(reference: marthastewart.com)

Recipes

There are hundreds of thousands of cookie recipes available around the world.  Pinterest is a good place to start your search for a cookie recipe that will suit your tastes.  MarthaStewart.com has TONS of recipes along with a plethora of cookie related knowledge that will get you through just about any holiday cookie crisis.

What’s your favorite cookie recipe?  Let us know and leave a comment!