Holiday Baking Tips and Tricks

I finally convinced the boys to put some decorations on the tree for me. It took a little extra convincing on my part.

"We will put the Polar Express on television and I will make cookies."

I think the cookies sealed the deal.

As I was baking, I started thinking about some tips and tricks that I have gathered over the years. Some of these are very basic skills to put to practice, but after reading many comments on other blogger's sites, I realize that not everyone has this shared knowledge.

Here are just a few:

* When a recipe calls for flour, do not pack it into a measuring cup. If you do this, you will end up with more flour than the recipe intended, and your baked goods will be dry and crumbly and you will not know why.

Here's how to measure flour. Gently spoon it into a measuring cup until it is overflowing. Then, with the flat end of a knife, gently swipe across the top. That is a proper flour measurement. I usually do this for powdered sugar as well.

*Unlike flour, brown sugar typically should be packed firm into a measuring cup.

*Not all butters are created equal. Fat content varies from company to company. For baking, always use the highest quality butter you can find. I typically use Land o Lakes butter, but I also love Kerrygold.

*Most cookie doughs will benefit from being wrapped or covered and then refrigerated for an hour before baking. This helps the ingredients to bind and will keep your cookies from spreading out too quickly.

* Oftentimes, a recipe will require very cold ingredients. Pay attention to this! Put the beater in the freezer, the mixing bowl in the freezer, and yes, even the butter in the freezer. This is especially important when making scones.

*Follow directions when it comes to the temperature of the butter. If it says softened, that does not mean melted. Softened butter should just give gently when you apply your thumb to it. Need to soften butter quickly? Here's a trick. Fill a tall drinking glass with hot water and let it sit for a minute or two. Unwrap stick of butter and stand it on a plate, tall. Empty drinking glass and place over butter stick. Leave it for a minute or two. This will gently soften the butter to just the right consistency.

*Check you spices! Last week, I looked in my pantry and realized I had a lot of expired herbs and spices to toss. They will smell dusty and not fresh over time. It helps to have the freshest ingredients. The same goes for nuts.

*Parchment paper is your friend. I always have it on hand!

*I've heard good things about Baker's Joy for prepping pans and molds. I bought some last week to use with my springerle pans.

These thumbprint cookies were so simple but so good. I think I will make these for the family holiday party next weekend!

Have any tips to share?