| |
| |
|
Cooking Tips Information | Mommy Home Jobs |
|
|
|
Little-known Tips for Easy Holiday Baking
Are you wondering if you have the time to bake homemade Christmas cookies this year? Every year at about this time we all start to get a little panicked that the holidays are coming up fast and we're not really ready yet. Here are a few little-known tips and tricks, for almost every type of cookie, to help you get the most out of the time you spend baking. Cutout Cookies Don't struggle with dough sticking to your rolling pin. Instead, roll out your dough between two sheets of waxed paper. This will eliminate the sticking problem. Do your cutout cookies always seem to turn out dry, tough, and tasteless? The trick with the waxed paper will help with this. Assuming that you started with a good recipe, the problem is that you are overworking your dough and working too much flour into it. Using the waxed paper will help you to manipulate the dough less, and the dough won't pick up any extra flour. Refrigerator (Icebox) Cookies and Pinwheels Ever notice how your roll of icebox or pinwheel cookies gets flat on one side from sitting on the refrigerator shelf? Keep them nice and round by standing them upright in a tall drinking glass while they're chilling. Do your cookies flatten further when you try to slice them? Try rotating the log 1/4 turn after each slice. Having trouble with the cookies crumbling as you try to slice them? Start with a log that has been frozen for several hours. Then use a very a very sharp to slice through. Cookie Press Cookies (Spritz) Having trouble getting your cookies to form properly? When your dough doesn't seem to stick properly, put your baking sheet in the freezer for an hour or two, while keeping the dough at room temperature. Then when you press out your cookies onto the frozen sheet, the dough will stick to it just like your tongue sticks to a frozen metal pole when you lick it (assuming you've ever been silly enough to try this). Don't forget you can pick up your mistakes and put them back into the press. Bar Cookies When making bar cookies, create a liner for your baking pan by turning the pan upside-down and covering it with aluminum foil, making sure to form the corners and leaving an overhang of an inch or two. Then, remove the foil, turn the pan right side up, turn the foil over and place it inside the pan. It will make a perfect liner for your pan. If required by your recipe, grease the liner. Then continue baking your bar cookies as directed. Once baked, you can lift out the entire batch of bars and place it on a cooling rack to cool completely. You can then immediately re-use your baking pan for another batch without having to wait for the previous batch to cool, and you won't have to wash the pan. All Cookies Eliminate the need to grease your baking sheets and wash them later by lining them with parchment paper. Parchment paper can be re-used several times and gives excellent results. Do your cookies seem to brown too much, or cook too fast? Buy a dependable oven thermometer and check your oven temperature. Your oven's internal thermometer may not be accurate. Or, perhaps you are using a non-stick baking sheet or pan. The dark color of the non-stick coating can make your baked goods brown too fast. Try a shiny metal pan instead or lower your oven temperature by 25 degrees. Are your cookies not browned enough, or take too long to cook? Again, verify the oven temperature. Or, perhaps you're using an insulated baking sheet or pan. Insulated bakeware can prevent your cookies from reaching the desired temperature in the right amount of time. Try using a non-insulated pan, or raise your oven temperature by 25 degrees. For more information on minimizing the work involved in holiday baking, consult these articles: Hassle-Free Holiday Baking: 6 Easy Days to Perfect Christmas Cookies ( http://www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com/hassle-free.php ) A Cookie Assembly Line: Efficient Cookie Baking for Busy Cooks ( http://www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com/assembly.php ) A pinch of know-how combined with a dash of preparation can make for successful, easy, and stress-free cookie baking every Christmas! Copyright 2004 Mimi Cummins. All Rights Reserved. Mimi Cummins is co-author of the book "Christmas Cookies Are for Giving: Recipes, Stories, and Tips for Making Heartwarming Gifts." This book, "enthusiastically recommended" by Midwest Book Review, is full of baking tips and hints, including nearly 50 recipes each with a full-color photo. For more information visit http://www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com/ or order from your favorite online bookstore. [Note to webmasters: you may include a link to the book using your affiliate program (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or other) if you wish.]
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Care for Your Cast Iron Skillet (includes recipes) Some of the best meals I've ever eaten were made by my grandmothers in their cast iron skillets. Tender, flaky catfish; finger-lickin' chicken; and mouth watering cornbread were the traditional scrumptious fare. What is Gluten and Why does it Matter? Gluten is a substance made up of the proteins found in wheat flour that gives bread its structure, strength, and texture. Without these marvelous little proteins, bread would not be bread. The Barbecue Pit The barbecue pit has been around since 1920,s and it was used to cook barbecue beef ribs. BBQ ribs had a far more delicious than ribs cooked in the kitchen. Kitchenaid Stand Mixers - A Kitchen Work Horse Kitchenaid stand mixers are very popular in today's kitchens and it is easy to see why. These stand mixers have stood the test of time and have shown themselves to be kitchen work horses. Compact Refrigerators Are Great When Small Is Needed The small refrigerator can be used in many places that a regular size fridge would not be practical. Many places including offices, apartments, student dorms, hotels, motels, and military housing can benefit from using compact refrigerators. How to Make a Cajun Roux The process of preparing Cajun food is in no way hurried and involves a layering of flavors which allows each ingredient to maintain its own identity.The foundation of preparing authentic Cajun dishes like gumbo, sauce piquant and etouffee is the Cajun roux (pronounced 'rue'). 7 Things to Consider when Buying a BBQ BBQ as we all know is an abbreviated form of barbecue or barbeque. The BBQ has assumed so much importance today that you could call it the crown. Why do We Need to Knead? Bread dough needs to be elastic in order to capture the gases created by the yeast, stretch as bubbles form in the dough, expand, and rise. Without that elasticity, bread would not have the open texture we enjoy nor would bread be chewy. Moms Easy Cooking - Fast Meal Ideas For Busy Moms Every busy mom worries about how to prepare fast, nutritious meals for her family. Working moms often find they have very little time for meal planning and preparation. Slimming Secrets From The Kitchen To get the svelte figure, start in the kitchen. Slimming down is about taking in less calories, while you burn more calories through exercise. Microwave Ovens and the Healthfulness of Microwaved Food Microwave ovens do have benefits. They are certainly convenient. Preparing Lobster Tails Lobster, once the food of poor farmers, is now considered a special treat for many. Although some people prefer the meaty claws, I think that lobster tails are the best tasting part of this delicious creature. About Baking: Eight Tips for Perfect Pancakes Pancakes are easy and almost foolproof. But there are some tricks to making them perfect. Grilling Vs. Barbecue Grilling and Barbecuing, two of the most popular cooking methods in the U.S. Seasoning An Oven Untreated cast iron rusts, especially around water. To prevent metal from oxidizing in the presence of moisture, cast iron requires a process called ?seasoning?. How to Grill Most Any Vegetable You Can Think Of! Grilling vegetables is easy. The fact that more people don't do it is the strange thing. Two for One Dinners: Beans If you find leftovers boring, uninviting or downright "yuck," then here are some ideas to put the "zing" back into mealtime. With a little creativity your home-cooked meal can easily become a delicious meal another night. Cooking With Kids--Safely! School's out! And summer is a good time to introduce your child to chores in the kitchen!To help you along, here are some things to remember when cooking, especially with kids. Plus a couple of kid-friendly recipes!1. How to cut a cake Have you ever wondered how to cut a cake? I have had a lot of practice. When I turned 16 and requested a Spider Man sheet cake I busily honed my cake cutting skills by making concentric rectangles and then served up the master piece. Save Money - The Crock Way Saving money - is something we would all like to do. Whether you are struggling to manage day to day or earning a six figure salary, saving is something we all think about.
|
| Mommy Home Jobs | Mommy Matters | index | site map |
| Copyright MommyHomeJobs.com |
