It's December! Time to bake!

Flour? Check. Sugar? Check. Eggs? Check. Butter? The more, the merrier. Check!

I love holiday baking and baking for gift-giving. It's the best time of the year. It's cold outside but the kitchen is warm because the oven is in use A LOT! And the aroma of cookies fills the air all the time. What's not to like?

My goal is for baking time to be productive, satisfying and free of mishaps and "cookie fails." There is a strategy to baking in quantity, over time. It doesn't just happen. So I decided to make a list and share some tips.

 

1. First and foremost: Get organized!  Take stock of ingredients, decorations, tools and baking sheets and make sure you have everything you need. You don't want to be making Lemon Extract Cake and find you have no lemon extract or have your heart set on World Peace Cookies and find you have no cocoa powder.

2. Is your oven used as extra storage space? Can't remember the last time you turned it on -- or when you last purchased baking powder and baking soda? Do yourself a favor: Toss the old and buy new. Baking powder and baking soda are key ingredients that are essential to baking success. And they don't cost very much. So put them on your shopping list.

3. Don't use lack of time as an excuse not to bake. Make efficient use of the time you have. Measure/prep your dry ingredients the night before you plan to bake. Set your butter and eggs out, too, and wake up to perfect room temperature ingredients and get baking.

 

4. Get to know refrigerator cookies. Refrigerator cookies are slice and bake cookies, but a major step up from the storebought variety. The dough is made ahead and usually shaped/rolled into a log or logs. Refrigerator cookies are easy, elegant, convenient and indispensable. Add a couple of them to your repertoire.

 

5. Speaking of chilling: Many cookies are freezer friendly -- so make room for precious cargo in your freezer and bake ahead.

 

6. Christmas is all about traditions, but branch out and try something new, too. New can be a roll of the dice and there is not always time for a test run, so turn to a reliable baking source. One of my favorites is Dorie Greenspan, baking goddess and author of "Baking: From My Home to Yours.'' I like the way she writes her recipes, with precise explanations and descriptions. Example: "The cookies won't look done, nor will they look firm, which is exactly as they should be.'' Descriptions like that help you feel confident in what you're doing.

 

 

7. Make your trickiest, most challenging and/or time-consuming cookie or cookies first. Everything you make after that will seem like a cakewalk.

 

8. Host or get yourself invited to a cookie exchange. You get to hang out with friends, share your cookie creations with an appreciative audience and come home with an array of different cookies to share (or horde). Think of it as a cookie swap -- win-win!

Got a holiday baking tip or tips to share? I'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment in the Comments section, below. Happy Baking!