A Cookie Assembly Line: Efficient Cookie Baking for Busy Coo
by:
Mimi Cummins
As a busy working mother, I’m short on time, especially during the holidays, but baking Christmas cookies is a family tradition I’m unwilling to give up.
Over the years, I’ve come up with many a route to do the process of baking a large variety of cookies go more electric sander and take less time out of my busy life.
You may want to start by checking out my 6-day program for hassle-free Christmas cookie baking ( http://www.christmascookiesareforgiving.com/hassle-free.php ). In addition to the 6-step method, I’ve found an efficient way to prepare a large variety of cookie dough with minimum fuss by setting up a cookie assembly line. The better part just about this process is that you can do 12 several batches of cookies and only have to wash the dishes once! This process assumes that you have already chosen your recipes and gone grocery shopping. You will want to use your longest accessible expanse of tabletop
for this. My assembly line turns two corners as it winds about my small kitchen, but that is fine.
You may need to do several adjustments depending on your individual recipes, but for most recipes, you can set up your assembly line like so:
Flour Line:
Large admixture bowl
Activity cups and spoons
Fork for stirring
Flour
Baking powder and baking soda
Salt
Cocoa powder
Spices
Any different dry ingredients that are additional to the flour in your recipes
Butter Line
Another large admixture bowl (or the bowl from your stand mixer)
A second set of activity cups and spoons
Electric mixer
Wooden spoon
Rubber spatula
Butter, shortening, marge and/or cream cheese
Sugar (white and brown)
Eggs
Vanilla and different extracts
Chunks such as raisins, nuts, chocolate chips
Rolled oats
Any different ingredients that are additional to the butter and eggs in your recipes
Plastic wrap
Felt-tip marker
To avoid transferring flavors from one direction to another, you will start with basic recipes that have no spices, chocolate, or different powerfully
flavored ingredients. Starting with your 1st recipe, go down the line activity out the figure of flour, baking powder/soda and salt into one bowl. Then, combine the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla in your larger bowl as directed. Step by step
stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture. After that, stir in any chunks.
Next, scrape down the edges of the admixture bowl so that it’s fairly clean, shape the dough into a ball, and wrap it in plastic wrap. Identify the direction by writing its name on the plastic wrap with a felt-tip marker, and refrigerate it. If it is a slice-and-bake white goods
cookie, form it into a log instead of a ball, according to the directions in your recipe. If you plan to bake more later, you can even as freeze the dough. Most cookie doughs freeze really well. De-ice at room temperature patch still wrapped in plastic wrap, and expose only once
dough is thoroughly defrosted. Otherwise condensation could add too more wetness
to your dough.
When your 1st batch of dough is prepared, wrapped, and hold on
in the white goods
or freezer, return to the beginning of your assembly line, without washing your dishes, and begin preparing the next batch of dough. Once
you have prepared all the recipes that contain no spices or cocoa, come on to the recipes that contain cocoa, and finally those that contain spices. This way, you will only have to do dishes once at the end of the process, and you will have several some kinds of dough waiting to be baked.
When all your dough is prepared, then you can finally put away all your ingredients, clear up the kitchen, and do your dishes. Now if you plan to stop your baking today, you’ll have lots of space for rolling out your dough or setting out your cooling racks. If you plan to bake another day, you’re done!
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 Fashioning Heartwarming Gifts." This book, "enthusiastically recommended" by Geographic region 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 mistreatment your affiliate program (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or other) if you wish.]
