The Best Christmas Cookie Ever

There is perhaps no more loved bakery item to have at Christmas than a home baked cookie. Yet any search for cookie recipes will literally turn up hundreds of recipes and sometimes this is for just one type of cookie! This is often confusing and overwhelming for the home baker who wants to have Christmas cookies available for their family and friends. But there are tips to help narrow the search in the decision of what are the best cookies to make for Christmas. Before you begin your recipe search, ask yourself the following questions:

1.Is the cookie I am making going to be shipped? Not all cookies ship well. It is important to choose a cookie that can hold up well to traveling and possibly changing temperatures. Bar cookies of almost every variety, brownies and heavier chip cookies (chocolate, butterscotch etc) tend to do better in shipping than the more fragile and delicate cookies.

2.Do I need to make my cookie dough ahead of the holiday rush? Some cookie dough freezes better than others. If your chosen cookie has a lot of butter and is a drop or sliced cookie than the dough should be fine to freeze and thaw out later when you want to bake and decorate the cookies. Sugar cookie dough also freezes extremely well and can be thawed and cut out at a later date. Avoid freezing delicate dough or batter that includes fruit, coconut, or lots of extract since these items do not freeze and thaw well for baking.

3.Are my cookies going to be gifts? If you are baking cookies that are going to be gifts consider a few factors: is this cookie something the gift recipient will love and do they have any dietary restrictions? Will this cookie present well? What am I going to give this cookie in? There is a huge selection of tins, bags and boxes that can be used to give a gift of cookies; just make sure that your cookie will sit well in them and not end up as a gift of delicious crumbs.