Every year around this time of year, I pull out my thick, green ring binder. It’s full of lists from Christmases past: menus and recipes, card lists, ideas, letters my children have written. I lug it along with a stack of cookbooks and magazines to a greasy spoon and have a long breakfast all by myself. After I’ve dispensed with my eggs and coffee, I pour through my ring binder, the books, the clippings, and scribble ideas which become menus and lists for the Christmas coming. My Honey Girl, my Sweet Boy, and my Dear Husband all think I’m a bit off balance, of course, but I love planning Christmas: what I’ll bake to share after we go sledding for the first time, when we put up our tree and sit that first night taking in its lights in the dark, when we return from the Holidazzle Parade, or from a sleigh ride, cold and hungry. I plan cookie boxes for our neighbors and friends. And I plan our meals for Christmas and for the weeks surrounding, so that, hopefully, everything will be easy and relaxed and happy. This is my favorite time of year. Soon everything will be blanketed in snow, Christmas carols will be playing, and I’ll be baking for Christmas. If you’d like to bake along with me, this is my schedule for cookies and candy this year, which I’ll box up for presents and deliver. I always make a shopping list for all of the recipes I’ve chosen so that, once the pantry is stocked, I never have to run to the store in the middle of baking. My shopping and supply lists follow. And there are links to resources for hard-to-find items at the bottom of the post. I’ll post recipes and pictures as I go. The lists below supply enough ingredients to make the 16 kinds of cookies and candy for about 30 boxes. Happy baking!
Cookie Baking and Candy Making Plan for Christmas 2010
November 7 Teeny Tiny Spritz Flower Cookies (recipe here)
November 10 Chocolate-dipped Lebkuchen (recipe here)
November 12 Sugar Cookies with Almond Cream Icing and Luster Dust (recipe here)
November 13 Almond Biscotti (recipe here)
November 14 Pffeffernusse with Rum and Orange Liqueur Glaze (recipe here)
November 15 Sables (recipe here)
November 17 Grandma Fladeboe’s Ginger Cookies (recipe here)
November 19 Cream Caramels (recipe here)
November 20 Fudge with Walnuts (recipe here)
November 21 Dark Chocolate Caramels with Smoked Sea Salt (recipe here)
December 7 Tangerine-scented Cranberry Pistachio Tiles (recipe here)
December 8 Rosewater-scented Turkish Delight (recipe here)
December 9 Blueberry Pear Pate de Fruits (recipe here)
December 10 Salted Peanut White Chocolate Lollipops (recipe here)
December 11 Coconut Macaroons (recipe here)
December 17 Krumkake
December 18 Assemble Boxes and Make Deliveries
Shopping List and Pantry List:
**One standard container or package will suffice unless specific quantities are noted.
Supplies:
Waxed paper
Parchment paper
Fluted candy cups
Lollipop molds
Lollipop sticks
Lollipop bags
Ribbon
Shirt or bakery boxes
Stretch bands for boxes
Stickers for boxes
Decorative waxed tissue for boxes
Tins for storing cookies and candy
Gingerbread boy-shaped cookie cutter
Dala horse-shaped cookie cutter
Bell-shaped cookie cutter
Angel-shaped cookie cutter
Candy thermometer
Foodstuff:
27 c. all purpose flour (I prefer King Arthur.)
2 c. almond flour
2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
Cornmeal
39 c. white sugar
Superfine sugar
Brown sugar
3 ½ c. light corn syrup
14 c. butter
3 dozen eggs
Vanilla
Almond extract
Peppermint oil
Raisins
Currants
Dried cranberries
Glace cherries
Prunes
Marron glace
Candied orange peel
Candied lemon peel
Candied angelica
White bread
Baking powder
Baking soda
3 c. unblanched almonds*
50 halved blanched almonds*
2 ½ c. sliced almonds*
½ c. shelled pistachios*
1 c. hazelnuts*
Ground cinnamon
Ground cardamom
Whole nutmeg
Ground cloves
Ground allspice
Ground ginger
Cream of tartar
½ c. honey
1 c. unsulfured molasses
1 ½ c. vegetable shortening
48 oz. Chocolate chips
Red gumdrops
13 oz. Carnation evaporated milk
10 oz. bittersweet chocolate (60% cacao or less)
2 c. liquid pectin
1 # frozen blueberries
1 T. culinary lavender
12 oz. unsweetened finely shredded coconut
6 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
Raspberry preserves
Food coloring
Vodka
Rum
Brandy
48 round German baking wafers (Oblaten) 2 ¾ or 3” in diameter
Sparkling sugar
Pearl sugar
Luster dust in silver and gold
*Purchase fresh nuts and store them in the refrigerator.
Fresh Ingredients:
Fresh suet by November 1 (Ask your butcher for some clean, white suet suitable for consumption.)
1 apple by November 1
1 orange by November 1
1 quart whole milk by November 7
1 quart whole milk by November 12
4 c. heavy cream by November 19
4 c. heavy cream by November 21
1 orange by December 7
1 lemon by December 8
2 # pears by December 9
1 lemon by December 9
1 lemon by December 15
1 c. heavy cream by December 17
Resources:
King Arthur Flour Catalog for flours
Bavarian Sausage Inc. for Oblaten
The Custom Chocolate Shop for lollipop supplies and inexpensive chocolate molds
Williams Sonoma for decorative supplies
Kalustyan’s for hard-to-find ingredients
Storage Tips
Freeze cookies, store fudge in the refrigerator, and store candy in a cool, dry place.
I use tins to store all of the cookies and candy. A 10″ diameter tin will store the entire batch for nearly every recipe, so I have about 25 tins. You will need about 3/4 of a stand-alone or chest freezer to store all of the cookies and candy.
I keep scissors, a pen, waxed paper, a permanent marker, and painters tape together in a drawer for quick storing and labeling.
To line a tin with waxed paper, tear about eight to ten sheets of waxed paper just larger than the diameter of your tin. Place the tin on top of the stack of sheets and press it down firmly. With a pen, trace the tin; you don’t need to transfer ink, just mark it with pressure. Then, holding the stack with one hand, cut the entire stack into circles the size of your tin. Place one in the bottom, add a layer of cookies or candy, another sheet of waxed paper, and another layer of cookies or candy, until the tin is full. Do not overlap cookies or candy within a tin or they may break or be marred.
Postscript: I received a disheartened email from someone who was a bit shocked at the cost of this baking project. So, for budgeting purposes, the total cost is around $400. It is rather expensive, but divided by the 30 cookie and candy boxes it makes, the cost is about $13 per gift. And you’ll have cookies and candy for trays for your home and to bring to gatherings, too.
