Cookiefest

A shirt box, on average, holds 2-3 dozen cookies. A half-sheet cake box holds about 10 dozen, depending on how many layers you want. The full sheet boxes I consider to be an infinite black hole.

I keep an eye out for decorated shirt boxes and small tins at the dollar stores in the area. By the time that the "Fest" approaches I have enough for all of the childless couples. This is a good size for the faceless people (paper person, mail person, ups guy) who I want to thank in a simple manner.

For the families I get half-sheet boxes at the local party goods store or blanket boxes. I take to work full sheet size double corrugated boxes or the disposable roaster pans with handles.

I also have spare cardboard around to reinforce the bottom on the shirt and blanket boxes. It's amazing how dense a cookie truly is.

By the day of reckoning all of the boxes are in my dining room on a chair. I never fill a box before the end of the baking.

You may have noticed no mention to cookie cutters or elaborate frosting anywhere on this site. The original Cookie Lady (Mrs. Claire Henn, of Maple Heights, Ohio) always prided herself on variety of taste. I find that the sugar cookies take too long with too few yields.

No project in my life can manage to be finished sans a computer and this for 'Cookiefest' I wouldn't even want to try.

My electronic cookbook of choice is Food For Thoughts wonderful Now You're Cooking. I have scoured the Internet with the help of this program and have a database of over 15,000 cookie recipes. From databases on other topics I have done countless searches for friends trying to recapture food memories. But that is just the flash of the program.

The real power comes from the recipe printing and shopping list capabilities. To start the fun each 'method' category is printed with each recipe on its own page. After each "Cookiefest" I can print out any recipe on Avery laser index cards for whoever asks. I also try to keep track of how many cookies were actually made. Sometimes I put it into the program and sometimes not.

Taking 40 recipes and coming up with a single shopping list is priceless. As long as I'm careful to enter the new recipes with uniform ingredients the program combines the amounts and spits out wonderful reports.

I even exported all of the recipes on this site from this program into generic text files. Then they were cut and pasted onto web pages. Would I have the time to have done all of this by hand? Please!

I have started to make my own jam now that I have raspberry, blueberry, gooseberry, and strawberry plants of my own. I usually end up giving away jars to those who like the jam cookies. Those who return the jars get refills. Those who don't get embarrassed when the next year rolls around and they realize I am the person who gave them the jar and dig it out and bring it back. Then they get their refill and I get rid of more jelly. A true win-win situation.

I don't use real eggs. I get the egg substitute stuff and happily measure out 1/4 cup per. No shells, no mess. Yes, some recipes call for yolks only. I get a dozen for those and still have poached eggs to spare.

On the other hand, I always use real unsalted butter. Up until two years ago I swore by butter flavored Crisco until I realized that is why so many of the cookies were flat! Now my cookies look like cookies.

The only flour I use is King Arthur Flour. Not just because I love their store in Vermont. They're catalog is where I get all of the 'little extras' that I add to spice up my favorite cookies. You'll see no mention of lemon chips or cherry chips (look like mini-chocolate chips) on this site, but I sneak them in here and there because King Arthur has them. This is where I get my 'cookie vanilla.' Extra strong to last through the perils of baking. If you are looking for European or exotic grains and ingredients there is no better source.

This year I have added American Spoon Foods to my family of catalogs. They have spread able and dried fruit. I am waiting on my first order of sour cherries now and will add my thoughts as soon as the chocolate cherry biscotti cool the day they arrive.

I always chop my own nuts if I can find them in bulk. If not then I buy ground. Even the miniature pecan muffins go better without whole nuts.

I have a fresh can of nonstick spray every year and a fresh box of parchment paper. My Air-Bake cookie sheet last two years, but I keep a small spare in case the coating decides to give out in the middle a batch. Thankfully Wal-Mart is open 24 hours here the whole month so replacements are always at hand.

I'm not going to suggest that a baking orgy is for everyone. If you want to dazzle your friends and silence your family with what looks to be an overwhelming plethora of cookies (when you have expended a dearth of effort) then organization is your key.

For my recipe stand I take over the entire refrigerator. Each recipe organized by method on the front until the dough is made. Then it is moved to the side and sorted by baking temperature. Anyone who is brave enough to visit during this time has learned that the key to what is planned for the day is the top of each pile on the front.

For my work area I clear off the kitchen table and all of the counters. Then put all of the ingredients that do not need refrigeration on the table. Those in the refrigerator (eggs, cream cheese, dates, butter) have their own shelf. One bin and one shelf in the freezer is emptied for dough and leftover ingredients (coconut, chips, brickle, nuts).

On the counter I arrange all of the mixing and storage bowls, line up the cooling racks and lay out the cookie sheets. Once the first batch is baking everything is in constant motion anyway. This just gives me a chance to make sure nothing is dusty from last year.

For my storage area I close all of the registers in my dining room and clear off the table. December New England: the world is your icebox. Before even the first batch is mixed I take out all of the Tupperware I can find (for the first ones done), several china plates (for the stragglers) and place them on the table. Nothing is more maddening then running out of cooling rack space and not having a clue where to put the last batch!

As far as the actual assembly line it's a pretty shaped up ship. I have enough metal mixing cups to have a set just for flour and one for everything else. I cherish my 3/4 & 1.5 cup measurers the most. I have a couple 'mixing flasks' for my liquids. One for just milk and one for 'other.' The metal mixing spoons I rinse after each recipe and keep on a plate on the stove when they are clean. I have a couple of the sliding spoons for honey and molasses and they sit on their own plates out of harms way

I have a double sink so there is always hot soapy water and nothing goes without washing from batch to batch. No one believes that I only use two hand mixing bowls and two for the stand mixer. The rest are for dough storage, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I start approximately three weeks before I want the cookies finished. Your speed limit may vary. The no-bake cookies all take time to 'cure.' From the Nila Wafer to the Rice Crispie each takes time to flavor and harden. I make them first and store them in the airtight containers in my dining room.

Biscotti come next. I make one in the morning before work and one at night. They can store in plastic bags for up to a year if they have no fruit or chocolate chips. Not that I stored them for that long on purpose, but accidents happen :-)!

On to the freezer batches. I make the dough, wrap them in waxed paper and store them for the day of baking. I usually do 2-3 a day. They are also a nice diversion while the biscotti are baking, but only if the laundry is done.

I also make the hand-made ones early. I leave the dough in small mixing bowls (I have about 15 of those) covered in refrigerator. Forgetting to mark them can make the day of cooking a challenge, but I try to avoid challenges like that!

Cookie boxes are first lined with waxed paper. Then make cardboard row dividers and wrap those in waxed paper. For the large workboxes I manage three layers with six rows.

I like to stack the cookies so that they are form piles of like-kinds. For some of the families with teenagers I'll put their favorites on the bottom and tell their parents just so they can enjoy the fun!

For shipping I line the tin with saran wrap before the cookies are placed and then cover with more saran wrap. Then it's off to the microwave for a fresh batch of butter-free popcorn. Nothing cushions better. Besides, the birds like it too! This is the first year that I will bee sending book club members cookies. Check back here for tips on shipping to Sweden and Australia.

When the baking is done I start with the small tins and boxes first. Never more then four of each kind of cookie per box. For those that like biscotti I put them in a freezer Zip-Lock bag since they are too large and crumbly for such tight quarters.

Then for the family boxes I put 6-10 of each type in the main box and pack a side box of biscotti. For the fussy people I mark on the top of the box where the nut-free, coconut-free, or raisin-free cookies are.

The workboxes come last. They get EVERYTHING that is left. I've never had a problem coming up with two 20-pound boxes. One each for Days and Swing with Grave getting the dregs.