making Christmas cookies early

[Tiggeroo]

I want to start making my cookies this weekend. If you do this how do you handle it? Do you make the dough and freeze it or make the cookies and freeze them. Can all cookies handle this? Will they taste the same and have the same texture? I want to make biscotti and I'm pretty sure this freezes well. Post your good recipes.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

My mom makes 15 - 18 different types of cookies starting about a week after Thanksgiving. She freezes all of her cookies after they are made, there are none that she makes that cannot be frozen.

 

[Janepod]

I made some dough and froze it, but basically I just have the 20th and 21st blocked out for nonstop baking. I never bake cookies and then freeze them; I don't think they taste as good.

Have fun! What are you making?

 

[Ennazus8810]

All depends on the cookie. My Mom and I start baking next week, and will end up with 10-15 different kinds, about 80 dozen total. We freeze some, and just refrigerate others. Buckeye's, and fudge don't tend to freeze well for us. Clothespin, sugar, m&m, chocolate chips, shortbread, pecan tarts, all freeze well.

 

[luvdamouse91]

I find if you use butter rather than stick margarine, the cookies keep better in the freezer.

 

[NAB]

I will start my baking next Monday and bake all week and probably into the following week. I do not freeze any of my cookies just have them in air tight plastic containers. Then take most of them to my moms for Christmas eve. They still last until New Years or so.

I make like twelve kinds of cookies. And I only use margrine for my cookies. Butter is too expensive. No one has complained or gotten sick . I do have three that are strictly refridgeator only and they stay in the fridge in the same plastic containers.

 

[ChristmasElf]

Butter at thhis time of year is almost always on sale.
There is a HUGE difference in taste if you use butter.

 

[BreeBree]

I bake on and off throughout the month because I don't see all of the people I give cookies/cakes to around the same few days. I generally make big batches of regular cookies (chocolate chip, sugar) and freeze the dough, and then the day of or the day before, I bake them. For specialty cookies, I make them each time, I just think they taste better. I have found that using organic ingredients has made my cookies absolutely delicious. For some reason it makes a difference!

 

[cornflake]

Mostly I freeze dough, but depends on the dough. What're you making?

I've never frozen biscotti dough or biscotti though. I just make those ahead (though not this far ahead) as, well, they're biscotti, heh. I also usually do some in minted chocolate so have those done ahead, then coat less ahead so they don't get scuffed.

 

[lilsk8nmac]

My mother is old school Italian and has baked for Christmas starting the end of Oct/Beginning of November every year my whole life. She makes at least 20 or so types of italian cookies and pastries and such and then freezes them. They don't come out until Christmas Eve. By the time we get through eating all of them it's like March bc she will refreeze some of them to keep them fresh. You should be fine, with Biscotti and such.
Have fun!

 

[donac]

I have frozen the dough in the past and then baked it closer to Christmas.

I love the taste of butter but my nephew is allergic to dairy so it it and unsalted margarine for us.