Bake Your Own Cookies

My favorite is the sugar cookie, but I know many people will prefer the chocolate chip cookie.  In fact, if you really like all chocolate cookies, those are also possible.  Soft cookies or hard cookies are there waiting to be baked, and you allow your preference guide you.  Seasonally, you might select gingerbread cookies or pumpkin cookies. 

Other selections include drop cookies for a thicker cookie that can fill your mouth. Or, do you prefer international cookies to celebrate your heritage. Cookie recipes from many corners of the world can be found and the cookies baked right in your own kitchen.  

You also control what you will place on top of your cookies.  It could be icing, sprinkles, or nothing at all. 

Look here for an enormous group of cookie recipes grouped by type.

Make your cookies devoid of such chemicals as are normally used in store bought cookies to extend the shelf life.  You know they are fresh and will soon disappear, because you baked delicious cookies to be enjoyed.  In fact, they might not even get a chance to cool down, and store bought cookies are never warm when you get them out of the package.

Get the children into helping with the baking.  It teaches them a useful skill, often they enjoy the process, and it is a great way to help binding with the children.  Children love to be creative, and will enjoy the process and the end result.  

Get some nice cookie cutters and make some interesting shapes.  The shapes can even be seasonal, especially for holidays.  Christmas cookies can be your favorite cookies cut into Christmas shapes, or Thanksgiving cookies can be shaped with Thanksgiving images.  Just imagine what you can do for Halloween.  What shape your cookies take depends on your choice of cookie cutters, most of which are rather inexpensive.

As the temperature drops outside think of the warmth of an oven baking cookies inside, and the aroma coming from that oven.  Your entire home will be warmed both physically with the added heat and from inside anyone who gets a whiff of your cookies baking.  And, when the baking is over the aroma lingers, beckoning anyone who smells it to head to the freshly baked cookies.  What a nice way to spend a cold, winter day with the family gathering to share the cookies.

One drawback is home baked cookies do not come in packages.  Storage is not just reclosing a bag.  But, if you have nice cookie jars, some for everyday use and some for holidays, not only will you solve the storage problem, but you will add decorative pieces to your home.  Whether the cookie jar is a permanent kitchen feature, or a centerpiece for the holiday table, it can brighten the room and the mood.

Many people give holiday gifts to neighbors and friends in the form of homemade cookies.  Cookies are difficult to wrap, but if you place them in a cookie jar, and give the cookie jar filled with your special cookies, you can really make someone happy.  And isn’t that why you have chosen to give that person a gift?

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