We make thousands of cookies every year, starting the first week in December. We usually start by spending a week making all the dough's and fillings, wrapping them in plastic, marking them, and filling the refrigerator. The following week, we do nothing but bake!
We have this down to a science, now! We start shopping for the tons of butter, flour, sugar, and nuts, etc., a few weeks in advance. We have reams of parchment paper cut to fit the cookie sheets, air-tight plastic bins to hold the finished cookies, rolls of cellophane...
The Christmas music gets put on the computer, the double ovens get fired up, and we're off! It's a lot of work, but it's also a lot of fun. And we really love those "You really MADE all these cookies?" comments...
We've given the basic quantities here. We double and triple the recipes, and ofttimes make numerous double batches, depending on how many we feel like making in any given year.
So grab a pencil and start planning this year's treats!
A few basics:
SIFT YOUR FLOUR!! This is probably the most important - and most often ignored - step in baking. Almost all recipes require. They will state unsifted, otherwise.
Buy some parchment paper. This really is the easiest way to bake cookies. AND you don't have to keep washing pans between batches.
Get your ingredients together before you start. It's amazing how quickly and easily the recipes come together when everything is right at your fingertips.
Most of all - HAVE FUN! This isn't supposed to be a chore.