What's New Cookie?

   Cookie baking is synonymous with Christmas. So check out my previous cookie baking blogs (search on this blog Holiday Baking Tips - there's a favorite recipe tucked there too!) and utilize these tips from cookie master Dorie Greenspan found in this month's Better Homes and Gardens. Remember, you pay a lot for your quality ingredients;  maximize your success by reading ahead!

    ~ ALWAYS preheat the oven to required temp then wait 10-15 more minutes. This accommodates for heat loss when you open the door to insert that first tray.

~ Line baking sheets with parchment paper (This is the best tip EVER - makes it all so much easier come cookie removal & cleanup! MP50) or use silicone baking sheets.

~ Properly softened/room temp butter will leave an indent when you press with your finger.

~ Don't cheat on cool down time. A cookie's true texture develops when cool.

~ Freeze scooped, rolled & cutout cookie unbaked! Freeze them on a parchment lined sheet until solid. Then transfer to a baggie or airtight container for up to 2 months. (I did this last night for my chocolate chips & it worked like a charm! See pics below. I will have others too & will bake thawed cookies for those holiday visitors for the freshest cookies ever. Think how amazing the house will smell! Especially beneficial for those cookies that don't hold up as well after a few weeks no matter how airtight your tin or how many slices of bread you throw in said tin to keep them moist! - MP50)

    Finally, Nestle is helping us get imaginative with our Toll House recipe by reinventing the morsel. Last year I used the semi-sweet & the milk chocolate caramel filled morsels. This year they have a trio of dark, milk & white chocolate morsels mixed together in various sizes for interest. Also, slightly under bake those cc's for the chewier texture. Go crazy, Ladies!!!  Most of all, enjoy the baking experience with family & friends. HoHoHo!

Decorate with Mindfulness this Holiday

   How quick the season is upon us & we suddenly realize time is running out and we have to shop, wrap, clean, cook, bake, oh and yeah decorate. (all the while being merry & happy & NOT exhausted). Not an easy time of year for all us Give a Mouse a Cookie women but it can be better. (For starters for every yes you say to something, say a no to something & for heaven's sake just breath)!

   What this blog is about today is to remind you (and myself) to be mindful of those special things that make Christmas amazing for you; the things that bring a warm and fuzzy feeling to your heart. For this blogger it is decorating and especially my live greens decorating & putting up and adorning that fragrant, amazing tree. If nothing else got accomplished - I would have a tree. When my daughter was in Australia for Christmas two years ago - not many decorations made it out of their ten month hiding places, just a few favorites but I most definitely had a tree.

   The lights of course bring your tree to life but it's your ornaments that give it the heart, soul & joy. Mindfully - take the time to reflect on them and carefully give them their special bough. I love the ornaments I have collected from places that have been visited or ornaments that came from a special place or remind me of a special time or person in my life. My friends (of over forty plus years!) and I did an ornament exchange for many years when we were out of college & even some were exchanged before. These are always so precious to unwrap. I even have an ornament I made in the 4th grade; just a simple red ball with my name glued and gold-glittered onto it. What precious times those were with many more to come!

   This year I am starting a new tradition. We will each print out a picture of a 'big dream' destination or wish in words and tuck it among those balsam fir branches. I can't think of a better place for a dream to begin its journey to realization than at Christmastime. This is something that takes thought & mindfulness. Take your time & enjoy your trip down memory lane...

    Alas, I know someday when my daughter has her own tree, all her ornaments (and some family ones too) will graduate to that next tree. Hopefully, I will have done my job right and she will mindfully decorate and reminisce on each and every one too. This is the time of year for ornaments & the most extraordinary memories of dreams, faith, hope & love they bring.