Thursday, December 17, 2009

Christmas Countdown: Last Minute Baking

Wrapping and Baking Week

This is the week I attempt to do a little baking. Serious Holiday bakers might have tons of cookies frozen and ready to go by now. I'm not one of those serious holiday bakers; I have to be in the mood to be in the kitchen by choice. So, I thought I would share my easy Holiday baking plan with you and provide some links to some great ideas. Please share your ideas and links, too!

Paula's Super Easy Holiday Baking Plan

  1. Pick 1-3 favorite recipes

  2. Determine a shopping list, if needed. I tend to choose recipes that use items I have on-hand already.

  3. Pick the date(s) to bake.

  4. Know your limits. I can handle doing one recipe at a time if the kids are helping and perhaps 2 if by chance I am doing it alone.

  5. Be realistic! If there is a lot going on and the stress level is high, skip the baking. Focus on the stuff that is important. Chances are, there will be plenty of time during the kids' winter break when you'll be looking for something to do to pass the time.

  6. Plan ahead and pre-measure. If you have a small window of time, get some of the prep work out of the way.

  7. Bake and share! Wrap your goodies in a creative way and share with friends and family.

  8. Clean up! If I'm lucky, my husband will do the baking with the kids and I'll take the pictures and do the clean-up. Get the family involved and use your strengths.

Great Holiday Baking Ideas and Tips

Hassle-Free Holiday Baking: 6 Easy Days to Perfect Christmas Cookies

Hershey's Kitchen Baking Hints and Tips, including:

Holiday Cookie Exchange Checklist

Check out more Countdown to Christmas organizing tips and ideas.

1 comment:

Helene said...

These are great tips! I tend to get overwhelmed easily when baking because I want to do it all and I simply can't, esp with the kids running around and getting under my feet!

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