Baking Cookies: A Budget-Stretching Gift Idea

CC Note: Ho, ho, ho. Our staff just loves to bake cookies during the holiday season. Ho, ho, ho. Which cookie is your favorite? Send us an email with your recipe!

(NAPSI)-Saving money on holiday gifts can be delicious-especially if you cut costs by baking tasty homemade cookies.

It's easier and less expensive than you might imagine. Baking cookies literally costs pennies, and it's the kind of mouthwatering gift people remember.

For example, a dozen pecan chocolate chip cookies can be made for around one dollar, while refrigerated cookie dough cookies cost almost 50 cents more and a package of bakery chocolate chip cookies can cost around $5.00 per dozen, depending on where you live.

Peanut butter cookies can be baked at home for about 50 cents a dozen and cost as much as chocolate chip ones at the bakery.

Once you have gathered all the ingredients, it probably takes less time to bake up several batches of cookies than you might spend wandering around the mall.

It's a great way to get yourself in the holiday spirit. Just turn on the holiday music, make yourself a cup of cocoa and get in the holiday mood.

Making cookies is a great seasonal activity for the whole family. Even the smallest children can press a cookie cutter or help stir cookie dough.

When the cookies are done, find a clever way to wrap them up.

• Wrap them in colorful tissue paper.

• Give them in holiday tins. You can find new tins in stores or vintage ones at tag sales.

• Arrange them in a basket.

• Decorate a gift box with a collage of images or cutout letters of the person's name.

• Fill a Mason jar and attach a ribbon.

A sweet way to get together with friends and family, create great, inexpensive gifts and have a warmly delightful time at the holidays or throughout the year is by staging a cookie swap.

At a cookie swap, you and each of your guests bake one kind of cookie in quantities sufficient to share. Each guest leaves the party with a dozen of each cookie, ready to give away, share right away or enjoy later.

For cookie recipes, visit www.Dominosugar.com or www.chsugar.com.

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A Makeover for Your Kitchen: Keep Your Ingredients Fresh

CC Note: The holiday season is upon us. While you're baking and singing all your favorite holiday favorites, be sure to follow these tips for keeping your pantry supplies fresh.

As you start to prepare for the holidays, are you afraid to open your cupboard and look for those baking ingredients? Do you wonder if they are OK or should be thrown out? Do these items ever get too old?

If seasonal baking is all you do, those leftover baking ingredients may be less than fresh. Even if you bake throughout the year, staple ingredients should be refreshed periodically.

It’s a good time of year to take stock of your baking stock. Make sure those homemade holiday cookies and cakes look and taste the best they can.

Dry ingredients like flours and spices are safe to use no matter how old they are. But they might not taste or perform as expected forever.

Be sure to always read labels, follow storage information and look at recommended use-by dates for all ingredients.

Remember that:

White flour keeps six to 12 months when stored in an airtight container or freezer bag in a cool, dry place to keep moisture low. Moisture content can affect your recipe.

For storage longer than a year, keep it in the refrigerator or freezer in an airtight container. All-purpose and bread flour will keep up to two years at 40 F in your refrigerator, according to the Wheat Foods Council. It can be stored indefinitely in the freezer.

Allow the flour to come to room temperature before using it.

Whole wheat flour keeps one to three months at room temperature. It becomes rancid if kept at room temperature for too long. For longer storage, put it in an airtight container or freezer bag in the refrigerator or freezer. It will maintain quality six months in the refrigerator and up to 12 months in the freezer.

White granulated sugar keeps indefinitely if properly stored. However, rotate the supply every two years for ease of use and quality. Store it in an airtight container or a heavy moisture-proof plastic bag. To soften hardened sugar, put it in a sturdy food-quality bag and pound it with a hammer. Smash smaller pieces with a mortar and pestle or break in a spice grinder.

Brown sugar keeps maximum freshness for four to six months. It’s important to store it in an airtight container to retain moisture and prevent hardening. Keep it in its original plastic bag, tightly closed, or transfer it to an airtight container or a moisture-proof plastic bag.

To soften brown sugar, heat it in a 250-degree oven for a few minutes. Or, place it in a microwave-safe container and cover loosely with a white, damp paper towel. Microwave on high and check it every 30 seconds.

Baking powder keeps 12 to 18 months and should be stored tightly covered in a dry place. Discard baking powder after its expiration date.

Make sure to use dry utensils to dip baking powder or soda. To test baking powder for freshness, mix one teaspoon baking powder with one-third cup of hot water. If it foams vigorously, it still has rising power.

Baking soda keeps 12 to 18 months and should be stored tightly covered in a dry place. Discard baking soda after its expiration date. To test its freshness, place one and a half teaspoons in a small bowl with one tablespoon of vinegar. If it fizzes, it will still leaven food. If it doesn't, use it in the fridge to catch odors.

Herbs and ground spices keep up to one year. Whole spices keep up to two years. Store them in a tightly covered container in a dark place. Air, light, moisture and heat speed their flavor and color loss. If you use a spice rack, place it away from light, heat and moisture.

Avoid storing above or near the stove, dishwasher, microwave, refrigerator, sink or heating vent. Use a dry spoon to handle spices or herbs. Don’t sprinkle them directly from the container into a steaming pot.

To check the potency of a ground spice, smell it. If its aroma is immediate, strong and spicy, it should still add flavor to your foods.

To test herbs, crush a small amount in your hand and smell it. If the aroma is still fresh and pleasant, it can still flavor foods. If there's no smell or an off smell, toss it.

Following these tips should help your holiday baked goods taste as fresh as possible. If you don’t check your supplies before the holidays, make a resolution to do it early next year.

By Elizabeth Andress
University of Georgia

Elizabeth L. Andress is a University of Georgia Cooperative Extension food safety specialist with the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

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Get More Than Dough In Baking Competition

(NAPSI)-Dust off your recipe box and put on your thinking apron: America's oldest flour company is bringing a new baking competition for home bakers to the nation.

The National Festival of Breads, sponsored by King Arthur Flour and Kansas Wheat, is a celebration of "the staff of life," a tribute to the age-old tradition of home baking and to the role bread plays in a healthy lifestyle.

Any home baker age 18 or older with an original yeasted bread recipe can enter the contest. Contest categories include Ethnic Breads, Rolls, Time-Saving and Easy Breads, and Whole Grain Breads.

Eight finalists will bake their recipes for judges at the National Festival of Breads competition in Wichita, Kan., in June 2009. One lucky home baker will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to King Arthur Flour's Baking Education Center in Norwich, Vt.

For contest rules and entry form, visit kingarthurflour.com/ events. Here's an idea for an easy bread that requires no kneading:

No-Fuss Focaccia

1½ cups (12 ounces) warm water

1 tablespoon instant yeast or 4 teaspoons (2 packets) active dry yeast, stirred into the water

3 tablespoons (1¼ ounces) olive oil (plus additional for drizzling)

1¼ teaspoons salt

3¼ cups (13¾ ounces) King Arthur's Unbleached Bread Flour

Italian seasoning or dried herbs of your choice, for topping

1) Lightly grease a 9" x 2" deep round or a 9" x 13" rectangular pan. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom and tilt pan to spread.

2) Combine all of the ingredients (except the topping) in the order given. Beat at high speed with an electric mixer for 60 seconds.

3) Scoop the sticky batter into the prepared pan, cover the pan with a towel and let it rise at room temperature for 60 minutes (for instant yeast) to 90 minutes (for active dry yeast), until it becomes puffy.

4) Preheat the oven to 375° F.

5) Drizzle dough lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with Italian seasoning and/or the dried herbs of your choice, if desired.

6) Bake the bread until it's golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes.

7) Remove it from the oven, wait 5 minutes, then turn it out of the pan onto a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 1 loaf.

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