The Christmas holidays are in full swing and so are the work, family and friend gatherings. My cookie sheets, cake pans and decorating accessories are getting a lot of use this past week as I’m in full cookie bake mode. It’s truly time for Christmas treats.
Some of my favourite cookies to bake this time of year are sugar cookies and gingerbread people. It’s a great way to spend time with the kids too. I’ve never met a kid who doesn’t like decorating their own cookies to eat.
There are some must have baking and decorating accessories perfect for all your holiday baking and having the right tools makes baking and decorating a breeze.
Sugar cookies are a Christmas staple in my house, but they can be time consuming since you have to make the dough, chill it, roll it out and cut out the shapes. Then comes the baking and waiting to cool before you ice which is hard to do when you have kids because they’re just waiting to decorate and eat them.
With this Wilton Holiday Cookie Pan you can simply press your dough into one of the 6 holiday designs and bake. Then you can simple use the cookie design to decorate.
The act of rolling out the cookie dough and cutting out shapes can be therapeutic, and I also love picking out festive cookie cutters and then decorating the cookies however I choose after they are baked. These Wilton Festive Cookie Cutters are perfect for the holiday season. After you’ve baked them you can decorate them with your icing and colours of choice.
To make the perfect sugar cookies, check out this recipe from foodnetwork.com.
Sugar Cookies must be among your Christmas treats
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
- Beat the superfine sugar and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes; beat in the egg, then the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix on medium-low speed until completely incorporated. Divide the dough in half, pat into 2 discs about 1/4 inch thick, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. - Let the dough sit at room temperature for a few minutes to make rolling easier. Roll out 1 disc of dough at a time between 2 pieces of parchment paper until 1/8 inch thick. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and arrange about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake until the cookies are golden brown on the bottom, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
Icing gel colours
I am a huge fan of the concentrated gel colours for icing. The colours you get from a gel are much richer than the watery food colouring, and they won’t change the taste of whatever you’re colouring either.
This Wilton Icing Colour Kit has their 8 most popular colours all in one kit, and is a great starting point for your colour collection. It contains the most popular and basic colours you would need for doing any kind of baking.
Icing bag holder
Now that you have your cookies baked and the icing made, it’s time to start the decorating process. Usually I fill my icing bags and just lay them on the counter when I’m not using them or when I switch between colours, but this usually ends in a fair amount of icing leaking on the counter top.
This Wilton Icing Bag and Flower Holder would definitely come in handy and it also is a holder for any flower decorations you want to make or dye.
Snowflake pan
Cakes are another holiday treat that are easy to make, and to make them more festive you can bake them into a fun holiday shape like a snowflake.
This Wilton Snowflake Tube Pan will make any cake look festive and would look inviting and delicious either sprinkled with icing sugar for a snow like effect, drizzle on a glaze or put your piping skills to use and make the whole cake look like a giant snowflake.
Cupcake decorating
Cupcakes are a great treat to take with you when you go visiting. They’re always welcome and they’re easy to eat.
With this Wilton Cupcake Decorating Kit, you don’t have to be a pro cupcake decorator or piping master. Simply ice your cupcakes that have been baked in the “chimney” baking cups, ice with white icing, decorate with snow sprinkles and stick Santa in upside down and you’re done. These will be perfect when you’re on a tight timeline.
With all of these amazing baking accessories you’ll have everything you need to get through your holiday baking this season and even have fun while you do it.
Find these helpful baking accessories for your Christmas treats at bestbuy.ca.
Main image @ www.foodnetwork.com.
