Things bakers know: Pepper can punch up your sweets
This common pantry ingredient can be a “secret weapon” in desserts.
There’s nothing I love more than learning some simple trick that makes a task easier.
I have always made my dough for butter cookies, gingerbread, and other cut-out cookies well in advance of holiday baking, tightly wrapping the disks of dough in plastic wrap and stashing them in the freezer until I was ready to bake and decorate.
And while do-ahead is a great practice for busy bakers, I never remembered to pull those rock-hard dough blocks from the freezer far enough in advance that they’d have time to thaw properly. Many were the years that I found myself pounding on a semi-frozen brick of gingerbread dough with a rolling pin, my impatient children looking on.
And then, of course, there’s the other problem: If you’re trying to make nice, clean cut-out cookies (using your favorite holiday cookie cutters, of course), the temperature of the dough matters. By the time it’s soft enough to roll easily, it’s often so sticky that when you attempt to lift a gingerbread person off the work surface it loses a limb.
So here’s the trick I recently learned: Right after you’ve mixed up your batch of butter cookie or gingerbread dough (or these chocolate cut-outs, eggnog cookies, or spice cookies), immediately plunk it onto a sheet of parchment paper. (If you have a large quantity of dough, divide it between a few sheets of parchment.) Top with a second sheet of parchment, then roll the dough to the specified thickness. (This special rolling pin can help get it even.) Pull off the top sheet of parchment, then slide the sheet of dough onto a baking sheet, then pop it in the freezer. (You can stack as many sheets of dough onto one baking sheet as you’d like.)
If you plan to store it for only a few hours or days, there’s no need to overwrap the baking sheet; for longer storage, wrap the entire baking sheet tightly with plastic wrap before freezing. The dough can hang out in the freezer for weeks; when you’re ready to bake your cookies, remove as many sheets of dough from the freezer as you’d like, let the dough stand at room temperature for five minutes, then use your favorite cutters to stamp out cookies; they’ll be easy to cut, will hold their shape, and won’t stick. Plus, your well-chilled cookies are less likely to spread in the oven while they bake. It’s a (minor) holiday miracle.
Ready to decorate your cookies? Learn our favorite decorating techniques.
Cover photograph (Gingerbread Cookies) by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne
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December 26, 2023 at 9:51am
First of all, I’m not a professional. Cookies made are for family and friends to eat.
I found a dough recipe that uses softened cream cheese as well as butter and for some reason that seems to do the trick for me. The cut outs hold their shape nicely and while they swell a little, they don’t hardly spread. Game changer
December 31, 2023 at 11:34am
In reply to First of all, I’m not a… by Andrea (not verified)
It could be due to the lower fat content of the cream cheese, Andrea. Thanks for the great tip, we'll have to try it out asap!
December 24, 2023 at 3:07pm
I buy food storage bags that measure 11 x 12.5. When the dough has come together you can roll it out with your magic rolling pin that has discs at the end to your desired thickness. Yes, then freeze it, vacuum wrap it if this is a month away. It will thaw fast and the regular shape helps efficient dough use for cut out cookies or checkerboards.
December 24, 2023 at 11:19am
Oh, my gosh, what a good idea! In all those decades of someone frantically rolling and cutting for our annual family cookie painting party, why have I never thought of freezing? This is a game-changer.
December 22, 2023 at 3:04pm
This tip is a game changer for me! I finally decided to make a star cookie Christmas tree and having the dough pre-rolled made it so easy to cut out all the stars quickly and efficiently. Thanks for the idea. I’m definitely going to be doing this again.
December 18, 2023 at 4:39pm
I'm not sure if my tip is already implied or not so here's my tip: after cutting out the shapes, just remove excess dough then slip the parchment & cutout cookies onto a baking tray. This way you are not disturbing the cutouts, and you completey eliminate the broken or stretched out cookie problem.
December 17, 2023 at 3:27pm
I have tried this but have a few issues. First, the bottom parchment rolls all over the counter as I am trying to roll. So I can't roll consistently. The top sheet makes it difficult to see how thin and consistent I am getting. I'm tempted instead to still roll on the counter, or maybe tape the parchment to the counter and use no parchment on top for rolling?
December 22, 2023 at 1:32pm
In reply to I have tried this but have a… by Katie (not verified)
Hi Katie, taping or weighing down the lower piece of parchment sounds like a good idea, but the parchment on top may be necessary when the dough is soft like this, since it will be more likely to stick to your rolling pin.
December 15, 2023 at 6:10pm
Good tip! Wondering if I could roll up the dough on the parchment to make wrapping for freezer easier and more secure? I find wrapping larger try size dicey with freezer burn.
December 17, 2023 at 10:38am
In reply to Good tip! Wondering if I… by Jean (not verified)
If you are having trouble with freezer burn, Jean, I would just be sure to double wrap with plastic on the outside of the parchment as well! Happy baking!
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