The past few years I dived into holiday baking. I’ve found that a small tin of goodies makes excellent gifts for coworkers without breaking the bank. They also appreciate random baked treats individually packaged that they can grab and take home. However, deciding what to make has always been difficult, I want to try everything! To help you organize your last minute holiday baking and make a plan for next year here are some tips.
- Decide how many items you can actually make. Are you planning on making some every day or do you want to get it all done in one day? Will you have help?
- Determine a theme for the baking. When looking at recipes it can get overwhelming fast, especially on Pinterest. Deciding to only make candy or focus on gingerbread flavors will help narrow the search (along with your ingredient list).
- Stock up on the basics. Make sure you have plenty of flour, sugar, flavorings, etc. before diving into baking. There’s nothing worse than starting the next batch of dough while cookies are in the oven and running out of flour.
- Set a budget. Some recipes call for expensive ingredients or things that you will only use in that recipe. Setting a budget can help you avoid extra expenses on ingredients.
- Make sure to grab plenty of containers or treat bags to share goodies with friends, neighbors, and coworkers.
This year I focused on cookies because there were so many recipes I wanted to try last year and some that have become my favorites that I wanted to make again. I typically choose recipes from Taste of Home and get ideas on Pinterest. Though before they make the cut I make sure that I don’t need extra utensils (like a press for spritz cookies) and that they don’t have ingredients that are difficult to find. I have been saving quite the collection of fudge recipes so that might just have to be the theme for next year 🙂
The Frugal Steward 