Baking this massive number of cookies on the same day takes a lot of planning. So, this post is about baking cookies more efficiently without spending extra money on overbuying ingredients and reducing the time it takes to make them. I hope these holiday cookie-baking tips help first-time cookie-bakers and anyone who wants to bake lots of cookies all at once. Let's begin.
Jump to:
- Key Takeaways
- Our story
- What ingredients do you need to track?
- Decide what cookies you want to make.
- Decide on the number of recipes to make
- Go through each recipe and add all the ingredients and how much is needed.
- Now, go shopping for ingredients.
- Schedule the Cookie Baking Tradition
- Organize the ingredients and measure out what you need.
- Decide on the recipes to do first, second, and third
- Start baking one recipe at a time.
- FAQ: How to Organize Your Holiday Cookie Baking Tradition
Key Takeaways
- Plan ahead for holiday cookie baking by tracking ingredients and making a Master Holiday Cookies Shopping List.
- Select your cookie recipes early and incorporate a mix of traditional and new ones each year.
- Organize your ingredients and baking tools (affiliate) for efficient cookie preparation on the baking day.
- Schedule the baking weekend carefully to accommodate everyone involved and maximize time.
- Bake one recipe at a time, starting with those that require refrigeration to streamline the process.
Our story
Last weekend, we spent almost the entire weekend baking...cookies. Yes, cookies. We like to give them out as holiday gifts to family and friends. Our kids' friends and teachers love them, too. We usually do about six to eight different types of cookies each year. These many different types of cookies are just right for us to place a variety in every container and platter (affiliate) we set up for this busy holiday season. We have been making cookies each year since my husband and I got married almost 25 years ago. Wow, it has been a long time. Feel free to visit our Cookie Recipes; you can make them for your future cookie swap events.
What ingredients do you need to track?
Many ingredients are similar in cookie recipes. Below are the ones I found I could easily track on my cooking ingredient master grocery list.
Dried Ingredients
Below is the list of dry ingredients, which are usually mixed together separately from the wet ingredients. If the recipe recommends a smoother cookie, they may also be sifted.
- Flour - Gluten Free, All-purpose
- Sugar - White
- Brown Sugar (affiliate)
- Confectioner Sugar
- Salt (affiliate) - Iodized or Kosher
- Baking Soda
- Cream of Tartar
- Cocoa
- Ground Cinnamon (affiliate)
- Ground Cloves
- Ground Ginger
- Whole Nutmeg
- Instant Espresso powder
Wet Ingredients
Below is a list of the wet ingredients that are usually mixed and beaten first before adding the dry ingredients.
- Eggs
- Butter
- Margaine
- Shortening
- Milk
- Vanilla
- Almond Extract
- Heavy Cream
- Cream Cheese
- Molasses
Add-on Ingredients
Everything else your recipe calls for is the add-on ingredients. Below is a list of the possible options.
- Chocolate morsels
- Nuts - pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts, almonds
- Peanut butter morsels
- Caramel
- Butterscotch
- Currents
- Peppermint Candy (affiliate)
- Fruit Jam
Now that you know the list of ingredients that could be in your recipes, I will walk you through the steps we took.
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Decide what cookies you want to make.
A week before, I pulled out the recipes we reuse each year and the new ones we found. We usually make a few new cookie types each year to change things up a bit.
Tip: Have a holiday binder (affiliate) with all your reused holiday cookies and entertaining recipes for safekeeping. I use binder (affiliate) pockets to help keep them organized, similar to the ones I found below.
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Binder: Red 1 Inch Binders 3 Ring Glitter Binders Fashion View Binder
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It would help if you could find the recipes easily. Feel free to get a copy of my Holiday Season Workbook for you to use for your holiday tradition.
If you want some cookie recipe inspiration, click on the image and buy these best-seller cookbooks on Amazon (affiliate).com (affiliate). I will receive a small commission from your purchase at no additional charge.
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Cookbook: The Perfect Cookie: Your Ultimate Guide to Foolproof Cookies
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Cookbook: 100 Cookies: The Baking Book for Every Kitchen,
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Decide on the number of recipes to make
We usually made the basics and then had one or two new recipes for that year. This will determine how long the cookie-baking tradition will take.
Go through each recipe and add all the ingredients and how much is needed.
Then, I gather the recipes together. I write the recipe name at the top and then go down the column to include the quantities I need for that recipe. I continue to do this until I am finished all the recipes. The "Master Holiday Cookies Shopping List" checklist (affiliate) helps me a lot. I created it after realizing it was so overwhelming to gather the quantities I needed together on a piece of paper. I then add the totals in the Total Needed column for each ingredient.
Note: I have included all the essential ingredients for cookies on the checklist (affiliate) and added extra rows so you can customize this list to your needs.
Get a free copy of this printable and all our ebooks to help you get organized!
Now, go shopping for ingredients.
But wait! Before I go shopping, I go through my coupons and see if there are any coupons that I can use. This year, I found lots of coupons to use, so I saved big. I usually shop a few days before the baking cookie frenzy. If you really like to plan ahead, grocery stores like to put baking items on sale at the end of October. So, shopping early for chocolate chips, flour, sugar, etc... will be even more affordable.
Schedule the Cookie Baking Tradition
Making a schedule on which weekend works for baking is key (affiliate) to a successful cookie-baking holiday tradition. I like to schedule it before any family activities but after Thanksgiving. Usually, it would take a full weekend to make as many cookies as we make. In other years, we only made four cookie recipes, which we could do in one day.
I usually ask everyone who wants to participate what day works for them by giving them a few weekend date options.
Organize the ingredients and measure out what you need.
On the day of the cookie baking tradition, I put all the purchased ingredients in one place on the counter, usually near my baking zone, which holds my flour, sugar, and other essential parts for baking. I also pulled out the baking tools I use as well and got the organizing.
The baking sheets (affiliate) and cooking racks were near the range for easy access.
The blender (affiliate) was in another area with all the wet, dry, and add-on ingredients. Usually, it was in the far corner of my kitchen, so it wasn't near the range. It is too congested near my range.
Decide on the recipes to do first, second, and third
Now, it is time to plan out the order of recipes. I usually like to review the instructions for each recipe by determining which recipe is most straightforward to begin, what recipe needs refrigeration before finishing, and what recipe can be done quickly. As I go through the recipes, an order usually emerges to make the process more efficient.
If you have kids or teens involved, you can also assign what kid is doing what cookie now. We make Pizzelles every year. This recipe uses an electric iron, so one of my kids can stay near the Pizzelle iron and work with this batch of cookies in another area, so it doesn't interfere with my other cookie-baking activities in the kitchen.
Start baking one recipe at a time.
As the baking day arrived, I started with the refrigerator cookies we made so they could get cold. Then, I moved on to the homemade Pizzelles my son worked on for hours. After getting him started, I worked through each recipe individually.
Tip: When you do marathon cooking, know you will not want to cook dinner after you are done. I like to order a pizza or go out to eat during marathon cooking.
That's it! Here is a photo of one of our holiday cookie-baking traditions.
Please visit our kitchen organization or pantry organization posts for more inspiration.
If you want to know the names of the recipes or the ingredients, please leave a message below. Above all else, have an enjoyable experience baking cookies and spending time with family. I know we sure did.
Visit our cookie recipes for more inspiration!
Here are some additional posts I found online to help you with organizing your cookie baking.
Ten Things Cookie Bakers Really ought to Know
Organizing Your Way to a Simple Christmas: Baking
Below are additional Kitchen Organization (affiliate) Posts you may want to check out!
Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon (affiliate), and at no additional cost to you, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.
FAQ: How to Organize Your Holiday Cookie Baking Tradition
Here are 10 FAQ questions and answers based on your Holiday Cookie Baking Tips post!
Ideally, start planning at least one to two weeks before your baking day. Pull out your recipes, create your Master Holiday Cookies Shopping List, and check for coupons. Many grocery stores put baking items on sale at the end of October, so shopping early for staples like flour, sugar, and chocolate chips can save you money.
That depends on your time and help! We typically make six to eight different types of cookies over a full weekend. If you're baking alone or with less time, four cookie recipes can usually be completed in a single day. Start with fewer varieties your first year and build from there.
A Master Holiday Cookies Shopping List is a tracking chart where you list each cookie recipe across the top and all ingredients down the side. You fill in the quantities needed per recipe, then total them up so you know exactly how much of everything to buy. It prevents overbuying, forgotten ingredients, and multiple trips to the store.
Most cookie recipes share a core set of dry ingredients (flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices like cinnamon and ginger) and wet ingredients (butter, eggs, vanilla, and milk). Add-ons like chocolate chips, nuts, and jam vary by recipe. Tracking these shared ingredients together saves time and money.
This is just the standard cookie ingredients; there are additional options for people who have food intolerances or food allergies.
Here are some additional questions.
Start with any recipes that require refrigeration - getting the dough chilled early keeps things moving. Then assign any specialty cookies (like Pizzelles that need an iron) to a helper in a separate area. Work through the remaining recipes one at a time, finishing with the quickest or simplest ones.
Set up a dedicated baking zone before you start. Place all purchased ingredients together on the counter near your baking area. Keep baking sheets and cooling racks near the oven, and set your mixer up in a separate space away from the range to avoid congestion. Having everything in place before you start makes the process much smoother.
Assign age-appropriate tasks! Kids and teens can take ownership of specific cookies - for example, a teenager can manage the Pizzelle iron in a separate area while you work on other recipes in the kitchen. Giving everyone a role keeps the process fun and teaches kids great life skills.
Here are some additional questions.
A mix of both works great! We keep a core group of family favorites each year and add one or two new recipes to keep things exciting. Storing your tried-and-true recipes in a holiday binder with pocket folders makes it easy to pull them out year after year.
Plan ahead - you will not want to cook after spending the whole day baking! Order a pizza, pick up takeout, or go out to eat. Having a no-cook dinner plan is just as important as your cookie plan.
Choose a weekend after Thanksgiving and before any major family activities. Offer a few date options to anyone who wants to participate, and pick the one that works best for the group. Blocking off a full weekend gives you plenty of time without feeling rushed.
Julie Bestry says
What's really fun about this post is that it starts with, "This blog uses cookies." So does this reader! 😉
I don't really celebrate the holidays, nor do I cook. I have literally one recipe I make any time I have to bring something, Hello Dollies (also known as Magic Layer Bars) and can easily make variations. I always have the ingredients for that in the house, and have noticed that they tend to go on sale in November and December, so I stock up for the rest of the year. Nonetheless, I love that you've created a guide for those people who either do, or want to, go full-cookie at the holidays.
And now I want those thumb-print cookies!
Janet Schiesl says
Wow! The photo of your cookies is great. They look fabulous.
I used to bake a lot at the holidays. I don't do much baking anymore. My husband has a couple of family recipes and he usually makes one or two kinds but that's it.
Your advice is spot-on for people who want to do a lot of baking for the holidays.
Linda Samuels says
What a beautiful and joy-filled holiday tradition! I love how you involved the entire family, and I can only imagine the extra fun it is to create these wonderful platters of cookies together. Your ingredients chart is fantastic!
I love cooking and baking with my family. I have fond memories of doing that with our daughters when they were young. Now that they're adults, we have fewer opportunities to cook or bake together, but when we do, I love it!
Diane N Quintana says
I love baking and used to do something similar to what your family does. I gave baked goods as Christmas gifts for years. Now, I am baking almost every weekend. I find it a peaceful and rewarding task. Cookies and brownies or bar cookies are my go tothings to make. Thank you for sharing these great tips!
Seana Turner says
I don't bake as much as I used to, but I do start thinking about purchasing the supplies ahead of time. Especially with groceries being so expensive right now! There are a couple of cookies that everyone looks forward to.
I do bake an annual peppermint cake, and this requires a bottle of red food coloring and some peppermint extract, both of which I need to make sure I either have on hand or add to the list since I don't think of these all the time.
Great idea to get everything organized so that the actual baking can be fun and stress free!
Janet Barclay says
Now that the kids are grown up and we don't entertain much, I don't do nearly as much baking as I used to. When I did, your planning chart would have been super helpful - I wish I'd thought of doing it that way!
Sabrina says
Thanks Janet! I created this form this year because I was always forgetting an ingredient. This way, I can make sure I pickup everything I need and not waste time running back and forth. It was a huge help.
Janet Barclay says
Even when I did a lot of baking, I usually limited it to two types of cookie per session. I remember one year when it worked especially well. One weekend I baked two batches, took half to a party and kept half for us. The next weekend was similar. Lastly I baked the ones that were just for us. It gave us good variety and ensured I had something special for every event.