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Archive for the ‘Baking History’ Category

Starting a cookie jar collection can be fun, and it might take you on a trip through America’s most wonderful times. Cookie jars of the past are now highly sought after collectibles - they're no longer just for holding cookies! You should know what you’re looking for if you intend to collect for top dollar, but you can also just have a good time picking up cookie jars that appeal to you for their color, style, or size.

What are some of the most valuable cookie jars? They’ll have been made by the Nelson McCoy Company in Roseville, Ohio. This company made the now famous Roseville pottery and also some of the most widely collected cookie jars on the antique circuit today. Prior to the 1920s there were no cookie jars in America. But as the Depression era unfolded, cookie jars started to become a prized kitchen item. They were made in all different shapes and sizes including rabbits, clowns, fruits, bears and figures of people. Back in the day, people bought cookie jars to use in their kitchens much like we’d buy a canister today. They weren’t thinking they’d be valuable, but instead that they were simply useful storage for their home baked cookies.

So what are some of the most valuable designs today?

If you have a Mammy with Cauliflower McCoy cookie jar from 1939 you are in luck. This, the first jar the company ever made is the most valuable cookie jar. This red dressed African American woman is the character from Gone with the Wind, the classic movie that came out the same year the jar was made. It will fetch you upwards of $1,300 if you can find it. Because of its rarity, this jar was often reproduced by imitators. You can easily find faux McCoy Mammies all over the place. You’ll find her with and without a plate of cauliflower.

A company called American Bisque made Fred and Wilma Flintstone character cookie jars. If you are lucky enough to find either one, you could cash it in for up to $2,000 or more. Look for other story book characters like Peter Pan, Puss in Boots and Little Red Riding Hood. Jars like this are worth a cool grand or more. For some reason cartoon characters are highly collectible. If you see a Humpty Dumpty jar, pick it up right away as it is very rare. You may also want to look for a rare holiday cookie jar.

Many other jars are also valuable. If you’re serious about collecting for money, get yourself a good antique cookie jar values guidebook. Take it with you when you visit antique malls and flea markets. Slink off to the side and look up the value of a jar you see that you’d like. Of course, you don’t want anyone seeing you look up the price or you will find that the asking price on a $3 cookie jar just went up to $300. If someone else thinks it’s valuable, you may not get it for a low price. If you overpay, don’t expect to recoup your losses by reselling it. It may become part of your permanent collection unless you want to take a loss.

There are societies and groups all over the place who meet to swap and show their cookie jar finds. Get in with a good group and you’ll have fun with your new hobby of collecting vintage jars.

Confused by all the names out there for what we used to call cookie sheets? There’s AirBake, non stick, French steel and more. If you just want to bake a great batch of cookies, you don’t really care about fancy names, but you should know which sheets will get you the best results.

Take a look at the differences between AirBake and non stick cookie sheets. These two are the ones you’ll most likely encounter in the stores and will want to have some idea about.

AirBake

AirBake cookie sheets are a relatively new invention. These cookie sheets work wonders when it comes to keeping cookies from burning. If you’re the type of baker who always gets frustrated by burnt bottoms and gooey tops, these are the pans for you. The reason they work so well is because of the ingenious design. The top layer of aluminum and the bottom have a cushion of air between them. That air heats up to bake the cookie. Because the air is evenly circulating the cookies don’t burn. They brown evenly. Even if you forget your cookies in the oven for a few minutes, you’ll usually find that they are still not burnt. If a recipe says cook for twelve minutes, these pans will actually bake your cookies in twelve minutes. You don’t have to go back several times, open the oven door and let all the heat out, just to check to see if the cookies are done. They will be perfect every time. Just know that you can’t put them in the dishwasher. But so what? They wipe clean easily because there’s no burnt on sugary mess.

Non Stick

Let’s not forget the marvel that non stick cookie sheets are. Back in the 1950s when the Teflon coating was invented, it rocked the world. Bakers now have cookie sheets that no one could have imagined before Teflon. No greasing required? “Impossible,” they would have said. But it’s true. Nothing sticks to a non stick pan especially your delicate cookies. If you want to make lacey French cookies that are thin and usually burn fast, you can on a non stick pan. Just take the cookies out of the oven and get them off the pan as soon as you can. It’s not a guarantee that if you leave your cookies in the oven too long that they will never burn, but they won’t stick even if they’re burnt to a crisp. Use a plastic utensil to get your cookies off so you don’t scratch the non stick surface of the sheet. Other than that, you can just wipe them off in soapy warm water and they’re clean. Try not to put them in the dishwasher as the coating is so easy to clean. You’ll preserve the life of your sheets.

Both AirBake and non stick are excellent choices for the home baker. If your problem is burnt cookies, go with the AirBake. If you tend to get burnt on, stuck on cookie messes, use the non stick. Either one will get you perfect cookies and they last for years and years. Invest in a good set, and you won’t have to rebuy them every year.  A good set is well worth the purchase price as you’ll be turning out cookies that are delicious, unbroken, and perfectly toasty brown.

A baker is only as good as his or her tools. If you have rusty old bent-up cookie sheets, then perhaps it’s time to go out shopping for some new ones. Having the right cookie sheets can make all the difference between burnt or undercooked cookies and bakery-fresh cookies that look, smell, and taste amazing.

Aluminum

Aluminum baking pans are a favorite for many reasons. Their light color makes it less likely that your cookies will burn. They don’t scratch as easily as Teflon will. However, they will require greasing most times. And if you leave them in the oven too long with cooking spray on them, they will develop a sleek, greasy, burnt area where the cooking spray has crusted over. This makes for ugly cookie sheets. But you can still use them without any harm. If you want to get that gook off, use a product like Dawn Power Booster or soak in an automatic dishwashing powder. Never use a product not certified for food (like Goo Gone). It will be toxic once you use the pan again for cooking.

Teflon

The genius of Teflon is that nothing sticks to it. You can burn a pan of nachos and the cheese will still slide right off. You need to use non-metal utensils with any Teflon coated pan. And there is some truth to the myth that household birds can die from the fumes that come off Teflon pans. But if you don’t have a pet bird, Teflon is a workhorse pan that you will reach for every time you bake. You won’t need to grease your pans and you’ll find they last forever.

AirBake Sheet Pans

A relative newcomer to the baking sheet arena is the AirBake pan. This is an aluminum pan that has two layers of aluminum on top and bottom and a layer of air between them. The beauty of this type of pan is that the air will heat and circulate and your cookies won’t burn. They’ll cook at a much more even temperature. This pan is ideal if you often forget your cookies are in the oven. If you remember to retrieve the cookies soon enough, an AirBake pan should hold your cookies pretty steady. Of course you can’t leave them in an hour too long. No pan can keep cookies from burning under those conditions. But under normal conditions, you will love the magic that the AirBake pan creates. Fresh, hot, perfectly baked cookies are yours every time you use these pans.

There’s a baking pan for everyone. You can even invest in a Silpat silicone mat that fits a cookie sheet and ensures that even candy won’t stick to it. You shouldn’t use a Silpat with an AirBake pan, however, because the double insulation of the Silpat and the air layer will cause your cookies to turn out undercooked. Too much of a good thing.

Shop for baking sheet pans that feel right to you. You’re the one who has to love them. There are pans in every price range. See if you can find a restaurant supply store and you can score a bunch of professional quality baking sheets for a bargain price. They’ll last you practically forever and you can even pass them down to your grandchildren.

Many bakers seem to put butter, margarine, and shortening in the same interchangeable category. They use whatever they have on hand and hope for the best. But, unfortunately, baked goods won’t turn out correctly if you start to substitute these three important fats. If a recipe calls for a certain one, use it. Baking is based on chemistry and you’ll throw the delicate balance out of whack if you start making up your own substitutions.

The three fats mentioned here - butter, margarine, and shortening - vary in their moisture and fat contents. And since baking is such a regulated science, each ingredient has a part to play that can’t be played correctly by any other.

Butter and margarine are up to 80% fat. You need that fat in order for your baked goods to turn out like the recipe dictates. Choose a good, well-known brand because you know they will have the right fat composition.

If you start throwing whipped spreads or shortening or reduced calorie baking sticks into the mix, you’re using an entirely different product. They contain loads more water than butter. Shortening will cause your cookies to spread beyond the required area. You’ll end up with flat, burnt cookies. Any shortening product or whipped spread can have as little as 35% fat. The rest is water and other suspect ingredients. Do you want that in your food? Not if you expect your baked goods to come out right.

Forget about trying to make due with whatever is on hand. Get yourself enough butter to last through the baking season. Keep some in the freezer so you never run short.

You may be wondering if oils, which are 100% fat, can be used instead of butter. Unfortunately, they are not an adequate or recommended substitute as they don’t whip into the sugar correctly. Since they are greasy, they will not cream up like butter will and you’ll end up with thin, crispy wafers instead of cookies.

If you’re wondering why shortening and margarine won’t do for your cookies, consider that they have a higher melting temperature. This means they’ll melt much slower than butter. This means you’ll get a tough, thick, extra chewy cookie when you didn’t want it to turn out that way. Shortenings and margarines also have no flavor, so your cookies will be missing that down home goodness that only butter can bring to the recipe.

What about the different types of butter? Does it matter if you use salted or not? You may not notice any taste difference, but you might. So to be safe, you should use unsalted butter and then just add the salt the recipe calls for. If you use salted butter you may throw off the delicate balance and end up with a cookie that is far too salty.

Finally, now that you know that butter is king in baking cookies, you should also know it needs to be in the right form in order to do its job. If a recipe calls for melted butter and you boil it down to a fine liquid in the microwave, you’re not going to get very good results. You may have done this in an effort to soften frozen butter, but you’re best to just let it sit out. Melting it completely changes the properties and it won’t whip up enough air into the batter.

Bakers the world over are discovering that Silpat baking sheet liners are the ultimate luxury in home and professional baking. These sheets are designed to go on top of your cookie sheet. You bake right on them and nothing will stick to them. They are ingenious and really do work.

So what is Silpat? It’s actually a tightly woven material that is made of food grade silicone and fiberglass. It’s perfectly safe to cook on and will last for over 3,000 uses. This handy mat comes in many sizes, so get the one that’s right for your pan. You shouldn’t cut it or use any metal utensils on it. When you’re done baking, just wash it in soapy water, dry it and store it flat. Some people say you can roll it to store it, but the manufacturer recommends storing it flat.

Bakers know that the key to successful cookies is that they be perfectly cooked—never burnt or raw. The Silpat mat allows cookies to bake perfectly evenly without any sticking. You should not use a Silpat on an AirBake cookie sheet, however, as the cookies may undercook due to too much insulation from the pan. The Silpat provides some insulation and too much is overkill.

When using a Silpat, follow your recipe as you normally would and then drop the dough or place the cookie directly on the Silpat in the pan. Then bake as directed in your recipe. The Silpat is heat resistant up to 480 degrees Fahrenheit. You can walk away in confidence knowing that your cookies will be cooked in the recommended amount of time. But for the first few times you use it in your particular oven, you should stand by to check at the minimum baking time called for. They may be done earlier than you expect because of the Silpat.

Silpat has been around since the 1960s and is approved by the FDA. It is Kosher certified, too. You can use it in the microwave as well as a regular oven. You will never grease or spray it with any non stick chemical. It works every time without any additional greasing. In fact, if you grease it, you could ruin the surface.

Your Silpat mat will stay hot for a while after it comes out of the oven. So don’t reach for it with bare hands until it’s had a chance to cool.

You will be so amazed at the properties Silpat has for keeping things from sticking. You can bake a tray of chicken wings, nachos, even sugary candies or very thin cookies and nothing will stick to it. You are wise to get a few if you bake a lot so you can line all your pans. Perfect for baking all those holiday cookie gifts!

Why would you suffer through burnt, uneven, raw or broken cookies ever again when there’s a product like Silpat on the market? You’ll see professional chefs and bakers using these every day. That’s one reason their goodies come out so perfect. You have to be in on the little secrets if you want to be a better baker. And now you know!

Silpat mats are not very expensive compared with other baking equipment. And the investment you make in a product that will last you thousands of uses is minimal compared to the results you’ll get.

The world has long had a love affair with their cookies. In any American supermarket, you can  walk down the cookie aisle and be bombarded with multi-color packages tempting you to try them. There are hundreds of choices in everything from super sweet to biscuit to fruit filled.

Believe it or not, what is now known as the beloved cookie once started out as a humble tester cake. Sugar was beginning to be cultivated way back in the days of the Persian empire. Royal bakers began to test out different cake recipes. The problem was, there were no temperature regulators on the ovens they used. They were brick and clay fire pits, essentially, and the cook could not be certain how hot the oven was or when it was ready. So when it came time to cook the cakes for the royals, bakers had to find a way to make sure the oven was hot enough. They devised a method of taking a bit of cake batter, a small cookie-like shape, and placing it in the oven. If it cooked up right away, it was time for the cake to go in.

People soon realized that these little tester cakes were actually quite good and not to be thrown away. And there was born the humble cookie.

Some credit the Dutch with popularizing the cookie. They called them "koekje" or "little cake" in the Dutch language. From there the British took a liking to their “biscuits” which they served with tea. The popularity of the cookie spread, partially due to the ease of eating. Workers could take these little cakes out to the fields with them. They were an easy snack that required no cutlery or lengthy preparations.

Each country has its own version of the cookie. Styles and ingredients vary from the Italian twice baked, rock hard biscotti to Bavaria and Austria’s favorite anise flavored and highly decorative Springerle. Each country has perfected the art of the cookie in their own way. The Spanish call cookies “galletas”  and Germans refer to them as “keks.” But no matter what you call them, they’re delicious in any language.

Perhaps the most popular cookie in America is the chocolate chip cookie. This now famous cookie was reportedly invented back in the 1930s by Ruth Wakefield, an innkeeper at the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts. When she ran out of nuts while baking cookies, she broke up a chocolate bar and added the chunks to the batter instead. The rest is cookie-making history. Just about every cook in America has tried their hand at the Toll House cookie. The recipe has been featured on the Nestle chocolate chip morsels bag ever since Ruth Wakefield sold her recipe to the company.

It’s hard to imagine life without cookies. They’ve become such a staple of the American diet that entire industries have grown up around them. Everyone has their favorite and even today home baked cookie gifts are a sign of love and affection. There has been a movement of late to offer reduced fat and sugar free cookies. And while they do enjoy some popularity, America’s sweet tooth has spoken. The most popular cookies today are still the fully sweet Double Stuff Oreo and original chocolate chip with chunks of rich chocolate and mounds of nuts.

Girl Scout cookies a delicious and much beloved part of American history. These tasty treats are anticipated all year long. They are only on sale once a year and then they are gone. Office staff gather around the mom who brings in the cookie order sheet for her daughter. Eager teens hope their sister has left a few boxes in the pantry for them. Why are they so darn good? Why is it that nothing is as satisfying as a genuine Girl Scout cookie? No supermarket brand even comes close. It’s hard to say. But here are some fun facts about America’s beloved Girl Scout treats.

• Girl Scout cookies have been around since 1917. They’ll soon be celebrating their 100 year anniversary. When Juliette Gordon Low first founded the girl scouts in 1912, she was a visionary. She encouraged the girls to bake cookies at home and sell them on foot to neighbors to gain valuable life skills. The rest is history.
• The very first cookies were sold for prices ranging from 25 to 30 cents per dozen. Today, a box of cookies will set you back $3.50.
• In 1934, girls in the Greater Philadelphia troop became the first to go out and market their cookies for profit. They sold their cookies from windows at the local electric and gas companies.
• Production of Girl Scout cookies was not regulated in the beginning. Home bakers supervised by their mothers would bake the cookies and seat them in a bag. By 1948, twenty nine bakers in the nation were given the honor of baking official Girl Scout Cookies. Nowadays, only two bakers are licensed to sell official Girl Scout Cookies. This keeps the production costs down and ensures the quality that Girl Scouts demand.
• Since Girl Scout headquarters did not want to have to keep raising the price of the cookies, they took a few cookies out of the box and reduced it by a centimeter. Most people don’t even notice.
• In 1951, Girl Scout Cookies were available in Sandwich, Shortbread, and Chocolate Mints (now known as Thin Mints).
• All Girl Scout cookies contain only kosher ingredients and are preservative free. They are designed to be frozen so you can enjoy them well after the sale is over.
• Every Girl Scout cookie box is recyclable once the inner cellophane is disposed of.
• According to the Girl Scouts of America, the most popular cookies are:

25% Thin Mints
19% Samoas®/Caramel deLites®
13% Peanut Butter Patties®/Tagalongs®
11% Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos®
9% Shortbread/Trefoils

The other varieties combined account for the remaining 23%

• If you miss the yearly sale, you can’t purchase Girl Scout cookies anywhere else. They’re not available online. Maybe that’s what makes them so sought after. Knowing they are available only once a year means they are a fleeting pleasure. While you can’t buy them online, you can check out www.girlscoutcookies.org to find a local troop that sells them.
• Girl Scout troops donate cookies to overseas personnel in the military each year.
• Only registered Girl Scouts can sell the cookies. Their parents are not allowed to close the sale. These regulations help girls build their sales skills and confidence.
• Approximately 70% of the proceeds go back to the Girl Scouts.
• The girls in the photos of the cookie boxes are all real, registered Girl Scouts, not actors.

Cookie gifts are a great way to let someone know you're thinking of them.  Send a care package to a college student and include a few boxes of Girl Scout cookies along with other things they might enjoy for a surprise they'll love!

If you love layered cakes, or creative cookies, then you'll also love filled cupcakes! Cupcakes are quite easy to fill.

One way to do it is to use a cake decorating bag. Use a regular tip that would be used for large writing. On the top of the cupcake, poke the tip about three fourths of the way into the center of the cupcake. Squeeze the tube of filling and pull away from the cupcake. Don't let the filling ooze out of the cupcake. Gently scrape off any filling that is on the outside of the cupcake before frosting it.

Another way to fill a cupcake is to cut out a small section of your cupcake. This works especially well if your filling is thick or lumpy. At about a 45 degree angle, cut a small circular section out of the top of your cupcake - about 1 - 1 1/2 inches deep. Carefully remove that section. Fill your cupcake with the desired filling (frosting, cream, jam, etc.) and then replace the cut out section (trimming if necessary) then frost to cover up the patch.

Your friends and family will be amazed at how professional these cupcakes look and taste!

Learn more about filling and decorating cupcakes here...

With it's creamy sweet center and crispy dark wafers, it's no wonder that Oreo cookies is the best selling cookie of the 20th century.  Created nearly 100 years ago (in 1912), the Oreo has changed very little from it's original form.  Oreo cookies are also the best selling cookies in China, although it's not as popular in the UK (the British prefer to dunk their lower-sugar burboun biscuits in tea).

Over the years, Nabisco has experimented with Chocolate Creme Oreos, Strawberry Oreos, Mint Creme Oreos, Double Stuff, Mini Oreos and holiday Oreos (the creme is tinted orange for Halloween, pink for Easter and red for Christmas).  You can also find 100 calorie Oreo packs if you're looking to watch your weight.

We've taken what is arguably the world's most popular cookie and made it even more sweet by enrobing it in luscious Belgian white chocolate and applying a happy edible image.  Each decorated Oreo is then "framed" with colorful candy sprinkles.  The result is a cheery gift basket that is sure to bring a smile to nearly anyone!

Intrigued about cookies now? You can learn about the top ten commercial cookies in the U.S. now.

You can enjoy them in cookies, ice cream, granola bars or by themselves as a sweet little snack, but where did chocolate chips come from?  In 1933, a very inventive Ruth Graves Wakefield was baking cookies at the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts.  She modified the cookie recipe by cutting up a Nestle chocolate bar and adding the chunks to her batter.  The result - the world's first chocolate chip cookies!  Once Nestle got wind of Ruth's ingenius addition to her cookie recipe, they offered her a lifetime supply of chocolate if she would allow them to print her recipe on the packaging of their chocolate bars - which were sold with a chipping tool so customers could "chip" away at the bar.  In 1939, Nestle started packaging the chocolate "morsels" in a bag and selling them with Ruth's recipe - renamed the original Toll House Cookie Recipe.

In the last 70 years, the chocolate chip has been duplicated and re-invented with different flavors including peanut butter, mint, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, butterscotch and white chocolate - even white and dark chocolate swirls.  You can buy mini chips, regular size chips (a little less than 1/2" across), or jumbo chips.  The teardrop-shaped morsels are available from a number of manufacturers.

No longer used exclusively for baking, chocolate chips are a staple in most American households - including mine.  I always have at least two bags on hand for cookies, pancakes, brownies, 7 layer bars, or melted down to form a chocolate shell over my famous Christmas bonbons - I've included the recipe below:

Simple Chocolate Bon Bons

• 2 lbs confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk

Melt butter and mix all ingredients together (easiest to do this with greased hands).  Roll into balls and place on cookie sheets lined with wax paper.  Freeze for 2-3 hours.  When the balls are solid, melt together a 12 ounce package of chocolate chips and a bar of parrafin wax (shaved - the best way to do this is with a cheese grater), either in the microwave or in a double-boiler.  Dip the balls into the chocolate mixture and place back on the wax paper to try.

Variations: You can separate the dough into smaller batches and add mint flavoring, coconut, chopped nuts or maraschino cherries.

Depending on the size of your bon bons, this recipe will make up to 7 dozen candies.

Find out more about the history of chocolate chip cookies here.