Christmas Cooking Tips

**kaykwilts** · 11-30-2007, 08:01 AM

Store marshmallows in the freezer to keep them from drying out.

To revive marshmallows that have become hard, place them in a plastic
bag with a couple slices of fresh bread. Seal the bag and after a few
days the marshmallows will be as good as new.

Dried out coconut can be revitalized by sprinkling with milk and
letting it stand for about ten minutes.

Brownie or cookie crumbs make a great ice cream topping.

Sprinkle some pumpkin pie spice inside your Jack O' Lantern to give
the air a spice aroma!

Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to keep
the ice cream from dripping.

When shelling pecans, if you want them to come out whole, pour some
boiling water over the pecans and let them sit for thirty minutes
before cracking.

To chop nuts, place in a plastic zipper bag and roll with a rolling
pin. When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the
dry cake mix instead - no white mess on the outside of the cake.
Submitted by Melody Sherrill of Le Mars, Iowa.

Before frosting or decorating a cake, be sure to anchor it to the
plate with a dab of frosting. This will keep it from moving while you're
working on it and no one will ever know it's there.

If you're making a recipe that calls for ground nuts, grinding them
with a little sugar from the recipe will keep them from becoming too sticky
and oily.

When baking single pie crusts, invert your pie pan upside down and lay
your rolled out pie dough across it for about 10-15 minutes. This will
prevent all that shrinkage that occurs when you bake your crust and
you can fill a full cooked pie crust with your favorite pie mixture.

In general, the lower the moisture level in your baked goods, the more
successfully they will freeze. Well wrapped bread will keep for about
five months in a freezer.

Unbaked pie crusts freeze well as do unbaked fruit and meat filled
pies (add a little extra thickening agent to fruit pies destined for the
freezer), so you might want to stock up and get ahead when making
these.

Unfrosted cakes will keep for months in the freezer (again well
wrapped is the key).

You can freeze a butter cream frosted cake, although other types of
icing tend to separate (especially those made with egg whites and/or
brown sugar).

Cool baked goods completely before freezing or they will end up
soggy.

Care must be taken when melting chocolate or you can easily end up
with a grainy mess. The lighter the chocolate, the higher the chances of
this happening. The most important thing to remember is that chocolate melts better and faster at lower temperatures. Never let your chocolate get above 115°F.

Alternatively, you can melt chocolate in a dry oven. Place grated
chocolate in a metal bowl and place it in an oven set at 110°F (if
your oven doesn't go that low, use the lowest temperature and keep the
door ajar). Your chocolate will melt in about an hour.

What if your recipe calls for melting chocolate along with water or
some other type of liquid? That's fine, as long as the liquid is mixed with
the chocolate from the beginning of the melting process, it won't get
grainy on you, (but adding even a drop in mid-melting will cause this
problem).

Egg whites WILL NOT WHIP (they just won't) if they come into contact
with even the slightest trace of fat, grease or egg yolk. This is why
it's a good idea when separating eggs to have three bowls: one for the
yolks, one for the whites and one bowl to separate over so that you
won't have to throw out a whole batch if one yolk breaks while
separating. It is also a good idea to wash your hands, beaters and
bowl before beginning as well, to make sure they are grease free.

Avoid using plastic bowls for whipping egg whites as they can often
harbor traces of grease, which will keep the eggs from ever whipping.
If you must use plastic, wash extra carefully with a grease dissolving
dishwashing liquid first.

Egg whites that are at room temperature will whip easier and faster.

Once you've made your dough, flatten it into a disk and chill the disk
in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes. This step helps the dough to
roll out better and keeps it from springing back.

To make rolling pie crusts easier, roll between 2 sheets of parchment
paper, waxed paper or plastic wrap. No messy flour all over the
kitchen, no sticking and your crust will be more tender.

The secret to tender, flaky piecrust is to handle the dough as little
as possible.

Eggs separate more easily when they are cold.

Don't attempt to bake meringues on a humid day, or they will turn out
as stickier than the weather.

Instead of greasing or oiling pans for baking, use parchment paper.
Your food won't stick, there's no mess and no unwanted fat or calories.

Sprinkle cut apples or bananas with lemon juice to prevent them from
turning brown.

The best and fastest way to cool sauces ad other liquids, especially
when making desserts, is to place the container holding the hot sauce
in another, larger container that is partially filled with ice and water.
Stir the sauce frequently to accelerate cooling time.