It’s best to think about how to store the cookies before baking them: ideally sorted by kind in lockable containers. Whether that’s the classic cookie tin or a plastic container does not make a difference, neither in taste, nor how long they can be stored.
For cookies with chocolate glaze, it’s best to put parchment or wax paper between the layers of cookies, so the glaze remains as nicely looking as the day they were made.
Chilled (fridge, basement, outside in winter, depending on where you live) the cookies last for at least several weeks. Ideally store most of the cookies chilled with each kind in a container of its own, and keep a box with an assortment somewhere close where you have easy access, because at room temperature they taste much better than cold.
Cookies with chocolate glaze are best not stored too cold (basement is fine, but outside in freezing temperatures is not), as the glaze often gets small spots when there’s too much humidity or.
For a long time I was afraid to freeze cookies, but now I’m a confident cookie freezer. Those who start making cookies early in the year or make a much-too-large batch can safely freeze their sweet treasures. Ideally freeze cookies in layers with parchment or wax paper in between. In case they are needed just thaw slowly at room temperature.
Store-bought vanilla sugar is super quick, but it also gives cookies a slightly bitter aftertaste, in particular for vanilla crescent cookies. That’s why I’ve been making my own vanilla sugar for a long time. You can find the recipe here.
In Austria it’s easy to just purchase marzipan in the store, but that’s not the case everywhere. However even in the US, it’s usually not too difficult to buy almond paste. The difference between marzipan and almond paste is that the latter typically has less sugar. For baking, that’s good, and ideally try to find marzipan with as little sugar as possible. In general, the softer the marzipan or almond paste is to the touch, the less sugar it contains.
When spreading the marzipan with a rolling pin, for example for Marzipan Elks, it’s best to have a small bowl with powdered sugar at hands to put the cookie cutter into after every cut. That way the marzipan does not stick to the cookie cutter. Of course you can also use flour, but in particular for cookies without flour, I’d always use powdered sugar in order not to change the taste of the cookie (in particular for the Cinnamon Stars).
Recently I purchased a silicone mat for the kitchen, and I’ll never bake cookies without one. When cutting cookies of any kind, but also when cutting marzipan, no flour or powdered sugar is necessary to help avoid the dough from sticking. This means the cookies remain true to the recipe and their taste, and the last batch of cookies tastes the same as the first one.
Additionally the mat is super useful for leftover chocolate glaze. You can simply use a piping bag to draw hearts, flowers, or a grid and after drying you have great decorations made from chocolate, useful for your next cake.
Those who want to make more than just their two favorite kinds of cookies will have an easier time by planning ahead the order in which they bake the cookies. For example, it’s a good idea to combine cookies that only require egg white with those that only require yolk.
To make sure there are no 12 hour cookie-baking days, I usually start with the recipe requiring egg white, and prepare the dough for the one requiring yolk, cover it in cling wrap, and put it in the fridge. Those cookies I usually make the next day. For example: Day 1: I make Coconut Kisses and prepare the dough for Linzer Cookies. Day 2: I bake the Linzer cookies.
Most of the cookies are baked in the oven for about 7 minutes at 350°F (180°C). That’s primarily because I like making cookies weighing 7 to 10 grams. Who prefers larger (or smaller) cookies should adjust the baking time accordingly.
Nuts taste best when roasting yourself and grinding them right afterwards. For roasting just put the nuts in a pan without any oil, or in the over and lightly roast at 350°F (180°C) for about 10 minutes. Don’t forget to flip them around half the time.
After letting them cool grind them in an electric grinder (coffee grinder or blender, both work). For poppy seeds, a small coffee grinder works better.
Larger pieces of nuts are removed by shaking the output of the grinder through a mesh like a strainer. What’s left over in the strainer I just use for recipes that require chopped nuts.
Instead of the ground nuts it’s also possible to use nut flour. Nut flour is a byproduct of making oil from nuts, and therefore typically has less fat and more fiber.
It’s easiest to take the butter out of the fridge 30 minutes before using it to bake. This makes kneading the dough with your hands much faster and easier.
In my opinion there’s only a few secrets to making a good cookie:
Even if you usually like fruit pieces in your jam, for Christmas cookies it just doesn’t work well. Apricot and red currant jam can be passed through a fine-meshed strainer with a spoon to get out all the pieces and seeds, and filled into a piping bag. This makes filling the cookies much easier and faster. In particular when a kind of jam is needed for multiple types of cookies, just preparing it once and keeping it in the piping bag safes a lot of work.