5 tips for baking the perfect holiday cookies, courtesy of Hartman's Bakery in Manitowoc
MANITOWOC — For many of us, Christmas cookies are a favorite part of the holiday season.
From following grandma’s famous ginger snap recipe to decorating and frosting cut-outs with the kids, cookie-making is often seeped in tradition and love.
Is there a secret to baking the perfect cookie? We asked expert baker and cookie-maker Austin Rehrauer, who co-owns Hartman’s Bakery with his wife Luisa, for his top five tips.
And he should know. Hartman’s will bake and sell an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 cookies this holiday season.
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“We were pretty busy the week of Thanksgiving week,” Rehrauer told Streetwise recently. “Now, we expect the weeks to keep getting busier and busier, with the week before Christmas being the busiest.”
Hartman’s sells homemade oatmeal, chocolate chip, peanut butter, ranger, molasses and sugar cookie cutouts this time of year. He recommends folks call ahead if there’s a certain kind of cookies they want, as the sweet treats often sell out.
And if you’re making cookies at home, here are the expert’s tips:
1. Refrigerate your dough for a few hours before forming cookies and baking them.
The refrigeration will help prevent spread and make for better-shaped cookies, Rehrauer said.
2. Use lots of flour.
Rehrauer said this will keep the dough from getting sticky.
3. Follow recipes closely.
Just a little too much liquid or not enough could make dough either too watery or too tough, Rehrauer said. So be sure to follow those family recipes closely!
4. Watch oven temperature.
Not all ovens heat the same, so it’s best to keep an eye on your batch of cookies as they bake to make sure they don’t end up undercooked or burned.
5. Don’t try to substitute one ingredient for another.
Sometimes bakers don’t have a required ingredient, so may think they can leave it out, or use something else in its place, which can have disastrous results, Rehrauer said.
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Skip the baking and order cookies
Hartman's Bakery has three locations. They can be reached as follows:
Manitowoc: 901 N. 11th St. Call 920-684-5988. Open 6 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays, and 7 a.m.-noon Sundays; closed Mondays.
Two Rivers: 1615 Washington St. Call 920-657-1336. Open 6 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and 7 a.m.-noon Saturdays; closed Mondays and Sundays.
Plymouth: 117 Division St. Call 920-449-5425. Open 6 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays and 7 a.m.-noon Sundays; closed Mondays.
Hartman's is online at hartmansbakery.com, can be emailed at hello@hartmansbakery.com, or find Hartman's on Facebook and Instagram.
Got a tip, comment or question for Streetwise Manitowoc? Contact reporter Patti Zarling at pzarling@gannett.com or call 920-606-2575. Follow her on Twitter @PGPattiZarling.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Hartman's Bakery in Manitowoc shares Christmas cookie baking tips
