Our Annual Holiday Cookie Bake

OUR LIFE

Haus Traditions: Holiday Cookies

‘Tis the season to fill our cookie tins and our bellies with sweet treats.

The amount of time we spend in the kitchen towards the end of the year grows exponentially. Especially when we begin preparing our annual holiday cookie bake!

What started as an whimsical attempt at simple gingerbread cookies (to use fun cookie cutters in the shapes of our family member’s faces) has spiraled into an all-out holiday cookie bake.

We experiment with different flavor profiles and cookie types to fill our tins with love and deliciousness. And naturally because this comes from our kitchen, everything is gluten-free!

The Plan

• Map out your cookie plan.

  Surprise, surprise! Another recommendation to develop a spreadsheet a la Victoria.

  List out the cookies you plan to bake, outline the recipes and any notes that you may have. This will help to create a shopping list.

  For inspiration, we go through cookbooks, Pinterest pins and Instagram posts we’ve saved throughout the year.

  Our cookie spreadsheet columns include:

  • Cookie Name

  • Servings

  • Ingredients

  • Measure (e.g., X tbsp, Y cups, etc.)

  • Notes

  • Shopping List (with sub-headlines, including Dry Ingredients, Spices, Liquid Ingredients, etc.)

  • Quantity

  • Checkboxes
    

• Recipe trial.

  We set aside a Saturday (ideally the weekend after Thanksgiving or the first weekend in December) to test out our chosen recipes. We use this trial run to make tweaks — switches to accommodate allergies, adjustments to bake time, experiments with flavors and spices.

  By the end of the trial, you’ll also have a good idea of the time commitment for your big bake, taking into account doughs that need to rest and what can be prepped ahead of time.

  This is also a great time to invite friends over or share your early (successful) batches with neighbors.
  

• Prepare your containers.

  Now that you have a finalized list of cookies, you can:

  • Calculate the quantity of cookies in each batch

  • Map out packaging, including how many of each cookie to include per tin, per family

  • Play around with packaging — parchment wraps, plastic bags, airtight containers

  • Purchase or build your boxes and tins
    

• Design your cookie labels.

  Create a little cheatsheet outlining the cookie flavors included in the tin. Make sure to call out any common allergens!

  We usually omit or bake a special batch in consideration of dietary restrictions, but we recognize that’s not always possible especially when baking such large volumes. In those instances, we recommend isolating any cookies that may include major allergens, like nuts.

The Set-Up

• The final cookie list.

  Our final cookie list usually includes fan favorites — James’ favorite sugar cookies are a crowd-favorite and usually make the final list every year.
  

• Schedule your bake.

  We time our big bake around holiday events throughout the month and adjust the quantity of cookies accordingly.

  • Cookies being mailed are sent out earlier in the month to avoid the final holiday mail rush and delays.

  • Cookies for work, neighbors and holiday events are batched towards mid-month. Sometimes this requires preparing dough and freezing it to be baked in smaller quantities closer to the date of distribution.

  • Cookies for Christmas and New Years are baked at the end of the month. In our Haus, this is usually our biggest bake and requires the most adjustments for dietary restrictions.

• Lay out your ingredients.

  We recommend laying out all your ingredients before you bake — mise en place, if you will. Group them by recipe, if you’re able. But make sure to take stock of all the ingredients you’ll need. There’s nothing worse than making it halfway through a recipe only to realize you’ve run out of a key ingredient!

The Haus of Hamilton 2025 cookie spread includes rosemary and thyme Rice Krispie treats, brown sugar chocolate chunk miso cookies, gingerbread crinkles, sugar crack cookies and pecan pie cookies.

The Execution

• Mailing cookies. Use a commercial mailing site (we love Pirate Ship) to get the best deal on shipping rates.

• Wrangle Friends. Do you have loved ones visiting for the holidays? Enlist sous chefs, taste testers, and a clean-up crew (if you’re lucky)!

• Set the Mood. Blast our holiday playlist. Then get your baking party on :)

Need help getting started? Here’s what we bought!

Are you ready to start planning your holiday cards? If you do, let us know how it goes!

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Until our next chapter!

xo, James & Victoria

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