Friday, July 15, 2011

Baking

I really don't enjoy cooking, but I love to bake. Getting out of bed in the morning and making eggs and bacon doesn't appeal to me, but making muffins or quick bread is something I enjoy doing in the morning. I don't bake a lot of cakes, except for birthdays. Pies are my winter dessert of choice to make during the afternoons for a yummy end to the day. During the rest of the year, I bake cookies. Not just the normal chocolate chip, oatmeal, and sugar cookie varieties, but many different varieties. It's not unusual for me to bake 2 double batches of cookies each week. That may seem like a lot of cookies, but we have a large family.

I've been looking for some type of home-based business that could add to my family's income and would be extremely flexible in regards to time spent on the business. Mike discovered that I can bake cookies and pies in my own kitchen without a health inspection and sell them to people. It's allowed under the cottage law. There are restrictions to the types of foods and the amount of gross sales that are allowed. The products can not be sold through businesses owned by other people. Even with the restrictions, Mike and I think that this is a business that I could do from my home, without losing the freedom that I need to keep our home and homeschool running smoothly.

Today, Mike ran to the store and bought me a cookie scoop and new cookie sheets. It's hard to believe, but I have always made drop cookies using a teaspoon from my silverware drawer. Using the new cookie scoop, my cookies are a beautiful uniform size. My children will no longer need to spend time comparing all the cookies to get the largest cookie in the batch. The scoop also made getting the cookie dough out of the bowl and onto the cookie sheets much quicker! I love new gadgets that make life easier!

Today, I perfected my crispy gingersnap recipe and I also made a batch of chocolate chip cookies. It went so quickly using the cookie scoop and parchment paper on the cookie sheets. My kids are going to love eating all my cookie experiments over the next few weeks.

6 comments:

Ewe said...

Have you tried baking stones (Pampered Chef is a good source) or silpat sheets? I used to love stones for cookies, they didn't brown on the bottom. But I got tired of the heavy pan. A couple of years ago I discovered silpats and received a few for birthday presents. I love how easy it is to get the cookies off and no more greasing pans or using parchment paper. I think that is a great idea to invest in new tools and supplies before beginning this adventure.
We attended a wedding where I think the favors were homemade. Each guest received a bag of about 6 tiny frosted heart cookies. With so many women working out of the home, I would think they would want a homemade treat for their family every once and awhile. Our local farmer's market has one booth of nothing but homemade goodies and homemade dog treats. The dog treats sell really well. Some one advertises here to bake cookies around Christmas-I think that is the only time she runs her cookie making business. I think this is a great idea and you should have your kids help you think of how to advertise-will you do weddings or homemade for everyone or holidays etc.? Enjoy planning and eventually baking!

Anonymous said...

Are you going to freeze samples for your dear friend who sacrificed her van to visit?

Karen said...

Ewe-I haven't used baking stones for cookies. We did have a pizza stone that we purchased years ago for home made pizza. Do you use a spatula to remove the cookies from the stone? Or is the stone lined with parchment paper? I've looked at the silpats, but wanted to hear from someone who had actually used them before investing in them.

We plan to do the farmer's markets. I hadn't even considered holiday baking! Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions!

Kim-Of course you can enjoy samples. The kids wiped out the ginger snaps after lunch, but we'll be making more cookies tonight. I'll set some aside. See you Monday!

Ewe said...

I use my pizza stone to make cookies when I run out of cookie sheets. Use a spatula, usually metal works better than plastic. No need for parchment paper on the stone. Spread cookies out over whole sheet, the stone could crack if you just have something in one spot. That has never happened for me, but the Pampered Chef lady warned me of that. I assume you know to wash stones in hot water and maybe baking soda, but no soap. Just scrape off and wash with water only.
I love my silpat but I have to be protective that it isn't in the sink and a knife gets thrown in there, they can get cut easily if you are careless. But by being careful with it I think it will last a long time. Even though they are expensive it saves using parchment paper each time so I think ends up being cheaper.
I don't have a cookie scoop either, perhaps I should invest in that.

Barb the Evil Genius said...

I hope that this works out for you!

MaryAnn said...

I've used P.C. stones and scoops for years (16) when I used to sell them, love them! Great idea. A new neighbor of ours sells homemade products at local farmer's markets and fairs. Check out kazoofoods.com for ideas. Good luck!