Christmas Baking Ingredient List

One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is to bake cookies! This does take planning. I have found that I can break this down as a project into smaller steps to make it all happen. 

The first step was to talk with my family about what they would like me to make to eat and give away to friends and coworkers. This year we are making four different recipes, two are doubled, two are not.

The second step is to make a baking ingredient list. Specifically, the ingredients you need to buy at the store to make these yummy treats!

I put all the recipes in front of me and take out a scratch piece of paper, like below. I start with the first recipe. Sugar is listed on the recipe above first. That becomes the first ingredient I write down, along with the quantity. I look at the other recipes and write down how much sugar each of those will need, making sure to double the amount if I plan to double the quantity we make. 

I continue to do this for all ingredients on the first recipe. If I happen to have the ingredient already on hand I skip writing it down if I expect I have enough for all recipes. No need to buy what I already have, right? This is often the case with spices. I did find I needed cloves this year! 

Once I am complete with the ingredients on the first recipe, I move to the second one. At this point, I have probably already reviewed the ingredients it has in common with the first, so I ignore and skip those of course, making note of the ingredients I have not yet come across in previous recipes.  I do this for all the recipes we have until I have reviewed ALL the ingredients of ALL the recipes we have. 

At the end of that process, I have a list of how much I need of these ingredients. This helps me determine how many pounds of butter or the number of bags of flour I need to pick up. I suggest an internet search to help you know how many cups of flour are in a 5 pound bag, or cups in a bag of sugar. You don't want to pick up one bag when you might need two!

While reviewing the ingredients for all the recipes it is helpful to be near your current stash of baking supplies. For example, I found I had plenty of baking soda and powdered sugar on hand. Those items did not make my final shopping list. 

In the end, all the ingredients with the correct quantity should end up on the final list for your shopping trip. You can start buying the non perishable ones as soon as you can, to have less to buy later. The perishable items, such as milk and eggs should be purchased just before your planned baking. 

Yes, so excited that my baking ingredient list is complete!! This definitely was a mini mission that took me about 15 or 20 minutes to complete. I did compare it to my list from last year, and it was similar, but definitely not the same because we are making different items and I clearly needed to replenish some spices that I didn't need to buy last year. So yes, if you plan on baking or cooking for the Christmas season, this ingredient list making is a task to have on your list every year. 

Will you be baking in November or December? Have you narrowed down what you are making? Can you set aside 15 or 20 minutes to make your ingredient list? Don't forget to check your ingredients to make sure they are not expired, if you have not already done so!