Building an Old-Fashioned Cookie Bar
Can you believe that there are only so many more days until Christmas? I had a lot more content planned to share this month, but the weather has been so dark and gloomy the last few days, I have not been able to record anything! Oh, well. It has been nice baking and cooking and making and playing instead, I must admit. Do you have winter weather where you live?
Today I wanted to share with you some ideas for building your own old-fashioned style holiday cookie bar! This is simply a cute way to display your cookies for family or guests, and it gives your home a sweet little corner where others feel that can stop by and snatch up a treat during their day. My grandma always had a treat bar in her home during the holidays, and it was one of my favorite parts of Christmas at her house! I love seeing all of the beautiful cookies and feeling like I could pick out whichever ones I wanted and like best!
The recipe for these cookies are in our new ebook called Christmas Cookie Box, which is available for sale in our online shop. You can also sign up for our Patreon subscription, where we share all of our ebooks, digital printable art, exclusive videos, and more. It’s $3 per month and is such a fun community!
tips for building the perfect cookie bar:
Pick a Diverse Variety. Christmas cookies come in all shapes and sizes. I know that there are some special kinds that have been passed down in your family! Do you have any special cookies or treats from this time of year that hold a special place in your memory? Add in fun flavors to change up the mix, and do not forget to add in some other nibbles and scrumptious bites as well. We love to add lots of different cookies, but you can also put in things like peanut brittle, chocolate dipped pretzels, toffee, fudge, and more!
Look to Your Heritage. Almost every culture has a special winter holiday treat. Have you ever looked into the cookies from your personal heritage? It adds a truly personal touch that you cannot purchase from a store. We personally have English, Swedish, Norwegian, German, Polish, Russian, and Scottish backgrounds in our family. That makes for a lot of fun cookies to try!
Bake Ahead of Time. If building a cookie bar feels intimidating, take it a little bit at a time. Cookies stay fresh for quite a while on the countertop, and they can be frozen for even longer (usually up to a year!). If you are trying to slow down the pace of your holiday, try baking 1 or 2 batches of cookies per day instead of all at once. Make the doughs ahead of time and refrigerate for a few days before baking. Or you can simply bake them all at once and store them in the freezer until guests arrive!
Use Pretty Plates. I love a beautiful red and white transferware plate this time of year! A great place to find unique and lovely vintage plates is at thrift or charity shops. While I do love antique shops, the prices can be quite steep, so I find a lot of our dishes at the thrift store! Dishes that we think give an old-fashioned and nineteenth century feel are transferware (in green, red, or brown for Christmas), ironstone, white china, tea sets, yelloware, or even pewter/tin/silver plates.
Add Height. To give your cookie bar some interesting dimensions, add in some pieces to lift the cookies to a different height. Pedestals and cake plates are perfect for lifting plates, and you can even use things like Christmas boxes or vintage books.
Decorate with Nature. The best Christmas decorations for an old-fashioned Christmas are the kind that you find while out foraging! Evergreen branches, winterberries, cranberries, nuts, pinecones, etc make excellent filler on your table or shelves. We think the green branches give a beautiful contrast to desserts that are typically in the brown and beige family.
I love having these little delicacies out for my children to enjoy, just like I did when I was little! It brings back magical memories for me, and I know that they get excited when new cookies are brought out to fill in empty spots.
I must admit, we are bit cookied-out at this point!
xoxo Kayla
You can find all of these recipes and more tips in our ebook, which features 30 pages of recipes, tips, ideas, and more! Or JOIN PATREON FOR $3 PER MONTH.
