Welcome to the next installment of Innkeeper secrets revealed! If you missed the introduction yesterday, you can go back and read it here.
Have you ever been to a Bed and Breakfast and wondered how they possibly cook those yummy breakfasts and bake those oh-so-delicious afternoon cookies without appearing to break a sweat?
I have the answers for you, because I was one of those innkeepers and helped run a family friendly inn for years with my parents and dear hubbie.
It was not unusual for us to host 30-40 adults and children at a time, feed them homemade breakfasts daily, and serve warm, fresh, cookies and hot coffee and tea every afternoon.
Can you just taste the bursting-with-flavor blueberry muffins, the melt-in-your-mouth lemon scones, and the soft and fragrant ginger spice cookies?
Follow me as I lift the curtain to show you some tricks that will help you become a relaxed and well-prepared hostess with the mostest, so you will have more time to enjoy your family and friends. I have also included some recommendations for kitchen tools and equipment that we found indispensable.
There is a bonus for you, as well. I have created a free PDF download that includes all these tips, plus some tried and true recipes that were favorites of our guests. Be sure to grab it at the end of this series this week while it’s available, and start planning to be relaxed and ready for those Christmas gatherings!
Now, let’s lay the groundwork so we are able to bake up fresh batches of cookies, muffins and scones at the wave of our magic spatula!
Fresh drop cookies in a jiffy
Mix up your favorite recipe, and drop the cookie balls into very closely spaced rows, onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. (Ed. note: My mom told me that she now uses waxed paper to instead of parchment just to freeze the cookies. Do not bake on waxed paper!) Put sheets directly into the freezer. Yes, you read that right. Cookies into the freezer until they are rock solid. Then bag, label and return them to the freezer. When you are ready to bake them, first turn your oven on, then get out only as many as you need, and put the frozen dough balls on parchment paper on the cookie sheet, spaced as you normally do.
Bake as directed when the oven is up to temp, except take the cookies out of the oven just a couple of minutes before the middles are actually set. Allow the cookies to finish baking on the sheet for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a rack. If they still aren’t done, pop them back into the oven for another minute or two, then remove and finish baking on the sheet. This last tip will take a wee bit of practice, but do work at it. Trust me, it is well worth it-your cookies will be more moist and soft and chewy when you master this.
Fresh muffins and scones at the drop of a hat
Make your favorite muffin recipe, and drop the batter into greased muffin tins, about two-thirds full. Do NOT use paper liners for this step! Put the full muffin tin into the freezer, make sure it is sitting level, and let the batter freeze into miniature muffin pucks. This step may require an overnight stay, depending your freezer.
Removing the muffins takes a little practice, but again, well worth your time. Let them thaw just ever so slightly, run a butter knife around the edges to loosen, and tip the tin if necessary. If your little frozen pucks get a little disfigured it’s not an issue. Get them into a labelled bag and back into the freezer pronto. When you are ready to bake, first turn your oven on, then get out only as many muffins as you need, and put those cute frozen cakes into tins, either greased or lined with paper cups. If you want to sprinkle sugar or anything else on top, do that now, and get those treats into the oven as soon as the baking temperature is reached. Bake as you normally do and enjoy fragrantly effortless homemade muffins.
For the scones
You may have already decided scones aren’t worth making, that they are dry and hard and tasteless. I have a treat for you! I have included in my free PDF download a recipe for lemon scones that was always met with surprised and delighted comments from our guests, “I had no idea scones could taste this good!”, very often followed by, “Would you share the recipe?”. That download will be available at the conclusion of this series this week, for a limited time.
You will prepare the scones similar to the cookies. Roll out the ball of dough, cut into triangles, get them onto the sheet and into the freezer. Once frozen, bag, label and freeze, and bake later. Yummy goodness!
Having bags of ready to bake cookies, muffins and scones in the freezer will allow you to do all the messy creation and clean up at a convenient time, and give you the freedom to have treats on hand for those impromptu guests, or to serve, fresh and warm, as planned.
Tips, tools and equipment
Label the bags of goodies with the date, the item/flavor, and oven temperature, too, if you like, as that will generally keep you from having to pull the recipe back out.
I mention using parchment paper quite a bit because we became huge fans once we started using it. It makes a big difference in how your cookies bake and how they lift right off the sheet pans. And it makes cleanup easier. 
This paper fits the sheet pan I recommend and is more economical than buying small rolls of parchment. The sheet pan is larger than you might be using now, but it is a great size, it’s solid and has a nice lip on it (which you’ll need for something else I reveal to you in an upcoming installment).
The following kitchen tools and equipment are all things we use and heartily recommend. We would be absolutely lost without our mixers. My personal KitchenAid is now over 15 years old and going as strong as ever. We would sometimes run two at a time as we made up batches and batches of cookies in advance, especially since we could go through 8 or 10 dozen on a snowy, apres ski afternoon. The sheet pan is a workhorse that just doesn’t warp, twist or quit. Take the time to check out all the products, as they are all well worth owning.
Remember to come back tomorrow for my next installment, in which I reveal more secrets to help you enjoy the joy and peace of the season.
Here is the next installment: Innkeeper secrets Part 2
Sharing at No Ordinary Blog Hop
You have some great ideas! I am going to love giving these a try! Thanks for linking up with us over at NOBH! I look forward to reading the rest of your posts in this series!
Glad you found the ideas to be of use, Heidi! When another innkeeper first shared them with us, we about fell over. What a difference it made for us in terms of better use of our time!
I hope you find the ideas as useful!
Love these tips! I have a big freezer in the basement that will do the trick.
Can’t wait for the lemon scone recipe…sounds delish!
How fortunate you are to have a big freezer! Having food prepared in advance is so wonderful!
Another revelation for me as an innkeeper was that there were foods I liked that I hadn’t before, with the difference being a great recipe. Before we found the scone recipe, I really, really disliked them and couldn’t understand how anyone could enjoy them. Then we came upon the lemon scones. Mmmmm.
The only caveat in regards to the frozen cookie dough balls is that once you start filling your freezer with them, well, they are just as yummy as the cooked ones in my book. It’s all too easy to just go get one…then maybe another…and suddenly the bag of chocolate chip cookie dough balls is much smaller.
Thanks for coming by!
I just made a batch of chocolate coconut macaroons from your recipe for our church dessert potluck tomorrow. Oh man, they are SO GOOD! (and I’m not known for my cooking skills!) I might have had an extra dozen if I hadn’t eaten so much of the mixture before I cooked it
I’ll try freezing them next time. Thanks for the recipe!
Ooh, they are so good, aren’t they? I didn’t think I’d like them, but, I do. I, too, have the same problem-eating the dough so there is less to bake/freeze.
I am so glad you used this recipe, and you made my day when you said you are not known for your cooking skills. I never was either, but practice, a willingness to learn, good ingredients and a great recipe go a really long way!