Waxed paper makes a slick cookie tool

Dear Heloise: Every year, I make more than 1,000 cookies to send to friends and family. One of the favorites is a 70-year-old recipe for jelly-center thumbprint cookies.

The most tricky and time-consuming part is smashing the balls of cookie dough into flat rounds. It’s messy, too, having to flour the glass just about every other cookie.

This year, I decided to use my trusty old friend, waxed paper. I rolled the 1-inch balls and set them out on the cookie sheet, then covered the whole thing with one sheet of waxed paper. I put my glass on top and pushed down on one, then the next and the next, until the whole sheet was done. It saved so much time, and I was able to use the same sheet of waxed paper for all the cookie sheets!

I also save a lot of time washing up by using parchment paper to cover all of my cookie sheets. The cookies don’t stick, and I can throw them away if anything gets too messy. Again, they can be used for several batches, and I have to wash cookie sheets only at the end of each day.

I read your column in The Washington Post and have learned a lot! Cookie Mama from Bethesda, Md.

You bake a lot of cookies! We love your timesaving hint to speed up the baking process! Heloise

Dear Heloise: My grandkids love kid-size ice-cream cones. They can be messy with melting ice cream. I put a strawberry or other piece of fruit in the bottom and use thick, flavored yogurt instead of ice cream. The children love to add a few mini marshmallows or candy to the yogurt for an eating surprise. Skeeter Gurzick, Omaha, Neb.

Dear Heloise: I like to save the dipping sauces (unopened) that they give you when you go to a fast-food restaurant. When I make sandwiches for my family’s lunch, I spread a small amount of these on the sandwich (instead of mustard or mayo). It’s something different, and it livens up a sandwich.

Also, when I make chicken on the grill, I use these sauces at the end instead of barbecue sauce (I like the sweet and sour best). It’s tasty and free. Debbie J. in Pennsylvania

Dear Heloise: When adding bay leaves to soups, stews, etc., count how many leaves. Then count them upon completing the cooking. Jersey Jo in New Jersey

Dear Heloise: Put stainless kitchen tongs in a paper-towel cardboard tube. I have done it for years — no mess in the drawer. Joan Tomajko, New Windsor, N.Y.

Dear Heloise: A pastry blender works much better than a fork when mashing bananas or avocado, and it is much easier to clean than a food processor. Judy in Fountain Valley, Calif.

SBlt Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate