Big Batch Baking

I love big batch baking. It makes my life so much easier. I only seem to do it when I'm organised and the house is organised, so I figure that is saying something! (Thankyou lists).
I usually bake for the kids school lunches and freeze them so there's always something ready to go. I decided to get stuck into it today and get a heap of baking done because otherwise I seem to reach for pre packaged snacks...something I'd prefer not to do. Big batch baking is an economical way of making sure there are some treats on hand for school lunch boxes and after school snacks. 

Today I made Peanut Butter Rice Bubble Slice, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Apple and Cinnamon Muffins. The muffins I freeze in either freezer safe containers (like the Tupperware Antarctica containers) or I've also been known to freeze them in clip seal bags, which makes it easy to see what's inside. If you're using the bag method, make sure they're spaced evenly in the freezer until they're frozen, otherwise you'll end up with squashed muffins.  I made a double batch today, which gave me 36 muffins in total.

The Chocolate Chip Cookies were made from the 100 biscuit recipe. It's quite a well known recipe, but it's the cheapest way I've found to make biscuits. And lots of them. I made up the batch of plain cookie dough then mixed the chocolate chips in. Of course you can make any number of flavours - the possibilities are endless really - and I often make a few different ones from the one batch of dough. 
I normally split the dough into four parts and cook one batch then freeze the rest in logs so I can reach into the freezer when I want to bake more cookies and all I have to do is cut the logs up into little discs then bake them. Today I baked 2 trays of cookies (which made about 28), then split the remaining dough into three sections and froze them in logs. I think each log will still make about 18 cookies when I bake them next. 

The peanut butter rice bubble slice won't be frozen. I've stored it in an airtight container in the fridge. It probably won't last long as the kids love it, and I haven't ever tried freezing a rice bubble slice, so I'm not sure if it would lose its crunch. Hmmm.....I might just have to test a piece and see.

Clockwise from left - Peanut Butter Rice Bubble Slice, Apple and Cinnamon Muffins, the cookie dough logs for freezing and Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I hope I've inspired you to do some big batch baking of your own! Not just for school lunches, it's also a great way to stock up on treats for hubby's lunch, when friends drop by for a cuppa unexpectedly or when you're heading out to a morning tea. How great to have some home baked loveliness ready to go when you need it.

I'd love to hear what you'll be baking!


 Nadia
xxx