I did this growing up - however Salmonella was tightly controlled by the government there so no products were ever contaminated with it. Then when I was a very healthy 22 year old I got Salmonella here in the US and spent a week in the hospital. I think some of it was due to them not figuring out what I was sick with for the first few days and then when it finally was figured out and I got the right antibiotic I recovered quickly, albeit lost a lot of weight and strength I didn't need to loose. Since then I'm very cautious about anything that could have Salmonella. I do have to say I miss eating the batter although it wasn't eggs that got me sick. I had had chicken from a restaurant, not fully cooked bacon (just warmed), and turkey with dressing (right after christmas) so there were lots of sources. It took me about 15 years to start eating chicken again, unless I cooked it and overcooked it and I only like crispy bacon now. Turkey is still on the not wanting it very much, but I will eat it now. Maybe my stomach is now more accustomed to the bacteria and I won't be as sensitive, but I'm still scared by that whole experience.

I don't like making cookie dough in the food processor. If it is a pastry type cookie, I will cut the butter/shortening with the dry ingredients - but then I will move to a bowl and mix in the wet ingredients by hand. I do like using my Kitchen Aid - I "pulse" the beater so that the dough isn't over worked. Just a few rotations, scrape the bowl and beater down and a couple more rotations - and so on until the dough comes together. With sugar cookies - I cream the butter and eggs, add about half the flour and leavening and mix well (but don't over work) - then I gently "pulse" in the rest of the flour.... And since I roll them out - I make sure I don't add any additional flour. I chill the dough, then roll out on a lightly floured board.

shambo, I make nearly any kind of drop cookie ahead, freeze them on trays and then package them up in bags. When I bake them, I just let them thaw on baking trays and pop them in the oven, I find they come out better when thawed than when baked still frozen. I freeze Grandma's Chewy Molasses Cookies, then roll them in sugar when they thaw and bake them, they don't seem to get frozen as hard as some others. Chocolate chip freezes just fine, as do Sherry's Santa's Helpers, I just add the filling when I thaw the dough. Peanut butter works well, as does oatmeal. I've never tried freezing shortbread, but sugar cookies freeze nicely in portions or already rolled and cut out, then frozen on sheet pans and packaged. It's nice to have some cookies ready to pop in the oven, so I've pretty much always got some kind or another in the freezer. Plus, I can bake a dozen at a time and not be left with a couple dozen cookies that get stale before we eat that many. Annie

I've always loved cookie jars but the only one I've bought is a Pillsbury Dough Boy one from 25-30 years ago. It got put away when my boys were little so it wouldn't get broken and now it sits in one of those over the cabinet display cabinets where it creeps out my future DIL. I went to a plain glass jar -- one for us and one for the dog treats. Only one guest has eaten a dog treat - and that one came out of a package that was supposed to look like bakery cookies. It was when my son was in high school and she asked if they were a little old. There was so much laughter.