There is no denying that even though the holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year, it's also the most hectic. In between shopping for presents, decorating your home and making time for all of those holiday parties, it can be really tough to get all of the food you need to prepare made. While Christmas dinner is certainly important, there's one thing that we just cannot go without during the holiday: Christmas cookies. 

Though the holiday season is so busy, there seems to be a bit of a lull between the chaos of back to school and Halloween and Thanksgiving. That makes the month of November the perfect time to begin preparing. Try making your Christmas cookie dough early this year and preserve it using the FoodSaver® FM5000 2-in-1 Food Preservation System. Here are some tips for classic Christmas cookies that are perfect to make-ahead.

Cookies that you cut out can be rolled before freezing.

Sugar Cookies
Whether you decorate your Christmas cookies with frosting or sprinkles, there's just no better type of Christmas cookie than a simple sugar cookie. Many people also enjoy using cookie cutters for their Christmas cookies, in the shape of snowflakes, snowmen, reindeer or bells. These cookies need to be rolled flat in order to be cut into different shapes.

While you can freeze the dough in one big chunk, it can take longer to thaw. Instead, you can roll it out ahead of time and vacuum seal the flat disks in order to save time when you want to cut and bake cookies. With its specially-designed Express Bag maker, the FM5000 Series Food Preservation System is perfect for helping to accurately measure custom size bags that'll fit your disks. It even has a lower cutter bar position that allows you to use your countertop as your workspace.

When it comes time to bake the cookies, simply let the them reach room temperature on your counter and cut them out with your cookie cutters!

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Drop Cookies
Drop cookies like chocolate chip, oatmeal or macadamia nut cookies are a cinch to prep ahead of time and you can portion out the dough into pre-formed balls that are ready for baking. You can batch seal them by the dozen to make as many, or as little, as you want. 

Once you've mixed your favorite chunky cookie dough, you'll portion them out with a small scoop. It is helpful if you pre-freeze the dough on a cookie sheet once they're formed to retain their shape before vacuum sealing. Once they're hardened a bit, carefully place the pre-formed balls in a vacuum seal bag, leaving space between each so they can be separated before they're stored in the freezer.

To bake these cookies, you don't even have to wait until they reach room temperature. Simply place them a few inches apart on a cookie sheet and bake them. You may have to bake them a bit longer than you would thawed cookie dough, though, to ensure the inside of the cookie bakes properly.

Something as simple as taking a half hour in October or November to prepare your holiday cookie dough ahead of time will make all the difference during the chaotic holiday season!