My Aunt’s Genius Trick for Cooling a Lot of Cookies at Once

With age comes wisdom, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned from listening and talking to my elders who grew up during the Great Depression, it’s how to be savvy, scrappy, and resourceful. My aunt was an all star home baker. It was an effortless talent for her to bake anything, and she wasn’t just a pro—she also absolutely loved every moment of it. In today’s world, she could have been a competitor on any hit baking show and beat out some of the finest competition out there. Baking was her life’s passion. Nothing brought her more joy than spending countless hours in the kitchen, then sharing her treats with others.

My aunt spent her life living blissfully in a city apartment with a small, windowless kitchen the size of a shoebox. Her oven was small and her counter space was scarce, but that never stopped her from pumping out batch after batch of delicious cookies all year long. Then, when the holidays came around, she took her hobby to a whole new level. We’re talking about nearly a hundred batches of holiday cookies, varieties of all kinds, and what seemed like infinite quantities of butter, eggs, and sugar. Her apartment (and her entire hallway) never failed to smell divine, and there was a resident cloud of powdered sugar in the air before Christmas and leading up to the New Year. One of her most brilliant baking tricks was the household item she used to create the ample cooling rack space she needed.

My Aunt Used This Household Item To Cool Down Cookies

When it came to cooling down cookies, my aunt didn’t have the fancy stackable gadgets we enjoy today. Instead, she went straight for the ironing board! It makes a lot of sense. It’s portable, convenient, large, and creates more space for using countertops to prep and bake. She could move it around as needed, and once she was finished for the day, she’d simply work in reverse by giving it a clean, replacing the covers, and folding it up to put away!

How To Use An Ironing Board As A Cooling Rack

You’ll want to get down to the bare bones of your ironing board to use it as a cooling rack. Begin by opening your ironing board as you normally would, then remove any cloth and foam coverings from the board. Give the metal a quick rinse with a damp towel to remove any dust or debris that could land on the cookies, and you’re ready to get baking!

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