Cookie Baking Tips

   A blog worth re-posting this time of year especially with the cost of ingredients. Happy Baking!!

   Here are just a few cookie baking tips to get us through these last few days of holiday prep. Right about now is when the baking begins full force. This first tip is something I tried last year & it works great. My cookies were the best ever!

~ Use butter whenever possible – nothing beats it, but melt first & let cool to room temperature. Melted/cooled butter will dissolve the sugar much better! Make sure to cream butter & sugar well, no shortcuts here!

~ In keeping with using butter, use the best ingredients available (ie. real vanilla extract, chocolate). It will make a difference.

~ Follow cookie/recipes closely. You don’t want a too dry or wet outcome. Refrigerate dough that requires this, a sufficient amount of time or you will have cookie that spread way too much, are way too thin.

~ Mix just enough when adding dry ingredients to make sure your ingredients are properly blended but then STOP. Overmixing leads to hard cookies that do not rise properly.

~ Make sure your ingredients (ie. flour, baking powder, baking soda) are not old – again the outcome will not be the same.

~ A sugar cookie shortcut is to buy the refrigerated Toll House dough especially if this is the kid’s cookie project.

~ Make sure to line the cookie sheets for those cutouts with parchment paper. That way the cutouts remove easily & there are fewer lost heads!!

~ An oven thermometer is great to use throughout the year to make sure your temps are what is expected.

~ Use cooling racks & transfer to cookie CANS if possible. They make a difference. Make wax paper circles to separate each layer in the can.

~ Finally, if you find your cookies that should be soft getting hard over the holiday weeks, add a slice of bread every few days. The moisture in the bread will transfer throughout the can!