10 Tips For Making The Perfect Cookies
1- Have all ingredients at room temperature for more glamorous perfect cookies, unless otherwise specified in your recipe.
2- Read the recipe very well and have all your ingredients ready in front of you before starting.
3- Using fresh ingredients is very helpful. Sometimes, we use old flour, baking powder or ingredients that are about to expire. This affects the quality of baked products.
4- Measure the ingredients carefully. Don’t think that by putting 2 eggs instead of 1, you are creating a richer recipe. On the contrary, this can damage the whole recipe. This is a common mistake that I used to do in cakes.
5- Soften the butter by leaving it in room temperature for few hours before baking. It’s better than melting it in the microwave or the oven. Using soft butter melted in room temperature gives the best texture.
6- Freeze the dough for some time before you bake it. It helps the dough keep in shape and it makes working easier with soft cookie dough. They also claim that it improves the flavor.
7- It is very important to preheat the oven 10 to 15 minutes before you begin baking cookies. This is usually consistent unless a recipe specifically calls for you to start with a cold oven.
8- All cookies need to be of uniform size and thickness so they all get perfectly cooked at exactly the same time.
9- Leave room between cookies. Thumb rule is 2 inches because when they are cooked, they melt and expand so you don’t want them to stick to each other. If the recipe is for bigger cookies, adjust the space accordingly but 2 inch space is the space for normal sized ones.
10- Be sure not to overcook them because it takes a few seconds between a very well cooked crispy cookie of perfect texture and those which are slightly burnt and a bit hard to bite. First time I baked cookies they were as hard as a brick because I left them for 5 minutes longer than the recipe indicated. They say set the timer 3-4 minutes less than the time specified in the recipe.
Freezing tips:
a- If you want to freeze them for an occasion or a trip, you should freeze baked cookies in airtight freezer containers, freezer bags or aluminum foil.
b- If you want to freeze the dough itself, this is pretty easy. Just beware that the dough absorbs any odd odors present in the freezer so it has to be perfectly sealed and wrapped.
Diana is a wife and a mother of twin babies who is inspired by music, nature and daily life interactions. She uses her passion for writing to capture special moments, replace pain with laughter, and inspire others. She is a feature writer for several publications in Egypt and the Gulf; through her Twin Mummy’s Diary she shares her thoughts, experiences and helpful tips as she goes us through the roller coaster ride called motherhood, with its challenges and joys.
