50 Cookie Tips

Hopefully I am posting this just in time for the cookie making season. Seems like come Christmas its mega cookie time! Everyone wants to make the perfect cookie, including the men. But especially the women, competing without saying a word, wanting to win out as having the best cookie, here's the way to do it. Tips for all around perfect cookie to the perfect soft cookie or a the crispy cookies. Read'm, Print'm hold on to them! Win this year for the best cookie! And men, careful when eating more than one woman's cookie, especially if they both ask you how they tasted, and if they are standing by one another, be extra cautious with the wording you use, they will talk...ENJOY!---Valerie





1----3 tsp vanilla in sugar cookies tastes better than 1 tsp
2----adding a little powdered sugar in the flour that you roll the cut out cookies in, makes it taste less floury. Or only use powdered sugar
3----adding a tsp of oil in the dough when using BUTTER helps make it more moist, including using olive oil. Adding while using margarine isn't recommended
4----let cookies rest 1-3 minutes before taking them off the cookie sheet, but no longer they will continue to cook and become hard
5----bottom oven rack can be washed to use as a rack to cool if you don't have one
6----cooling the cookies on a rack really does help, and preps them for containers
7----don't over work your dough, when rolling out work the dough as little as possible. If your cookies come out dry and hard, over working could be the problem. So can adding too much flour when rolling them out.
8----cookies that just go flat can mean too little baking powder or bad baking powder. So can too much butter or oil. Too much granulated sugar will cause spread. Baking or powdered sugar will reduce spread.
9----cookies can be frozen, for several months even!
10----for cut out or sliced cookies they really need to be cooled, otherwise the fresh dough will "spread" when cooked.
11----softened butter does not mean melted butter. Just let butter sit out in a bowl and get soft until you are ready to use it, I get the butter out on a day I know I am making cookies, and clean up the kitchen or deal with kids, etc.. while the butter softens
12----Dry and crumbly dough can mean that it wasn't mixed properly mixing too long, too much sugar, too much leavening, or not enough egg. Add a little more of a liquid from the ingredients added. Like juice, cream or milk. Softened butter added can work too. 1-2 TBL of the liquid.
13----Too soft of dough is too much liquid. Add 1-2 TBL of flour.
14----"shiny" cookie sheets give evenly browned and delicate cookies
15----nonstick cookie sheets can result in darker cookies try lowering cooking temp by 25*, same for dark cookie sheets
16----insulated cookie sheets allow "spread" and will make the bottom less browned
17----using a small ice cream scoop can really help the cookies cook evenly, make sure to space cookies 2 inches apart
18----parchment paper is amazing, for the holidays I will cheat and lay out parchment paper and distribute the dough along the sheets. I line the cookie sheet to the edge of the table and slide off the paper with cookies and slide one with dough back onto the sheet, fast easy and prepped to go.
19----For chewy cookies. Cook until just when they start to brown.
20----want to increase the spread? Lower the cooking temp
21----Decrease? Raise the temp
22----if you have the time, cooling the cookie sheet before reusing really helps reduce additional spread. If you have two cookie sheets, just alternate every other batch.
23----To use more than one cookie sheet at a time, rotate your sheets about half way through the bake. Put the top pan on the bottom rack and the bottom pan on top.
24----Check cookies at minimum baking time. All ovens are different. An extra minute or two can make a difference between perfectly baked and burnt. Like mine, I have to reevaluate all my cooking times now that I have a new "heating wire" in my oven.
25----Keep soft cookies in a container with a tight lid to retain moisture. If they are a little dry, store them in the container while they’re still warm.
26----Cool your cookies thoroughly before freezing. Store each recipe in a separate freezer container that is labeled with the name and date. Most will freeze well for up to six months. You can store frosted cookies for up to two months, but we suggest you freeze the cookies unfrosted and then frost them just before serving.
27----For super soft cookies reduce the flour by 1/4 cup
28----To dry iced cookies faster, place in a 200F oven with the door ajar for 5 minutes.
29--Freezing a "log" of cookies can make a huge difference in the out come of your cookies. Great for preparing ahead so when the holidays hit, you are ready to go. (maybe this is why Tollhouse and Pillsbury are loved so much with their logs of frozen dough?....)
30----Have an oven window and light?....Don't forget to use it!
31----Dry ingredients measured in scoops, Wet ingredients measured in glass or plastic measuring cups.
32----To prevent over mixing, when adding the flour add slowly and stop when combined. We don't want tough, beaten cookies.
33----Don't use the cookie sheets with high sides, the heat can reflect off and burn the cookies or brown them too quickly, resulting in a crunchy cookie
34----Dip the cookie cutters into flour or powdered sugar before using so they don't tear the cookies. I also give it a little wiggle to separate from the surrounding dough
35----If you usually end up using too much flour, try putting a plastic bag or wax paper ontop of the dough to roll out
36----I like to also use my big cutting board to roll out the cookies, the finish on my table likes to stick to my cookies, but not as much when I use the board
37---- To check cookies for doneness, press down lightly in the middle to see if it bounces back. Bake sliced cookies until the edges are firm and the bottoms are just lightly browned. Generally, cookies are done when the edges begin to brown, or when they are golden.
38----Cool cookies all the way before storing them to prevent "sogginess". Use clear containers to see whats going on inside. Don't store hard cookies with soft cookies. The soft ones will make the harder/crispy ones go limp. (unless that's what you are trying to accomplish) Different flavors will blend when they are being stored together. Separate the layers with wax paper so they don't stick especially with frosted cookies.
39----If you make more icing than you use, cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few days. Stir gently if mixture separates.
40----Self rising flour gives you the option of not having to measure out any baking powder, soda or cream of tar tar. And the end cookie is a little more puffed up and kinda light crunch with super soft center. My favorite flour for cookies
41----Butter will spread faster than shortening or margarine, try using half and half.
42----Try using brown sugar, will make the cookies puffier and chewy, allows more air in.
43----honey or agave instead of sugar, makes a chewier and softer result.
44----egg yolk only cookies make softer cookies as well, egg whites can dry out cookies
45----For crispier cookie, add more liquid to the dough
46----all purpose or bread flour or a mixture between the two can make it more crispy.
47----replace the egg with milk in the recipe for a crispy cookie
48----Try the same recipe one made with the salt, the other without, usually the one with more salt will hold the most flavor, but some prefer without.
49----pre-crack eggs in a separate bowl, make sure you didn't get a bad one and you can grab out the shell easier as well
50----Fold in the "extras" (choco chips, nuts etc..) by hand not with a mixer