Cookie Baking Secrets

• Always use freshest ingredients available. I prefer using real butter. Buy new baking soda & baking powder. They tend get weak and ineffective so why waste valuable time & money by having less than perfect cookies?
• Follow recipe directions to the T. I often hear: "These cookies didn't turn out the way I wanted." I ask what they did. They always reply that they added a little of this and left out a little of that. Be prepared before you bake. A level tsp. means LEVEL. One extra pinch of salt can make them too salty. Not enough sugar, bland. Don't run out of ingredients. A recipe is like a scientific experiment. I encourage you to make up your own recipes....... just don't do it for my party! :)
• Use "Parchment Baking Paper". It can be hard to find so stock up when you find it.Williams & Sonoma definitely carries it. Reuse each sheet until they are slightly browned.
• Bake the cookies 2-4 days before exchange. The most common reason for not attending the cookie exchange is waiting until last minute to bake and not having the time! Who has extra time in December? (The cookies should sit out over night anyway.)
• Allow the cookies to cool on baking sheet for at least one minute before transferring them to cooling racks to keep them from breaking.
• Some people tend to over bake their cookies. Follow the recipes time for baking, you can't tell just by looking at them. Sometimes the cookies look under baked in the center, but they're not. Set the timer for a minute earlier, it's easy to bake them some more, impossible to undo over baking. Realize that the oven will be hotter towards the end of your batch. Either lower the temp or pull them out early. The cookies will continue baking for one more minute before you transfer them to the cooling rack. The color of the underside of a cookie should be the same color as the top. A cookie that is crunchy right after baking is over done. They should be moist & chewy and then firm up after sitting out over night.
• Stack cookies in groups of 6-8, cool on racks overnight. Lay a sheet of wax paper loosely over them. Do not seal cookies for at least 8 hours to let all moisture out. If you seal freshly baked cookies they will crumble. This method allows cookies to remain fresh for at least 3 weeks. Store in cookie tins, layered with wax paper. Keep tins in cool, dry place.
• Give away small paper plates (Christmas motif, of course!) of cookies, wrapped in Saran and topped with a bow to: friends, relatives, coworkers, bosses, daycare providers, etc.... and remember......... broken cookies have fewer calories!!

• Drop-cookie hints:
  • Drop dough into rounded mounds of the same size so they'll bake evenly.
  • Leave enough space between cookies to keep them from spreading into one another.
  • Drop cookies are done when the dough looks set and the edges and bottoms of the baked cookies are lightly browned.
• Some cookie recipes suggest that you finish incorporating the flour by hand with a wooden spoon. Even very good stand mixers have their limits; if the motor sounds as if it is laboring, stop it immediately or you risk damaging it.
• Liquid food colors are best for tinting dough in pastel colors. For deeper colors, use paste colors, available in cake decorating stores and some cooking shops. The paste also works best for frostings and glazes since it doesn't thin them. To use paste colors, dip a toothpick into the paste and add it to the icing. Always use a clean toothpick so dough or frosting isn't transferred to the color paste, causing it to mold.
• Plain cookies drizzled or partially dipped in chocolate are always a treat. Melt chocolate for dipping slowly and don't allow a speck of water to taint it. If using chocolate squares, chop it coarsely and put it in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan over the lowest heat. Using a wooden spoon, stir it constantly and remove it from the heat while small lumps remain. Then stir the chocolate until it finishes melting, returning it briefly to the stove on low heat, if necessary. In a microwave, melt the chocolate on the medium or defrost setting only until it is softened, but still holds its shape, then stir it to complete the melting.
• Fresh cookies are the best cookies, so when baking, make an extra batch or two. Store cookie dough in a tightly covered container (or roll and wrap it as directed), and store it in the refrigerator.
• To restore moisture to soft cookies that have dried out, wrap a wedge of apple or a slice of bread in waxed paper and put it in the container withthe cookies. Remove the apple or bread after 24 hours.
• Freezing tips:
  • If you are not going to be serving your cookies in the next three days, freeze them. Freeze cookies in layers, separated by a sheet of waxed paper. To thaw, let the cookies stand for 15 minutes in the container at room temperature.
  • Freeze cookies unfrosted so they don't absorb moisture from the frosting.
  • If you plan to freeze bar cookies, line the baking pan with foil, leaving two extra inches of foil at each end. Add the batter, bake and cool. Then you can lift the foil to remove the cookies from the pan. Wrap the cookies in foil, seal and freeze before cutting. Frost bars after thawing.
  • To freeze dough, pack it in freezer containers. For sliced cookies, roll and wrap dough as directed in recipe. Cookie dough may be frozen for up to six months. Thaw dough in the refrigerator before baking.
• More freezing tips
  • To freeze, cool the cookies thoroughly before wrapping them well. Good packaging keeps cookies in prime condition and prevents dry freezer air from drawing out their moisture. Wrap the cookies in plastic and then put them in a rigid closed container to protect them from breaking. Bundle up just a few cookies in plastic (or even wrap them individually) so they don't pick up off flavors. Delicate cookies must be wrapped carefully and layered flat to prevent breakage. Before wrapping frosted cookies or bars, freeze them unwrapped until the frosting is firm.
  • Defrost cookies while still wrapped so that condensation forms on the wrapping, not on the cookie. Frosted and filled cookies will last for a month in the freezer. Most other cookies, bars, and brownies will last up to three months.
  • The only cookies that won't survive freezing very well are those with fresh fruit fillings (but jam fillings are fine).
• Storage tips:
  • Make sure cookies are completely cooled before storing them.
  • Store crisp and soft cookies separately. Stored together, they will all become soft. Tightly covered containers or sealable plastic bags both make good storage containers.
  • Store bar cookies in a tightly covered container or in the baking pan, tightly covered with foil.
  • Any cookies with a filling or frosting containing cream cheese or yogurt must be stored in the refrigerator.
• Shipping tips:
  • Choose sturdy cookies that can travel well. Most bars or soft, moist cookies are good choices. Frostings and fillings may soften, causing the cookies to stick together or to wrapping.
  • Wrap cookies back to back in pairs or wrap them individually, with plastic wrap.
  • Choose a heavy box and line it with plastic wrap or foil. Place a generous layer of filler, such as plastic bubble wrap, foam packing pieces, crumpled waxed paper (or plastic grocery bags) or paper towels on the bottom of the box.
  • Layer the cookies and filler. Top the last cookie layer with plenty of filler to prevent the contents from shifting during shipping.
• Use Royal Icing for perfect glazes
  • The secret to smoothly glazed and gorgeously decorated cookies is Royal Icing. It is easy to make, sets up nicely and remains toothsome. Here, from ''Cookies for Christmas'' by Jennifer Dorland Darling, is the basic recipe for 2 cups:

    Royal Icing: In a medium mixing bowl, combine 2 cups sifted powdered sugar and 4 teaspoons meringue powder (find it in kitchen, cake-decorating and some craft shops). Add 3 tablespoons cold water and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until mixture is combined; then beat on medium to high speed for 5 to 8 minutes or until mixture forms stiff peaks. (If mixture seems too stiff, add water while beating, 1/2 teaspoon at a time.) Icing should be fairly thick for piping.

  • When not using icing, tightly cover and refrigerate.
  • To use Royal Icing:
    • Cool cookies completely.
    • Divide icing into portions, one each for each color you are going to use. Color each portion. Paste colors give the most vibrant results.
    • Fill a pastry bag, or a rolled cone of decorator's paper, fitted with a plain No. 1 cake decorating tip.
    • Pipe on the icing, allowing it to dry completely between each color.
    • For a smooth glaze, pipe an outline in the color of the glaze, or a contrasting one, around the cookie, about 1/8 inch from the edge. If you are using more than one color, pipe dividing lines between sections with different colors. Set aside until icing dries.
    • To your colored icing, stir in water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, until the icing is thinned. Fill another pastry bag, fitted with a larger plain tip, with the thinned icing.
    • Begin adding icing within the piped-on lines, spreading it a bit with the end of the tip, until it fills in the empty space. If adding more colors, again, set the cookies aside until the glaze is dried.
    • You may add dragees, candy decorations, colored sugars and sprinkles while the icing is moist.
    • This process of icing and drying may take a bit of time, but the results will be wonderful. You can spread the process over a couple of evenings, covering the cookies, once the icing has dried, with foil in between decorating sessions. Be sure to tightly cover and refrigerate the icing.

Cookies From Scratch

• To make the best cookies possible, use quality ingredients, read recipes thoroughly and assemble all ingredients and utensils before you start mixing.
• All fats are not equal. Butter adds a rich flavor to cookies and produces either a crisp or tender texture, depending on the recipe. Cookies made with margarine will have a texture similar to butter cookies but not the same flavor. Vegetable shortening adds no flavor of its own but primarily affects the texture - crumbly, crunchy or soft, depending on the recipe.
• Measure ingredients accurately, using the scoop and level method for dry ingredients such as flour and liquid measuring cups - the glass or plastic kind with a spout - for liquid ingredients.
• Cookies made with baking soda tend to spread more, while those made with baking powder puff up and are more cake-like.
• Use large eggs, unless a recipe specifies otherwise.
• Let eggs and fats come to room temperature before beginning a recipe.
• For quick softening, microwave sticks of butter or margarine 15 to 30 seconds until softened. When creaming butter and sugar - blending the two together, that is - beat by hand or with a mixer until the sugar has dissolved and the butter looks smooth and light-colored.
• When adding flour to the egg and butter mixture, mix just until blended. Vigorous beating or excessive mixing produces tough cookies.
• When spooning cookie dough onto baking pans, leave 1 to 2 inches of space between cookies to accommodate spreading.
• Use an oven thermometer to make sure that oven temperature is correct.
• For more even baking, position oven rack in the center of the oven and bake one cookie sheet at a time. If baking two pans at a time, space racks so that oven is divided into thirds and switch cookie sheets halfway through baking.
• Use a timer, and check cookies after the minimum time suggested in the recipe. For softer, chewier cookies, underbake slightly. For crisper cookies, bake toward the maximum time.
• Use a wide spatula to remove cookies immediately from cookie sheets to a cooling rack, unless recipe directs otherwise. Cool in a single layer on the rack. Cool completely before decorating or storing.
• Store crisp and soft cookies in separate containers or the crisp cookies will become soft. Sometimes flavors may transfer if different kinds of cookies are stored in the same tin.
• Separate layers of cookies with waxed paper. Most cookies can be refrigerated or frozen for longer storage.

By Kristin Eddy Tribune Staff Writer December 1, 1999

• Rolling and cutting dough:
  • Make sure the dough is chilled; if it is warm, it will be too soft to work with.
  • Roll our dough on a lightly floured cutting board.
  • Run the rolling pin gently over the dough, beginning i the center and sweeping outward. Turn the dough after every few strokes before rolling again.
  • Most cookie recipes will direct you to roll the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch or 1/8 inch. To help measure correctly, buy two long wooden dowels, in 1/4-inch and 1/8-inch diameters, and place one on each side of the dough. Then roll the rolling pin over the dowels until the dough has flattened to the same thickness.
• Brushing:
  • Cookies can be brushed with an edible gold glitter. A brush can also be used to paint feathery strokes of colored frosting over the cookie.
• Drawing:
  • Put some finer details on your design by using a toothpick or wooden skewer.
• Icing:
  • A standard pastry bag, with tips of different shapes and widths, is the best way to have control over the piped frosting.
• Frosting the cookie:
  • Decorations may be piped directly o the cookie or painted over a single-color frosted background. Either way, you need a good icing mixture.
  • Royal icing, made by mixing confectioners' sugar with egg whites or meringue powder, is the classic frosting mixture.
  • Flood icing is the thicker version of royal icing; the mixture is then thinned with a little water to make royal icing.