Top 10 Cookie Baking Tips from Mavis Butterfield

It’s no secret that I LOVE baking cookies and on any given week bake 4-6 dozen cookies. I bake breakfast cookies {yes, there is such a thing}, biscotti, all the way to delicious double chocolate brownie cookies {they had me at “double”}.   I probably eat at least a dozen cookies a week all by myself 🙂

Now that the holidays are upon us, it’s time to crank up the baking a notch.  If you plan on delivering plates of cookies to friends/neighbor {or dimming the lights in the dining room and eating a whole batch yourself–no judgement}, here are some tips to help you get the best results:

1. Follow recipe amounts exactly.  Baking isn’t like cookies, it requires precise measurements {I think that’s why French pastry chefs weigh all of their ingredients}.  Save a “pinch of this and that” for the spices in your soup, and commit to measuring out everything in your cookies.
2. Use eggs at room temperature.  It can really screw up the mixing process {cold eggs and melted butter will cause your butter to clump and not mix properly.}
3. On that note, unless the recipe calls for melted butter {or whatever fat you’re using}, keep butter at room temperature.  It will blend soooo much better.
4. Don’t over-mix your batter.  It really ticks off your baking soda and can cause flat spread out cookies.
5. For bars or squares, make sure to pay attention and use the size of pan the recipe calls for.  That probably seems like a no-brainer, but even I have been tempted {okay, okay, I have been more than tempted, I have succumbed} to use a different pan because it was what I had on hand.  Most of the time, it results in dry or overly gooey bars.
6. For sheet cookies or bars, use a plastic knife to cut them.  I don’t know what it is, but plastic knives do not tear them to pieces and leave perfectly cut bars.
7.  When measuring flour, spoon it into the measuring up and then level it with the back of a knife.  {Don’t sift it–unless called for in the recipe.}
8. Don’t overcrowd cookies on a pan in order to complete baking faster.  They need room to spread and they also need warm air to encircle them evenly.
9. For roll-out cookies, ALWAYS chill the dough first.  It will make it more easily to get a consistent spread.
10. Use parchment paper or silpats to make sure your cookies don’t stick to the pan.

Happy baking,

~Mavis

Need some ideas on what to bake?  Check out all my cookie recipes HERE.