Raise your hand if your first attempt at baking was cookies. I know you can't see me, but my hand is high in the air.
When I was a little girl, my favorite way to flex my independence was to whip up my famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. I would have to climb onto the countertop to reach the ingredients on the top shelf… and would inevitably get scolded for being on the counters. But hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
That was many many years ago and I have been making cookies ever since. Their simplicity makes them approachable for bakers just getting started, and their ability to be customized makes them fit anyone's sweet tooth.
When you've been making cookies for over 60 years, you pick up a trick or two along the way.
Here are my top eight tricks for you to try to improve your cookies!
Use Quality Ingredients: This may seem obvious, but you need to use quality ingredients. You can't mix up a bowl of crummy ingredients and expect good results. Period. Better ingredients=better results. Flour is a major component in cookies- Use our organic heritage wheat that is minimally processed for your best cookies yet!
Room Temperature Ingredients: Specifically butter and eggs. It's easy to want to skip this step... And since we can be honest with each other, I do skip it from time to time due to a lack of planning. But I do notice a difference when I use room-temperature eggs and butter. When you use room-temperature ingredients, they combine more easily and evenly.
Properly Cream Together Butter and Sugar: you may notice how many cookie recipes start by telling you to cream together your butter and sugar… It's important this step is done correctly. It incorporates more air into the dough making your cookies lighter. You also evenly disperse the sugar into the butter and allow it to properly dissolve. As a general rule- I cream the butter and sugar together for about 2-3 minutes.
Chilling Your Dough: Try chilling your cookie dough to solidify the fats in the dough. This helps prevent the cookies from spreading too much while baking. Chilling your dough also helps give your flour time to hydrate. This results in a chewier cookie.
Give Them Space!: I’m talking to myself here… I have been known from time to time to overcrowd my cookie sheets to try to decrease the number of batches I have to cook… sue me! ;) Make sure to leave enough space between cookies to avoid them spreading into each other.
Use Parchment Paper: rather than using a non-stick spray for your cookie sheet, try using parchment paper. This helps your cookies bake more evenly and makes sure your cookies don't stick.
Don't Overbake: I have a wonky oven at home- it bakes hotter than most ovens. Because of this- I have to keep a close eye on my cookies. All ovens are a little different so keep an eye on your cookies while they are baking- don't just take the recipe's word for it. There is a fine line between the perfect cookie and one that's been overbaked. Remove your cookies from the oven when they are set around the edges but slightly soft in the center.
Rest Them On The Sheet For a Few Minutes: Once you remove the cookies from the oven- let them hang out on the baking sheet for a few minutes before moving them onto a cooling rack. This will help them set properly.
Any one of these tips will improve your cookie… try all eight and you’ll be unstoppable!
All for now!
