Cookies are always the go to snack when we have that evening coffee or even to munch down our cravings. Every baker goes through crumbled, over cooked, hard cookies before making the perfect ones. Dr Vanilla has a perfect guide from prepping of dough to baking them to ease your efforts.
Prepping the dough: If the recipe calls for it, it is always a good idea to refrigerate the cookie dough as it hardens the dough and prevents spreading up. Cold cookie dough is easier to roll into balls and baking. After refrigeration cool it at room temperature before rolling them into balls and baking. Do not add hot butter and add the required amount of flour that the recipe calls for. Do not over beat the dough as it will result in more air inside the dough.
Cooking Mat: Always use a silicone mat or parchment paper for best results and to prevent spreading of dough. It is advised not to spread the sheet with non-stick spray or butter as it results in excessive spreading of dough. Never put the dough on hot baking trays, instead bring them to room temperature before putting the next batch.
Note the temperature: While baking cookies temperature plays a very important role. While the ideal temperature if given as 350oF ,the inside of the oven may not be in that temperature, it is best to check using an oven thermometer to bake with the ideal temperature. Also bring the butter, eggs and dairy products to room temperature before adding them to the dough.
Cooking Time: Different recipe calls for different time, but if you are not very particular about the time then an easy trick can get it done. Always check your cookies and they are done when edges are set and slightly brown. Under bake the cookie if you want soft ones and vice versa for hard ones. Cookies also bake when they are left on the tray for cooling, so it is better to take that time to consideration.
Cook Batch Wise: It is always the best idea to cook the cookies batch wise, so as to prevent overcrowding which in turn results in under baking of the cookies.
Check out our best simple vanilla cookies recipe.
