Cookie Baking
Tips for Cookie Baking
Executive summarized about Tips for Cookie Baking by Freddy Maier
1. How to Make Chewy Cookies
The secret in making any cookie recipes into a soft and chewy cookie is to use Butter flavored Crisco instead of butter. If you want a crispy cookie use butter. Another trick to have chewier cookies is to cut your baking time by about 2 minutes (baked at the temperature stated on the recipe. Your cookies should be baked through but not yet crispy. You can also reduce your oven temperature by 25 degrees and bake for the time stated on the recipe.
2. Baking Soda or Baking Powder ?
Baking powder is alkaline and needs to be mixed with acidic ingredients in order to react. Baking powder is baking soda with an added acidic ingredient, usually cream of tartar. In cookies, baking soda tends to make them spread out more and baking powder tends to make them rise and become puffy or more cake-like. If your recipe calls for baking soda, simply try to reduce it a bit.
3. Make Chilled Dough for Better Results
Make sure the dough is chilled and the baking sheets are cool before putting them in the oven.
4. Beware of nutritional information
You might one day read a recipe that has, for example, 2 sticks of margarine or butter. The nutritional information will read ‘0′ cholesterol. Why so? It is because the nutritional for recipes are calculated using the first ingredient when two ingredients are given. For example, when it says “margarine or butter”, the nutritional are calculated using margarine. If butter were listed first, it would be calculated using butter.
5. Dark or Shiny Pan?
Remember the darker the finish on the pan, the faster the sheet will heat and the longer it will hold the heat. The shinier the pan you use, the longer it will take to heat up. Dark absorbs heat, so your bottoms will be done more quickly then the tops or centers.
6. How many trays in the oven?
Don’t try to crowd too many cookie sheets into your oven at once.. Your best results will be one tray at a time on the middle rack of the oven with plenty of room for the warm air to circulate around the tray.
Tags: baked cookies, baking cookies, cookie baking, cookie baking sheet