What's the secret to baking good cookies?

[Delphinus]

Hi everyone,

I have truly not made cookies for at 35 years (yes, I'm getting old) and even when I did, it's so long ago, I can't remember if they were even really good.

I found a recipe online for Joe Biden's favorite Oatmeal Raisin cookie and made it but ... :shrug:?

I think the people I make goodies for appreciate what I bring and eat them but, to me, they just weren't quite "good enough". Perhaps I'm comparing them to something a professional bakery does, which isn't right, but I am always feeling they don't quite measure up.

Secrets to share? Easier recipes? I don't really do chocolate, so I shy away from that, but whatever you share will be appreciated. Thanks!

[hippywife]

1. I think the most important thing to me

is using really good ingredients. Butter instead of shortening, things like that. And looking at a lot of recipes on-line and the reviews, comments, and modifications people make really helps. And then there's always ~ Practice makes perfect. :hi:

[grasswire]

2. can you share Joe Biden's recipe?

I'd like to see that.

What is wrong with the cookies you make? Spread out too much? Not great flavor? Too tough?

Maybe others could make the same recipe and see if it turns out to their liking.

We can solve this. :-)

[Delphinus]

11. Here you go!

Senator Biden's Favorite Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup shortening or butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup raisins
nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, soda, cinnamon and salt together. Beat together the shortenings and sugars until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Add flour mixture, oats and raisins and mix well.


Use portion scoop and drop onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes (should be golden brown in color).


Comments
On December 14, 2007, this recipe was prepared by culinary students at Southern New Hampshire University and tasted by a panel of esteemed judges to determine, along with our online poll, the winner of the Yankee Magazine Cookie Primary. The winner? Bill Richardson's Biscochitos!

***************************

So, my problems: I do not know how large cookies are supposed to be. I think they did spread out too much.

I also think they weren't "buttery" enough - not enough moisture.

The flavor was off too. I usually add at least a teaspoon of vanilla extract to my desserts but did not do that with this recipe. I don't know if it would have helped or not.

The other thing is I use sea salt, not regular table salt. I have yet to determine (after almost three years) whether or not I should use more or the same amount.

[grasswire]

20. I don't think I would use sea salt in a cookie recipe

....because the grains are larger. Also, most older recipes used salted butter, so keep that in mind when making and adjust your salt accordingly if you are using unsalted butter.

Did you use the right kind of oats? Did all the cookies spread out too much? Or just some pans? (I always work with two pans and stick the hot ones in the freezer for a few moments before loading up with dough again.)

My best oatmeal cookie recipe calls for softening the raisins in some simmering water prior to making the dough, and then uses the raisin water in the dough. This takes oatmeal cookies to a whole new dimension.

[Delphinus]

25. Oooh.

That's a wonderful secret!

Oats - well, to tell the truth, I don't know. I bought a round box of Quaker Oats - I'm hoping that was the right thing.

Thanks for the tip on the salt too.

[grasswire]

27. oats

The quick cooking kind will make a different kind of cookie than the "old-fashioned" kind. The quick cooking oats will make a more cake-like cookie.

[Delphinus]

28. I can't get the picture to post,

so would you go to this link and see if I am using the right thing?

http://www.quakeroats.com/products/oatmeal/old-fashioned-oats.aspx

[grasswire]

29. I suspect this is right for most oatmeal cookies

It will work well for a chewy or crunchy cookie. If you wanted a soft cake type cookie, the quick oatmeal would work better.

[mopinko]

3. treat your butter gently.

i think the most common mistake that people make, especially if you are using an underpowered mixer, is to over beat the butter. this will make your cookies gluey, and make them loose their shape.
butter should be cold, and should be beaten quickly. ingredient should go be added in 3 or 4 groups, usually. cream your butter, add sugar, add any eggs and/or liquid ingredients, then add flour, with any other dry ingredients already mixed in. scrape your bowl between additions.
preheat your oven, but be careful not to overheat the whole kitchen.

[Delphinus]

13. Butter -

That may be an issue right there. I always let my butter come to room temperature.

Good suggestions on how to add the ingredients.

[hippywife]

17. You do need to

let the butter come to room temp or it will never cream properly. The best thing to do when making cookies with butter is to refrigerate the dough for a while, at least an hour.

Housewolf gave an excellent list and she is the resident expert baker in these parts.

[mopinko]

24. funny, i break at least half those rules on a regular basis.

some i swear by, too, tho. like the cold cookie sheets. absolute must.

but the butter- it really depends on what you are using to mix. i have a kitchen aid stand mixer, and it can cream cold butter just fine. anyone using a hand mixer likely needs to have it closer to room temp.
i only really make cookies at christmas time. i make about 20 varieties. plus fudge. it is just not practical for me to keep ingredients out all day, especially once the oven is going. but really, you do have to watch for that point where the butter starts to move from solid to liquid. at that point, you lose the structure, and whatever it is you are making, it becomes a shortbread. so, if you are making a formed cookie, it is going to spread. if you are looking for a light texture, you are not going to get it.
i also confess to this just being one of those pet peeve kind of things. my MIL was a lousy cook, and used to make chocolate chip cookies that she beat to hell. they were just awful.

[hippywife]

31. I also use a KA stand mixer

and last night it was late and decided to cream the butter and sugar even tho the butter was still a little on the cold side. All the way through the process it was grainy and wouldn't cream properly at all and the sugar wasn't dissolved.

I bake every single weekend and really have to disagree that the butter can be used cold. You may get good results but are they the best possible results? I dunno, I think it is worth it to make sure the butter and eggs are at room temperature.

:hi:

[buzzycrumbhunger]

18. Overbeat the butter?

That's always been my secret to the best cookies--I beat the hell out of softened butter, sugar, vanilla, and egg replacer, until it's light and frothy. It then mixes in evenly. The thing you don't want to beat too long is the flour. I use WW pastry flour so that's less likely. My poor daughter tried to make gingerbread cookies once and overbeat the dough; they were practically vulcanized. :P

And what did I ever do before those silicone baking sheets? I never burn the bottoms anymore, nothing sticks, and cleanup involves chucking them in the DW. Of course, I've gotten so lazy in my old age that "cookies" usually means "bars"--I just smoosh the dough to cover the whole mat and cut into brownie-sized servings afterward. No burnt edges.

[mopinko]

22. i admit it is some people's taste

to have a chewy cookie. the more you soften the butter, the chewier they get. and for some cookies that works great. but to make a more delicate, lighter cookie, you gotta keep the butter a little solid. imho.

[pengillian101]

4. My secret? Don't eat too much chocolate chip dough before you add the flour & bake 'em

:-)

[Delphinus]

14. Ha-ha!

:)

[housewolf]

5. Some tips for cookie baking

- Use the best quality ingredients that you can

- Use the correct measuring tool for the ingredient type - long-handled cup measuring cups (1/4 c, 1/3 c, 1/2 c, 1 c) for flour and other dry ingredients; clear glass or plastic 1 - 2 cup pyrex, etc. measuring cups with a measuring guide and pouring spout for liquid measurements, correctly-sized measuring spoons for spices and small amounts of either dry or liquid ingredients.

- Measure carefully. For dry ingredients, fill the cups fully and level off with the flat side of a knife. For wet ingredients, check by holding the measuring cup level at eye level and make sure it's filled evenly with the mark on the guide. Check the recipe directions to see if they expect the flour to be measured by the "dip-and-sweep" method or by spooning flour lightly into the measuring cup (this can be really important - too much flour can result in heavy, dry cookies and too little can result in cookies that don't hold together)

- Check the temperature of your oven with an oven thermometer and adjust the temp when baking if needed

- Use room temperature ingredients unless the recipe calls for something else

- Pre-heat your oven for at least 15 minutes to bring it up to temperature.

- Use the heaviest baking sheets that you can but don't use thin or dark metal cookie sheets (can cause burining)

- Use all-purpose flour unless the recipe specifies something different

- Cool down the baking sheet before putting the next batch of cookies on it (quick tip - wash with cold water, then dry & place the next batch on)

- When removing cookies from the oven, leave them on the baking sheet for 2 minutes then place them on a wire rack (unless the recipe specifies something different)

- Cold dough will spread less than warm or room-temp dough

- If the recipe calls for eggs, beat them in one-by-one and only until just blended (to help avoid tough cookies)

- Scrape down the sides of the bowl several times to be sure that all the ingredients are incorporated

- Don't over-work the dough so as to create tender cookies - over-working causes tough cookies

Those are all sort of generic tips that might help with any sort of cookies you want to make. Do you have a specific type of cookie in mind that you'd like to make? Let us know what you have in mind and we may have more suggestions.

[elleng]

12. BAKING SHEETS!

I suspect that had a lot to do with my less than masterful efforts!

[Delphinus]

16. Hi housewolf,

Wow! Those are some great tips!

I learned the hard way not too long ago that dry ingredients measure differently that wet. I had a great carrot cake and when I made the frosting it said four cups of powdered sugar (which to my mind was 32 ounces) and so I took my 32 ounce bag of sugar and dumped it. WRONG! I ruined it! When I was mixing it up I thought it wasn't the same as I had done before, but didn't realize it was because a dry 32 ounces is measures out to more than a wet 32 ounces.

Oh, and I posted the recipe I used upthread.

[The empressof all]

6. Every Cookie is different

And rules that apply for one breed do not apply to others. I generally agree that using the best ingredients one can find is overall the best advice.But it's not always the case... My niece and I used the same spritz recipe for years (or so I thought) and her's were sublime and mine were just really good. I later found out she uses half Imperial Margarine (and only Imperial) and half butter. Why are some chocolate chip recipes really more flavorful with using the death in a can shortening (Crisco)instead of the butter.

:shrug: :shrug: :shrug: :shrug: :shrug: :shrug: :shrug: :shrug: :shrug:

I have found with cookies every batch is just a little different until you find and tweak a recipe to your own liking.

Another rule I use with cookies that use a lot of butter is to bake them cold. I set them on the cookie sheet and stick the sheet in the fridge for 15 minutes then bake them. My butter cookies do better this way as do my chocolate chip. I also think there's another "secret" that my poor old brain can't remember now about using melted butter if you want a crunchy chocolate chip cookie...Does anyone know that one?

[Warpy]

7. A microplane

Even perfect cookies have a couple of mutants here and there with scorched bottoms. The microplane removes all sins.

[troubleinwinter]

8. I do NOT claim to be much of a baker

but my mother sure was. I told her that I like cookies crispy/CHEWEY, and NOT cakey.

She said to increase the butter a little (for chewiness), and increase the sugar(for crisp). And to chill them before baking because of the butter.

That makes exactly the kind of chocolate-chip and peanutbutter cookies I like.

That's all I know. And I barely even know that!

[pengillian101]

9. Good thinking!

"but my mother sure was. I told her that I like cookies crispy/CHEWEY, and NOT cakey. She said to increase the butter a little (for chewiness), and increase the sugar(for crisp). And to chill them before baking because of the butter."

Great advice - cake-like cookies are the worst!

:hi:

[hobbit709]

10. Don't bake cookies on a wet, rainy day

You have to compensate for the humidity and the cookies are either too sticky or too floury if you add extra flour to compensate for the moisture.

[elleng]

15. Mine were usually made at the last minute,

with no opportunity to fuss about the weather, because a kid said, 'Mom, I've got to bring a zillion cookies to school tomorrow for a *SOMETHING!*'

[Arkansas Granny]

19. Regardless what cookie I bake I find that the airbake cookie sheets give me the best results.

No burnt bottoms. I also like to use parchment paper instead of greasing the baking pan. It not only saves time on preparing the pans, I can slide the whole sheet of parchment onto cooling racks instead of moving individual cookies. That way I don't tear up any cookies with the spatula which sometimes happens on soft chewy cookies or really delicate ones. It's a cinch to remove them from the paper after they've cooled.

I also find that chilling the dough after I get it all together improves the quality. Drop cookies don't spread too much and rolled cookies are much easier to handle if the dough is chilled.

[troubleinwinter]

21. Now there's a good tip!

"slide the whole sheet of parchment onto cooling racks"

[eridani]

30. I'm really liking my airbake sheets

Always had burned bottoms before, and attributed to my old cranky electric stove. Not with the airbake sheets, though.

[Tesha]

23. Walnut Crescents

1 C soft butter
1/4 C confectioners sugar (plus extra for rolling later)
1 1/2 t water
2 t vanilla
2 C sifted flour
1 C chopped walnuts

temp 350 for 15 min. Do Not Brown

blend all together and chill for an hour or more.
shape into small crescents using a walnut sized portion of dough - be gentle
bake
as soon as cool enough to touch - roll in extra confectioners sugar
when cool - roll again.

These have been an old family favorite since before forever.
They look spectacular. Are rich and decadent without being chocolate.
They DO take a gentle hand and don't want to brown - but oh, oh, so yummy.

[Delphinus]

26. This sounds wonderful!

I'll try this next week!