5 Cookie Baking Tips
5 Cookie Baking Tips by: Cece Kirkwood
The cookie… likely the first thing anyone learns how to bake. It is a building block of learning to bake and the recipe ideas are endless, so you’ll be baking cookies for as long as you want to bake!
In order to improve your next cookie batch, I am excited to bring you my top 5 cookie baking tips! There is a little bit of overlap with my Basic Baking Tips, but can you blame me? Those tips are amazing… or at least I think so.
- Measure ingredients by weight not by volume
- Refrigerate cookie dough
- Add a couple of chunks of chocolate on top of the cookie dough balls before baking
- Scoot the cookies when they are fresh from the oven
- Sprinkle with sea salt when fresh from the oven!
1. Measure ingredients by weight not by volume
As you know, baking is a science. Although cookies are one of the first things you’ll learn how to bake, they can be temperamental! So to help cut out some of the inconsistencies that can come with cookie baking, its best to measure the ingredients by weight and get things exact every time!
The trouble with measuring by volume is that, without meaning to, you can over or even under pack a measuring cup leading to inconsistent amounts of ingredients going into a cookie recipe every time.
So, avoid the hassle and just buy a scale. They are simple to use and lead to an accurate bake every time.
2. Refrigerate cookie dough
I’ve covered this one too in another baking basic, but chilling the cookie dough allows for the fats in the dough to well…chill out. When cookie dough fats, like butter, cool and solidify, they will spread slower when they hit the heat.
This is because the fat takes longer to heat up to the temperature in the oven. When the fats stay solid for longer, you’ll end up with a plumper cookie and a bit more of an even bake all around.
To prove this, I did a little science experiment and you can read more about it here!
This tip isn’t required, but I’m partial to chilling the dough whether or not the recipe calls for it. If you’ve ever wondered how to make your cookies fluffier instead of flat… chilling time in the fridge is the answer!
3. Add a couple of chunks of chocolate on top of the cookie dough balls before baking
This is one of my favorites for any cookie that requires some sort of chip – whether that’s chocolate, peanut butter, or another delicious chip.
Give your cookie dough an elevated finish by adding small chunks of chocolate to the top of your cookie dough after scooping and before baking. The chocolate will get a little oo-ey goo-ey on top and make any cookie look that much more professional.
4. Scoot the cookies when they are fresh from the oven
Cookies will spread as they like in the oven, but if you want your cookie to have that perfect circular look… give your cookies a scoot when they are immediately coming out of the oven.
Don’t wait too long though as the cookie’s outer edge will harden first. As soon as you pull the pan out of the oven, grab a circular cookie cutter that is larger than your cookie, place it over the cookie and spin or “scoot” it around to get a beautifully round cookie every time.
5. Sprinkle with sea salt when fresh from the oven!
And finally, after that cookie scoot, sprinkle the cookies with a bit of sea salt to intensify all the delicious cookie flavors. Topping that sweetness off with a little bit of salt… it’s the most spectacular combination.
