10 Secrets to Baking the Perfect Cookie

Butter acts like the ‘glue’ that holds together the other ingredients. Because of its structure, butter holds the key to the texture, aeration, and shape of cookies. Many cookies call for ‘creaming’ the butter and sugar together before adding dry ingredients. This ensures the butter will be distributed evenly throughout the cookie. For best results, creaming should be done for 2-3 minutes in most cases. Room temperature butter is best for this procedure. Avoid creaming butter and sugars together at a speed higher than medium. Too much friction will cause the butter to heat up and break down. For flaky cookies and many shortbreads you will need very cold butter. The cold butter globs settle between layers of flour and, when baked, melt leaving pockets of air which create layers and texture. For best results, cut butter into small cubes and place them in the freezer before starting dough. Consult the recipe and follow it closely.

Lining baking sheets is one of the easiest ways to ensure the right type of baking and also makes for simple clean up. Parchment paper is the standard choice for most cookie baking, but it is not always the right choice. For thin cookies with a crispy bottom choose foil. Use the less-shiny side up in the bottom of your baking tray. The foil will radiate heat back up toward the cookie and non-porous nature of the foil will keep the fats near the bottom of the cookie creating a crispier bottom. In either case, allow the cookies to cool so you can peel them away from the liner if necessary. Tip: look for flat pre-cut parchment sheets at restaurant supply stores. They fit perfectly in pans and do not roll up on the ends.

It comes down to how long the cookies should continue to cook. For many standard cookies, which are somewhat soft on the inside and a bit crisp on the outside, cooling for just a minute or two on the tray before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely is the right answer. However other cookies, including many shortbreads, require cooling completely on the tray for best results. The additional contact with heat allows the cookie to cook more completely on the inside and creates a more sturdy bottom. As ever, consult the recipe and follow it closely.

While baking cookies is a fun pastime, nobody wants to spend unnecessary time watching the oven. Using a baker’s dozen layout for your cookies will allow you to get more cookies done in less time. Plus, that leaves one extra cookie for the cook. Use the layout in the photo above. Start by placing the first ball of dough in the very center of the pan. Make a diagonal line from there across the cookie sheet with four more dough balls evenly spaced. Use those balls as the guide for the remaining rows of cookies. Learn how to make double-chocolate cherry cookies >>