Cookie Tips from the Pros

By Hklbrries

Feeling the Christmas cookie crunch? Check out our pastry chefs' strategies that help them beat the holiday rush and get perfect results.

*Butter, Sugar, Flour and Eggs...*

Professional bakers insist on using only the finest ingredients, so accept no substitutes.

Stick to salted or unsalted "stick" butter (versus vegetable oil spreads, tub products or lower fat products containing less than 80 percent fat).

When a recipe calls for sugar, it means pure granulated sugar. Blended sugar, a combination of granulated sugar and dextrose (a corn-derived sweetener), is only 70 percent as sweet and could yield improper results when baking.

All-purpose flour is the flour of choice for cookies. Bleached or unbleached can be used interchangeably. Choose all-purpose flour that's labeled "pre-sifted," for more accurate measuring (and you won't have to sift).

Grade A or AA large eggs are the best size for baking. Only purchase eggs that have been stored under refrigeration with clean, uncracked shells.

*Mix Now, Bake Later*

Except for thin batters (like the Belgian Lace), you can mix, then refrigerate or freeze many doughs for baking later.

Pack cookie dough in tightly covered freezer containers, or shape dough into rolls for slice-and-bake cookies and wrap in foil. Refrigerate up to three days or freeze up to six months.

For drop-cookie dough, use a small ice-cream scoop to form even-size balls of dough, freeze in a single layer until firm on a cookie sheet, then transfer to a plastic bag and freeze.

Before baking, thaw the frozen dough in the refrigerator (except for drop-cookie dough, which is baked unthawed on cookie sheets). If dough is still too stiff to work with, let it stand at room temperature until softened.

*Ready to Roll*

Choose a shiny cookie sheet at least 2 inches narrower and shorter than your oven for proper air circulation and evenly baked cookies. The sheet should be flat on 1, 2 or 3 sides (versus a jelly-roll pan, which can be 1/2- to 1-inch deep).

To prevent cookies from sticking or spreading (and for easy clean up), pastry chefs line cookie sheets with parchment paper versus greasing them.

Parchment paper helps make baking cookies in batches a breeze: while the first batch of cookies is in the oven, prepare another batch on another sheet of parchment paper. Then, when the first batch is done, slide the finished cookies and parchment off the cookie sheet, and slide the parchment paper containing the second batch of cookies onto the sheet. Reuse parchment paper twice if desired, then replace with a new sheet.

Ingredients

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Preparation

Step 1

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