Cookie Baking Tips

Use fresh ingredients:
Toss old baking powder, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Start anew for your holiday baking.

Use the right ingredients:
Use large eggs (not extra-large), unsalted nuts, unsalted butter (unless called for), and pure flavor extracts (instead of imitations).

Use flour properly:
Flour compacts as it sits in your pantry. If you scoop that compacted flour in your recipes, you will be adding way too much flour. To measure flour accurately, first fluff the flour before scooping. Do even better by first fluffing the flour, then spoon it into the measuring cup. Lastly, level off the measuring cup with a knife.

Chill cookie dough:
If you're making cut-out cookies, be sure to first chill your dough for 3 hours or for overnight. Cover dough with a towel in the refrigerator. Add a bit of flour to your counter top where you plan on rolling out your cookies. This will prevent sticking. You can also try rolling dough in-between two pieces of wax paper to prevent sticking.

Use correct pans:
Cookies require 2 inches between them to allow for spreading. Always bake your cookie bars with the proper pan indicated in the recipe.

Never place cookie dough on warm/hot cookie sheets!:
For faster baking, have three cookie sheets in rotation. One cooling, one baking, and one ready to have new cookie dough placed onto it. For best results, immediately remove cookies from hot sheets once they come out of the oven.

Make sure oven is thoroughly preheated before putting your cookies into the oven:
Otherwise, you could easily burn them.

Adjust your time:
For chewier cookies, bake for a shorter amount of time. For crispier cookies, bake them for just a little longer.

Cool cookies:
After they come out of the oven, place cookies onto an even surface for cooling. Make sure they are thoroughly cooled before decorating!

For easy clean up:
Line your cookie sheets and pans with aluminum foil or parchment paper.