Tips For Baking the Perfect Cookie

When you're baking cookies, taking a few moments to prepare and
make sure you have everything you need will insure that your
cookies will turn out the best. Here are some tips to help you
bake the perfect cookie:

The Recipe

There are hundreds of different cookies, and thousands of
variations. You'll want to make sure you have selected a good
recipe, first and foremost. If you don't have much time,
consider no bake cookies. If you don't have a lot of
ingredients, consider cookie recipes with fewer ingredients like
a shortbread cookie or a simple sugar cookie. If you want to
bake with kids, consider a cookie that takes fewer steps to
complete and doesn't require an electric mixer.

Baking Tools and Utensils

For the baking tools and utensils, there are a few must haves.
First, a good mixing bowl is crucial. From stainless steel to
plastic to glass, you have a lot of choices in this area.
There's also utensils that are important. To make great cookies,
you need a strong mixing spoon, wood is best. You will also need
a spatula for removing the cookies from the cookie sheets. Don't
forget the cookie sheets either. You can use standard square
pans with a lip going all the way around the edge or a flat
sheet with only one lip on one edge. You may also consider using
a silicone baking pad, which eliminates the need to grease your
cookie sheets.

Preparation

One great tip is to leave your butter out for at least an hour
before you start to make the cookies. Many people forget this
step and have to wait for the butter to soften before they can
proceed. Also, take a few minutes to prepare all your
ingredients, cooking show style. This way you have much less
risk of using the wrong ingredient or too much or too little of
an ingredient. Having your ingredients already prepared and
measured will not only make your baking faster and easier, but
cleanup will be much easier. Once you have your ingredients
prepared, get out your mixing bowls and spoons, cookie sheets,
spatula and wire racks. Make sure everything is clean and ready
to use.

Ingredients

Freshness of ingredients is key with cookies. If the recipe
calls for butter or eggs, as many cookie recipes do, make sure
to check the expiration date for each item. Also, use your sense
of smell to detect butter or eggs or another ingredient that
just isn't fresh enough or is downright old. Don't use any
ingredient that isn't reasonably fresh. Try not to use baking
soda that has not been sealed properly either, as it may contain
smells or flavors from other foods or spices it was stored with.
Always properly seal and store your pantry food items. For
butter, chocolate, frosting, raisins, etc., make sure to taste
these items before you use them to make sure they taste ok and
haven't soured or changed in flavor.

Last but not least, don't forget to enjoy the process and the
finished product!

About The Author: Discover hundreds of cookie recipes in many
tasty categories including sugar cookie recipes, chocolate chip
cookie recipes, peanut butter cookie recipes, Christmas cookie
recipes and many more at http://www.Cookie-Recipe.net

Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=287690