Ingredients: |
Ingredients: Measure Accurately - In tests, we’ve found that the most common way of measuring dry ingredients—spooning them into the measuring cup—is also the least accurate. Since even the slightest variation in an amount can have a direct effect on your cookie (a tiny bit too much flour, for example, and the cookie will be dry; too little and the cookie will bake up flat), it’s important to measure precisely.
Preferred Method: For the greatest accuracy, weigh sugar and flour.
Second best: Dip a measuring cup into flour or sugar and scoop away excess with a straight edge
Use Butter at Optimal Temperature - Measure Accurately
In tests, we’ve found that the most common way of measuring dry ingredients—spooning them into the measuring cup—is also the least accurate. Since even the slightest variation in an amount can have a direct effect on your cookie (a tiny bit too much flour, for example, and the cookie will be dry; too little and the cookie will bake up flat), it’s important to measure precisely.
Preferred Method: For the greatest accuracy, weigh sugar and flour.
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Second Best: Dip a measuring cup into flour or sugar and scoop away excess with a straight edge.
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Use Butter at Optimal Temperature- Whether softened or melted, proper butter temperature is as critical in a simple sugar cookie as it is in the fanciest cake.
Properly softened butter (65 to 67 degrees, or roughly room temperature) allows air to be pumped into the butter for tender texture in the final cookie. Two good cues: The butter should give slightly when pressed but still hold its shape, and it should bend without cracking or breaking.
When a recipe calls for melted butter, make sure it’s lukewarm (85 to 90 degrees) before adding it to the dough. Butter that’s too warm can cook the dough (or the eggs in it) and cause clumps.
SPEEDY WAY TO SOFTEN BUTTER
Avoid microwaving to soften cold butter—it’s easy to soften it too much or even melt it. Instead, cut the butter into small pieces. By the time you’ve preheated the oven and measured the remaining ingredients, the pieces should be near 65 degrees.
Portioning the Dough: Drop Cookies: We usually go beyond merely depositing tablespoons of dough on the cookie sheet. Instead, we prefer to roll the dough between our hands to create uniformly shaped balls that bake evenly.
Roll-and-Cut Cookies: There’s always a danger of working too much flour into the dough during rolling and producing dry cookies. We like to roll out the dough between two large sheets of parchment paper instead of on a floured counter. Chill the rolled-out dough in the fridge for 10 minutes to make cutting easier.
Use a Parchment Liner
Don’t grease your sheets— the extra fat can cause cookies to bake unevenly. Instead, line the baking sheet with parchment. Its slick surface allows cookies to easily release. (Waxed paper isn’t a good substitute—high temperature can make the wax coating melt.) To keep parchment flat on the pan, put a small dab of dough on each corner of the baking sheet.
DON’T FORGET TO PREHEAT
To keep cookies from spreading too much, it is important to expose them to an immediate blast of heat. It takes at least 15 minutes for a standard oven to reach the desired temperature.
USE AN OVEN THERMOMETER
Oven temperatures can be off by as much as 50 degrees. Always use an oven thermometer to tell you what’s really going on inside.
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This recipe for Secrets to Perfect Cookies is from