Before you start out to make a batch of cookies with interesting shapes and designs, be a little patient. Find out these cookie baking tricks which will save you time and make your life a little simpler. Not to mention that they will keep out some stress and leave more room for eating cookies with the people you love.
You don’t have to stay up all night and bake for special occasions like parties, birthdays, and the book club with your friends. These cookie baking tricks have one goal in mind: making everything easier for you, because there are plenty of hard, difficult things out there for everyone. And when those hard times come, why not make them a little sweeter with some crunchy and fluffy cookies that everyone will love?
Don’t forget, cookies are not just for Santa, and they’re not just gingerbread. You have so many options out there. And after you take the cookies out of the oven, try not to eat them all. Mission: Impossible, we know.
5 cookie baking tricks to love
1. Bring your ingredients to room temperature – quickly
Sometimes we forget stuff. Like taking out the butter and eggs from the fridge when we bake. And there is no time to waste. What to do? Don’t worry, there are plenty of ways to bring your ingredients to room temperature.
If you want the eggs to warm up a little, then put them in a bowl and cover them with warm water. Be careful that the water isn’t hot! That will be no good for eggs barely out of the fridge. Cover the bowl and let the eggs get to room temperature. It should take about a minute or two.
As for butter, you need it softened to make great fluffy cookies. Which means that if you press into it gently, your finger should leave a dent. You can do this in multiple ways. You can grate it with a cheese grater, cut it in pieces so that it’s easier for it to warm up or you can put it in a Ziploc bag and pound it by using a rolling pin.
2. Soften your rock-hard brown sugar
What do you do if you open your brown sugar packet and it’s as hard as a brick and not at all granular? The first rule is always: don’t panic! Put it into a microwave-safe bowl, cover it with a damp paper towel and then seal them off with a lid or plate that covers the bowl and what’s inside.
Microwave this bowl for about 20 seconds and then check it out. If it still hasn’t broken up into granules, then try more 20-second zaps in the microwave. Just be careful not to overdo it, or the brown sugar will melt into a goo.
3. Make your own rolling pin
If baking is a new endeavor for you, then maybe you don’t have everything you need in your kitchen. If it’s a rolling pin you’re missing, don’t worry! There are ways to substitute it! Like a wine bottle. Clean it up first, with care. Then you can pat it with flour and use it to roll out your cookie dough! Baking is an absolute joy, so don’t fret because there are solutions for everything!
4. Flour for more stable shapes
If you aren’t that new to the cookie game but you want to do more intricate, complicated shapes and patterns, you will definitely need this particular trick! Mix one-fourth of a cup of flour in your store-bought cookie dough. This makes sure that the dough is more stable and won’t change its shape during any of the subsequent processes it goes through!
5. Don’t get stuck on measuring cups
When you’re measuring ingredients for cookies, things can get pretty sticky! Like when you’re using caramel, honey, molasses or any other sticky ingredient. But this is one of favorite cookie baking tricks. Don’t waste your time washing the measuring cups after each ingredient. Or waiting for that sticky ingredient to pour out of the cup and into your bowl. This tends to stop you in your tracks when you want to be on your merry cookie baking way.
Use this trick to get you over the hurdle! Spray the measuring cups and spoons with cooking spray before you measure a sticky ingredient. The cooking spray will make sure that very little sticks to your spoon and that your baking happens much faster.
