More Cookie Tips for perfect cookies

Flour affects how cookies behave. Most cookie recipes call for all-purpose or pastry flour. Both bread flour, with its high protein content, and cake flour, which is high in starch, produce cookies that tend to spread less. Higher flour-to-liquid mixes are needed in shortbreads and crumbly-textured cookies.

Baking powder and baking soda. Using baking powder will result in cookies that will be puffier and lighter in color. Where Baking soda (Bicarbonate of Soda) neutralizes the acidity of the dough, allowing the cookies to brown in the oven.

Sugars Like fats, play a big part in how your cookie will react as they liquefy in the oven. White sugar makes a crisper cookie than brown sugar or honey. Cookies made from brown sugar will absorb moisture after baking, helping to ensure that they stay chewy. Most chocolate chip cookie recipes contain both brown and white sugars. If you lower the amount of sugar called for in a cookie recipe, the final baked cookie will be puffier than its high-sugar counterpart, so experiment with your mix of sugar to get the result you want.

Eggs are a binding agent. Liquids can either cause cookies to puff up or spread. If egg is the liquid, it will create a puffy, cake-like texture. Just a tablespoon or two of water or other liquid will help your cookies spread into flatter and crisper rounds. Egg yolks bind the dough and add richness but allow a crisp texture after baking, whereas egg whites tend to make cookies dry like meringues. To make up for the drying effect of the egg whites, extra sugar is often added.

Mixing

Cookies although not as delicate as sponges and cakes, need to be mixed and ingredients correctly incorporated. Some recipes require several steps such as creaming in which the fat and sugars are beaten together until light-colored and fluffy. Other cookies end up with a sandy texture by cutting the fat into the flour. Over-mixing will probably result in flat thin extra large (wide) cookies due to too much air. Follow the recipe instructions. Once you combine the dry and wet ingredients, mix until just combined.

Temperature of uncooked ingredients is also important

Unless otherwise specified, ingredients should be at room temperature before mixing. Cookie dough that is chilled before baking will hold its shape better. Rolled and cut-out cookies should be refrigerated before baking for sharper, clearer edges. Drop cookies, such as chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies, can be at room temperature before baking; the spoonfuls of dough will spread and flatten out to the desired result.

your baking sheets and oven

Different baking sheets and ovens produce different results. Thin baking sheets might allow the bottoms to brown too fast. Special insulated baking sheets allow air movement and help cookies bake evenly, but they can be expensive. Semi-thick rimmed baking sheets--also called jellyroll pans--are available just about everywhere, and are a fine multipurpose baking choice. Some cookies are hard to move when hot without breaking and you want to remove them from the hot tray so use a parchment paper or a nonstick pan liner to make cookie removal and clean-up easy.
Electric fan assisted ovens tend to give the best overall results in general due to the even heat throughout the oven while gas ovens tend to brown the base of cookies quicker than the tops.

Generally, cookies are baked in a moderate oven--350 degrees F (175 degrees C)--for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie. For chewy cookies, allow them to cool on the pan for 3 to 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. For crispier cookies, let them cool for one minute on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.