Serves: 5
Cookie and Bar Basics
Who doesn’t like homemade cookies and bars? They’re fun to eat, easily portable and always a crowd pleaser. Whether chock-full of chocolate and nuts or sweet and buttery, there’s a favorite cookie for everyone. Read on to learn about all the different ingredients that go into baking. The ingredients you choose will have an effect on your cookies and bars. With people’s tastes changing all the time, isn’t it nice to know that cookies and bars will always be favorites? Enjoy!
Ingredients
Flour
Today’s flours are presifted before they are packaged, so sifting again isn’t necessary. Use either bleached or unbleached all-purpose flour for most cookies. When using whole-wheat flour, substitute it for one-third to one-half the amount of all-purpose flour to keep cookies from becoming too dry. Bread flour isn’t recommended because cookies and bars can become tough cake flour can result in cookies and bars that are too delicate and fragile, so they may fall apart. Use self-rising flour only when recipe directions are given for it.
To measure flour correctly, spoon it lightly into a dry-ingredient measuring cup, then level with a metal spatula or straight-edged knife. Never dip the measuring cup into the flour or tap the measuring cup to settle the flour when measuring, or you’ll get too much flour. Too much flour makes cookies tough, crumbly and dry. Measuring too little flour causes cookies to spread and lose their shape.
Note: Some recipes use cornstarch for a part of the flour, resulting in tender cookies that have a very fine and compact texture. Cornstarch and flour are not interchangeable cup for cup, so look for specific recipes that use cornstarch.
Oats
Quick-cooking and old-fashioned rolled oats are interchangeable unless recipes call for a specific type. Instant oatmeal products are not the same as quick-cooking and should not be used for baking. Old-fashioned oats are larger than quick-cooking oats and don’t absorb as much moisture, making them more moist and chewy. Quick-cooking oats are smaller than old-fashioned oats and absorb moisture better. These two factors make quick-cooking oats especially good for nonbaked cookies because they will hold together very well.
Fats and Oils
Fats add tenderness and flavor to cookies and bars, but fats are not created equal in texture and flavor. The type of fat you choose--butter, margarine, reduced-calorie or low-fat butter or margarine, vegetable-oil spreads or shortening--depends on the kind of cookie you want. The biggest difference among these fats is how much water they contain, which affects how cookies bake and their eating texture. Cookies made with fats that have a lot of water in them will be soft, puffy and tough and will dry out quickly. We have recommended butter or stick margarine for our recipes.
Softening Butter or Margarine
Most cookie recipes call for softened butter or margarine. But how soft is it supposed to be, and how can you tell? Allow butter to soften at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes the time will vary, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. You can also soften it in the microwave (See Microwave Cooking and Heating Chart). Perfectly softened butter should give gently to pressure (you should be able to leave a fingerprint and slight indentation on the stick) but shouldn’t be soft in appearance. Butter that is too soft or is partially melted results in dough that is too soft, causing cookies to spread too much.
Sweeteners
In addition to adding sweetness to cookies and bars, sweeteners also aid in browning and affect the texture of baked goods. Most recipes call for granulated white sugar, brown sugar or both, but other types of sweeteners are used, such as honey or maple syrup. The higher the sugar-to-flour ratio in a recipe, the more tender and crisp the cookies will be.
Leavening
Cookies usually call for one or two types of leavening, either baking soda or baking powder, which react with liquids to form a gas that causes the cookies to rise. Baking powder and baking soda are not interchangeable. You want leaveners to be fresh, so always check the expiration dates on the containers. If the product is older than the date on the label, the leavening power is significantly decreased or completely gone, so cookies and bars made with it will be flat and dense in texture.
Eggs
Eggs add richness, moisture and structure to cookies. Yet, too many eggs can make cookies crumbly. All the recipes in this book have been tested with large eggs. Egg product substitutes, made of egg whites, can be used in place of whole eggs, but cookies made with them may be drier.
Note: Can’t break the habit of nibbling on raw cookie dough? A word of caution: Salmonella, a very serious and potentially fatal food poisoning bacteria, can be contracted by eating raw whole eggs. The solution? Don’t eat unbaked dough made with raw whole eggs. Or make your cookies with pasteurized raw whole eggs (if available in your area) or egg product substitutes both are perfectly safe to eat raw. We happen to know that some cookie dough never gets baked, because you like to nibble on it while baking cookies. With these options, you can have your cookie dough and eat it, too--safely, that is!
Liquids
Liquids such as water, fruit juice, cream and milk tend to make cookies crisper by causing them to spread more. Add only as much liquid as your recipe calls for. Buttermilk can be substituted for regular milk, but if the recipe you’re using doesn’t have 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda already in it, add the baking soda to your dough with the flour. The reason? Without the baking soda, the leavening won’t work very well.
Nuts and Peanuts
Most recipes call for walnuts, pecans, almonds or peanuts. Hazelnuts, cashews and macadamia nuts are also used. When nuts are called for in a recipe, you can use any variety of nut or peanuts instead. Nuts can easily become rancid. Rancid nuts have a very unpleasant, strong flavor that can ruin the taste of your cookies. To prevent rancidity, store nuts and peanuts tightly covered in your refrigerator or freezer for up to two years. Do not freeze cashews because they can become soggy. Before using nuts or peanuts in a recipe, do a little taste test. If they don’t taste fresh, throw them out.
Note: Almond brickle baking chips can also become rancid. To prevent rancidity, store them in the refrigerator or freezer up to six months. Do a taste test before using.
Pans and Preparation
Cookie Sheets
There are many types of cookie sheets to choose from, including shiny aluminum, insulated, nonstick and black surface. We recommend using shiny aluminum cookie sheets that are at least two inches narrower and shorter than the inside dimensions of your oven, so the heat will circulate around them. The sheet may be open on one to three sides. If the sheet has four sides, cookies may not brown as evenly. If cookie sheets are thin, put two sheets together for added insulation. In a pinch, the aluminum cover for a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan will work, too. Having at least three or four cookie sheets to use is helpful as you finish baking one sheet, you can get another one ready to go.
Insulated cookie sheets help prevent cookies from turning too dark on the bottom. Cookies baked on these sheets may take longer to bake, the bottoms will be light colored and cookies may not brown as much overall. Cookies may be difficult to remove from these cookie sheets because the cookie bottom is more
tender.
Nonstick and black surface cookie sheets may result in cookies smaller in diameter and more rounded. The tops and especially the bottoms will be more browned, and the bottoms may be hard. Always check your cookies at the minimum bake time given in a recipe so they don’t get too brown or burn. Follow the manufacturer’s directions because some recommend reducing the oven temperature by 25°.
Baking Pans for Bars
Use the exact size of pan called for in a recipe. Bars baked in pans that are too big become hard and overcooked, and those baked in pans that are too small can be doughy in the center and hard on the edges. Shiny metal pans are preferred for baking bars. They reflect the heat away from the bars, preventing the crust from getting too brown and hard. Dark nonstick and glass baking pans should be used following the manufacturer’s directions. These pans absorb heat easily, so reducing the oven temperature by 25° or checking for doneness 3 to 5 minutes before the minimum bake time given is usually recommended. Be careful when cutting bars baked in nonstick pans, or you may scratch the surface. Try using a plastic knife to avoid this problem. In fact, a plastic knife works best for cutting brownies and soft, sticky bars such as Lemon Bars.
Greasing Cookie Sheets and Baking Pans
Grease cookie sheets and baking pans only when a recipe calls for it. Don’t grease nonstick cookie sheets even if a recipe calls for greasing the cookies may spread too much if greasing isn’t necessary. Use shortening or cooking spray to grease cookie sheets and baking pans. Do not use butter, margarine or vegetable oil for greasing the area between the cookies will burn during baking and will be almost impossible to clean. Regrease sheets as needed during baking if cookies are sticking to them. Baking parchment paper can be used in place of shortening or cooking spray. It comes in rolls and can be found in stores near the waxed paper, aluminum foil and plastic wrap. Some stores may stock it in the baking ingredient aisle, too. If using baking parchment paper to line cookie sheets instead of greasing them, just tear off the length of parchment you need to cover your cookie sheet.
Line baking pans with aluminum foil for super-quick cleanup and to help cut bars and brownies evenly. To line baking pans with aluminum foil, start by turning the pan upside down. Tear off a piece of foil longer than the pan, and shape the foil around the pan carefully remove foil and set aside. Flip the pan over, and gently fit the shaped foil into the pan. When the bars or brownies are cool, just lift them out of the pan by the foil "handles," peel back the foil and cut the bars as directed.
Mixing Cookies and Bars
An electric mixer or spoon can be used for mixing the dough in most of our recipes. The sugars, fats and liquids usually are mixed together first until well combined. Flour and other dry ingredients are almost always stirred in by hand to avoid overmixing the dough, which can result in tougher cookies. When testing recipes, we didn’t notice significant differences in the baked appearance or eating texture of cookies where the sugars, fats and liquids were mixed with an electric mixer versus a spoon.
The lighter variations for recipes in this chapter may contain reduced-fat or fat-free ingredients. Because fat helps intensify flavor but is reduced in these variations, we sometimes increased spices and flavorings in order to get the same flavor as the original recipe. The lighter doughs are usually softer and may have a slightly different texture than you’re used to during mixing. If specified in a recipe, refrigerate the dough before baking.
Baking Cookies and Bars
The first step for baking is to heat your oven. This usually takes up to 10 minutes.
Bake one "test" cookie by putting the cookie dough on a greased or ungreased cookie sheet as directed in the recipe. If the cookie spreads too much, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour to the dough, or refrigerate the dough 1 to 2 hours before baking. If the cookie comes out too dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk to the dough. By testing the cookie dough, you can decide if any adjustments need to be made to your dough before you’ve baked a whole sheet of disappointing cookies.
Always scoop out cookie dough onto completely cooled cookie sheets. Cookies will spread too much if put on a hot, or even a warm, cookie sheet. A cookie sheet doesn’t take long to cool to room temperature. Plus, you can cool cookie sheets quickly by popping them in the refrigerator or freezer or by running cold water over them (dry completely and grease again if needed). If you have more than one cookie sheet to work with, you can let the hot sheet cool while another sheet of cookies is baking.
Make all cookies on each cookie sheet the same size so they bake evenly. Cookies that are smaller than the others will become too brown or burn, and cookies that are bigger than the others won’t be done in the center.
Bake bars in the exact size pan called for in a recipe. Bars baked in a pan that is too large will overbake and be hard. Those baked in a pan that’s too small can be doughy in the center and hard on the edges.
Always bake cookies on the middle oven rack. For even baking, bake one cookie sheet at a time. If you decide to bake two sheets at once, switch the placement of the sheets halfway through baking to help the cookies bake more evenly. Also when baking two sheets at once, position the oven racks as close to the middle as possible. If racks are too close to the top of the oven, the tops of the cookies may become too brown or burn if racks are too close to the bottom, the bottoms of the cookies may become too brown or burn.
How can you tell when your cookies are done? Each recipe gives you two ways to determine when cookies are done: a bake time and a doneness test. Check cookies at the minimum bake time listed in the recipe. Watch cookies carefully while they bake because even 1 minute can make a difference. The longer cookies bake, the more brown, crisp or hard they become. Sometimes the color of the cookie is the best test for doneness for example, when the cookie is light brown or until its edges begin to brown. If the dough is dark, color changes are hard to see. Then the test may be until cookies are set or until almost no indentation remains when touched in center. After baking one or two sheets, you should have a feel for just the right baking time. Use that time for your first check, but always use the doneness test as your final check.
Thinner cookies that are rolled or sliced, as well as dense or very sturdy cookies, generally should be removed from cookie sheets immediately after baking to prevent sticking. Drop cookies and soft cookies generally need to cool 1 to 2 minutes to set before being removed otherwise, they may fall apart while being transferred to a cooling rack. The larger the cookie, the longer the cooling time on the cookie sheet. Always use a pancake turner to remove cookies from a cookie sheet.
Always cool cookies on wire cooling racks to allow air to flow around the cookies, which will prevent them from becoming soggy. Cool pans of bars and brownies in the pan on a wire cooling rack. Cool cookies and bars completely before frosting them unless the recipe tells you to frost them while they’re warm.
Uh-oh! If the cookies were left to cool too long on the cookie sheet, and you’re having trouble getting them off without breaking them, here’s what you do. Put the cookies back in the oven for about 1 to 2 minutes to warm them, and then remove them they should come off the sheet easily.
Storing Cookies and Bars
Keep crisp cookies crisp by storing them in a loosely covered container, such as a cookie jar without a screw-on lid or sealed gasket lid (rubber ring around inside of lid). If cookies soften, heat them on a cookie sheet at 300° for 3 to 5 minutes to recrisp. Cool them on a wire cooling rack.
To keep longer, freeze cookies, tightly wrapped and labeled, up to 6 months. Do not freeze meringue, custard-filled or cream-filled cookies. Place delicate frosted or decorated cookies in single layers in freezer containers, and cover with waxed paper before adding another layer freeze. Thaw most cookies, covered, in the container at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours. For crisp cookies, remove from the container to thaw.
Keep chewy and soft cookies chewy and soft by keeping them in a tightly covered container. Resealable plastic bags, plastic food containers with tight-fitting lids, metal tins and cookie jars with screw-on lids or sealed gasket lids (rubber ring around inside of lid) work best. To keep longer, freeze cookies, tightly wrapped and labeled, up to 6 months.
Allow frosted or decorated cookies to set or harden before storing store them between layers of waxed paper, plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
Do not store crisp and chewy or soft cookies together in the same container, or the crisp cookies will become soft.
Keep different flavors and varieties of cookies in separate containers, or they will pick up the flavors of the other cookies.
Most bars can be stored tightly covered, but check the recipe for sure some may need to be loosely covered and others need to be refrigerated.
From "Betty Crocker's Complete Cookbook, Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today, 9th Edition." Text Copyright 2000 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This COOKIE AND BAR BASICS recipe is from the Betty Crocker's Cookbook, 9th Edition Cookbook. Download this Cookbook today.
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