6 Tips to Achieve the Perfect Cookie!

How to Bake Perfect Cookies

nytimes.com

This is going to be short and sweet. If you want to know how to make perfect cookies you will be amazed at just how easy it really is, but one false move and mistake could result in disaster - a bad cookie.

I messed up many cookies over the years, mainly from forgetting how long they were in the oven for...but let's pretend I didn't admit that, lol. Now my cookies come out perfect every time. I have finally mastered the perfect cookie and here's how...

The Perfect Cookie Tips

1.) Follow your recipe precisely. If the recipe tells you to mix up your flour, baking soda, etc. in a separate bowl before combining with the creamed up butter and sugars, then do so. I made the mistake of thinking that I could just go ahead and add everything together after creaming up my butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla for an oatmeal cookie recipe that I have and that was a bad idea... So always follow the recipe instructions and before you know it you'll have it memorized!

2.) Remember that the bigger the cookie, the less cookies you will make. That would also mean more calories too, if you're someone like me that watches things like that. Think about how big the cookies are in the bakery at the store or in the snack aisle. They're not very big, but they sure are filling.

Although, you can find the large specialty cookies; those are great for gifts or to make for a special treat. To get the perfect sized cookie, take a small teaspoon from your silverware drawer, scoop out some cookie dough onto the teaspoon.

You want enough dough to cover the spoon and you want it plump. We don't want big cookies and we don't want flat cookies, we want it "just right." So sort of pack it together and plop it onto your baking sheet.

3.) Make sure to space the cookies out on the cookie sheet, so they have room to expand as they bake. If you're making smaller cookies, do three rows of five cookies spaced apart nicely. If you're making larger cookies, do three rows of four cookies.

4.) Every cookie recipe has a different setting for the oven temperature. Some require 375°F, some require 350° and some even require 325°. Whatever the recipe you're following calls for, follow it.

5.) Follow instructions for baking time. Most recipes usually call for 8-10 minutes. So set a timer for 8 minutes and start peeking in at them to see if they're almost ready. I usually let mine bake 10 minutes. If you don't have a timer, you can find a cheap one just about anywhere.

And remember that sometimes they may not look done after 10 minutes, but trust me, they are and you will realize that when they cool down. This adds to the perfect cookie.

Sometimes people think they're not done, so they bake them just a little longer and that little longer can give you an over baked cookie. Unless you like over-baked cookies, and some people do, then we don't want that.

6.) Last but not least, and the best tip of all on how to make perfect cookies, is to make sure that both of your oven racks are adjusted to the highest position. Place one at the very top, then leave a space and place the second rack in the third row from the top.

And voilà! You now know how to make perfect cookies!