5 Best Cookie Baking Tips to Improve Your Next Batch

Let me help you perfect your cookies! These 5 cookie baking tips will definitely help improve your next cookie baking session.
Soft Sugar Cookies

 

Without a doubt, cookies are just one of the best. And in my book, the winner is a chocolate chip cookie. (Soft sugar cookies are also great!)

Cookies are rather simple and easy to make, and most of them don't require any special tools or hard to get ingredients. They're also simple to eat, share, store, ship, freeze, and prepare ahead of time. Not only that, but cookies are portable, ideal for gift giving, and can be baked in large numbers for bake sales, parties, and so on. Nobody I've ever met hasn't enjoyed a freshly baked, handmade cookie. Have you?

So I want to share with you the following 5 cookie baking tips which guarantee a better batch. No more wasted time or ingredients!

1. Prevent Excess Spreading

Did your cookie dough turn into greasy puddles? I've also been there. Here are some steps you can take to stop it from happening again:

  • Never put cookie dough balls onto a heated baking pan. Let the baking trays come to room temperature before baking in batches.
  • The second tip to prevent excess spreading is to use a silicone baking mat. Coating your baking sheet with nonstick spray or butter creates an overly greasy foundation which leads to excess spread. Instead, I recommend lining your baking sheets with silicone baking mats. I prefer to use our KPKitchen Silicone Baking Mats for that– they grip onto the bottom of your cookie dough, preventing the cookies from spreading too much. These mats also promote even browning.
  • Refrigerate your cookie dough. See tip #2 below.

 

KPKitchen Silicone Baking Mat

2. Refrigerate your dough

Let it chill for at least a couple of hours, or overnight, before baking. This is the single most useful tip!

Doing this prevents the butter from melting in the oven before the starch has time to set. It also improves the flavor.

Or, if you're impatient, scoop the dough balls onto the pan, then stick it in the freezer till the dough is cool and firm (about 15 min).

3. Cool your pans

Run baking sheets under cold water for a minute between batches. Never ever ever ever ever put dough onto a warm cookie sheet.

Again, butter melts too quick, cookies spread too fast. I recommend our KPKitchen Baking Sheet for that since it is made out of the highest quality aluminum which helps with regulating the temperature. (and as a bonus you get a cooling rack on which you can rest your cookies)

 

KPKitchen Baking Sheet and Cooling Rack

 

4. Preheat your oven

Completely preheat your oven, no impatience here!

For the same butter-melting reason as #2. Also, make sure your oven temperature is accurate... for the sake of all your baking! While this might not seem like a big deal, it poses a huge problem for your cookies such as over-browning, excess spread, underbaking in the centers, and/or uneven baking. If you think it may be off, buy a cheap oven thermometer.

5. Make sure you're following the recipe correctly

Measure or weigh ingredients meticulously. Make sure you're not adding too much butter, which can happen if you just use the ruler-guide on the foil wrapper.

A scale or really good measuring cups are the best option for accuracy - a cup of butter is 8 oz/227 grams. I recommend our KPKitchen Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons for this since the measurements are stamped right into the metal so you always see them and they never wear off.

Don't add too much liquid in the form of egg - typically recipes use large eggs; if you use extra-large you'll have too much. And don't be tempted to just add more flour! This makes cakey, not chewy, cookies.

 

KPKitchen Stainless Steel Measuring Cups and Spoons Set

 

 

 When it comes to baking cookies, it pays off to be a perfectionist!

5 comments

  • Dear Allison,
    The most important thing to remember when thawing your cookie dough, whether shortbread-style or drop cookies, is to place it in the fridge. Do not thaw at room temperature, as this will encourage bacteria growth from the eggs in the cookie dough. However, if you don’t have the time or patience to wait a full 24 hours, thaw the dough at room temperature for as long as it takes the oven to preheat. Then bake as usual, but add an extra minute or two to the baking time. The spread may be different than freshly baked cookies, but the taste will remain. Keep an eye on the oven, especially in the last few minutes, to ensure a perfect golden cookie!

    KPKitchen
  • Dear KPKitchen, my question for you is after you freeze the cookie dough in the fridge for a couple of hours, how long do you thaw it before you put them in a preheated oven?

    Allison Nguyen
  • Thanks for sharing your tips. Your challenges are so much fun, can’t wait for the next one. And another tip! To make your cookies perfectly round use a circle cookie cutter to shape them after they have baked. Happy baking everyone ❤️

    Lynn Collins
  • In my choc chip cookies I use half butter and half butter flavored crisco sticks. They come out great!

    Holly
  • For soft/chewy cookies I slightly underbake, letting the cookies stay on the hot baking sheet until it cools enough that I can touch it without burning myself. I’m not a fan of hard cookies with the exception of gingersnaps (which I dunk in my coffee!)

    Sheila Wedell

Leave a comment

Name .
.
Message .