There are many recipes for cookies out there that include various ingredients, baking techniques and even preparation techniques. But if you create many recipes and find your cookies are a little flat, you may find this article useful. Take it from me, a professional baker. I've been baking for years and developing various gourmet flavors that tickle the taste buds like you wouldn't believe. But I had one problem...my delectable cookies were flat and didn't look that appealing even though they were delicious. As a professional baker, I pride myself in baking my recipes from scratch, even many of the ingredients are from scratch. My doughs can get heavy, but my tricks that I've learned over the years may be of assistance.
One common mistake many people commit is that they use a metal spoon or bowl. Believe it or not, glass or wood are the best mediums to prepare you batters in. The metals actually react with the wet ingredients in the dough and counteract the effects of the baking soda. Try a wooden spoon when mixing your doughs.
Another common mistake is to use too much baking soda. When too much is used you get lift during baking but then they will tend to "deflate" as they finish cooking or when you remove them from the oven. If you've tried removing metal with no success, try decreasing your amount of baking soda by 1/4 of a teaspoon at a time.
Another helpful tip is to adjust your baking temperature. You may be cooking them too fast if you do not get enough lift. Try lowering the temperature so they cook slower. If they cook slower, they have more time to start lifting and then cook in the lifted state. When baked too fast, they cook before they get a chance to lift all the way.
The location in the oven is another factor that can affect the lift of your cookies because it coincides with the baking temperature. If you start them baking and lifting on the bottom rack you can move them to the top rack and slow the cooking to help them keep their lift. If you place a baking sheet on the rack below them, you can help keep the bottoms of the cookies from baking more while still allowing the centers and tops to bake thoroughly. This is a great tip to avoid a burned bottom cookie while still having a perfectly baked cookies.
The final tip is the best one I've discovered through my baking endeavors. Decreasing the amount of shortening. By decreasing the shortening, the dough becomes lighter and it doesn't spread out as much as the dough heats up and begins to lift.
I hope you've found these tips helpful as you experiment in your own kitchens and try to bake the perfect cookies.
- Editor's Note: Jessica Blanck writes on marketing and business related issues referring to baking. You can learn more by visiting her blog, Chloe's Cookie Corner or her website.