Nothing beats the taste of a homemade cookie straight from the oven. But has it ever occurred to you why people love cookies so much? Well, apart from the fact that they’re delicious goodies that melt in your mouth, they’re one of the best ways to brighten your day.
So, to brighten someone’s day, we’re here to tell you how to make the perfect homemade cookies using the following tricks.
Before we start, it’s important to follow the instructions whenever you’re cooking something. It’s very easy to mess up a recipe, and even easier if that recipe is chocolate chip cookies that you can check here.
You should never settle for anything but the best outcome; even if it takes time to master it. So, without dwelling too much on, let’s starts with our tricks on how to make the best cookies.
1. Read Carefully
We just mentioned that following the recipe is an important step. Regardless of what you’re making, cookies in our case, carefully reading what the recipe says will eliminate the margins for error.
Never go overboard with dosage or ingredients, and never go over or under the required baking time. If the recipe says 30 minutes in the oven, then you go for 30 minutes.
While there are hundreds of recipes for cookies out there, each one comes with a particular set of instructions that should be carefully followed.
Missing an ingredient can lead to disaster, and you don’t want that on your hands. But not just that, you’ll completely ruin the recipe and will have to go all over again.
That means going to the store to buy fresh ingredients and repeating the process all over again.
2. Go For High-Quality
Ever wondered why your cookies aren’t up to the taste standards like some of the professionals? Well, first off, it could the fact that you’re not a pro.
But secondly, has it occurred to you that you aren’t using the highest quality ingredients? The difference in taste comes from the quality of chocolate, the quality of fruit, the vanilla, and other extracts.
We mentioned to never settle for anything but the best, and you should spend a few bucks here and there on acquiring the best possible ingredients.
If you’re making fruit cookies, head to the farmers market and get some fresh fruits. If you’re making chocolate chip, then go for the more expensive high-quality chocolate as opposed to the cheaper one.
3. Experiment With Flavors
Okay, we’re going to contradict ourselves here but trust us on this one.
While we mentioned to always follow the recipe by the book, you could try and experiment with a few things to create contrasting flavor.
A lot of people love mixing two polar opposite flavors, such as salty and sweet foods. Well, for the sake of it, you could create a recipe of your own if you so choose to add a couple of surprising, but safe, ingredients to the mix.
For example, fun snacks such as chips, pretzels, and even cereal could provide a surprising and fun taste. The mixture of salt with the sweet flavor of chocolate chip might be the winning combination.
4. Organize Before Bake
Okay, we talked about ingredients, surprising additions, and quality. Now, let’s talk about the making process.
When you have all of your ingredients on the table, the first thing you should do is start measuring. This is where your recipe comes in handy.
For example, make sure to measure all of your ingredients in different containers or bowls to keep everything nice and visible. If the recipe says X amounts of baking soda, then you place the amount of baking soda in a measuring container beforehand.
When you have everything pre-measured and placed, it’s seemingly easy to follow the instructions. Now only that, but you’ll make it easier for yourself to start baking.
5.Use Parchment Paper
While not essentially a tip that “makes” the best cookies, it is still a best practice tip that you’ll thank us for.
While baking cookies seem like a harmless thing, they can be quite messy. Everyone hates cleaning pans after cookies; this is where parchment paper comes into play.
Not only is parchment paper easy to use since it cannot catch fire while in the oven. But the best reason why you need to use it is that it keeps your pans and trays mess-free and easy to clean.
6. Bake On A Consistent Temperature
The golden rule of baking cookies is to use oven thermometers to regulate the temperature at all times.
While you’ll need these thermometers mostly if you own an older oven, you’ll still need to regulate the temperature at all times when baking the cookies.
These precious goodies don’t really need a whole lot to bake. This means that there is a very real chance you’ll burn them on your first try if you aren’t careful.
So, that’s why you should always check upon them. But more so, you need to keep a constant temperature using that thermometer we mentioned. Sure, modern ovens do come with their own measuring unit, but you’ll need to watch for the thermometer to keep track.
If the thermometer goes over the 375-degree mark, open to oven so that excess heat can escape.
That way, you’re making sure your cookies don’t end up dry or overcooked.
7. Use a Bowl Scraper
We had to mention this one as it is very frustrating seeing people leave leftover dough.
Bowl scrapers are essential tools to have around the kitchen. They’re made from rubber which helps them bend and get all the leftover dough from the mixing bowl.
By not using a bowl scraper, you’re essentially leaving precious dough that could be used to make more cookies. But most importantly, by leaving dough you’re getting the mixture wrong and inconsistent.
So, to make sure that no lumps and dough is left behind, and to make sure you’re following the recipe mixture, make sure to use a bowl scraper.
