Plain, sturdy cookies, such as drop cookies like Chocolate
Chip or Oatmeal Raisin, make the best travelers.
To insure that cookies arrive in the best possible condition,
carefully pack them between layers of waxed paper in a rigid
tin. Use crumpled waxed paper to fill in any extra space.
Then pack this tin in a larger, sturdy shipping box. Pad
the area around the box with crumpled paper or other packing
material, seal and address.
If you're using cookie cutters to make cut-out, decorated
cookies, smaller designs are less likely to break in transit
than larger cookies.
Cool cookies completely before storing or they will get
soft and sticky.
When storing soft or decorated cookies, separate layers
with sheets of waxed paper so they don't stick together.
Soft cookies will stay fresher, longer if they are stored
with a slices of apple or a slice of bread (change the apple
or bread slice every day).
With the exception of meringue based cookies or those with
very thin batters, most cookie dough's can be made ahead
of time and kept in the refrigerator (for a few days) or
the freezer (for up to 3 months). Wrap dough tightly in
plastic wrap for the fridge or plastic wrap and aluminum
foil for the freezer. Bake when convenient.
When making drop cookies, make a large batch, form into
balls and freeze on cookie sheet. When frozen put into zip
lock bags and store in freezer. Later, just remove amount
needed from freezer, place on cookie sheets and bake while
still frozen. This way you will always have a variety of
cookies on hand.
Wrapped, frozen logs of cookie dough, packed with baking
instructions, make wonderful gifts.
Most baked cookies and brownies can also be frozen , well
sealed in airtight containers. Decorated cookies, or those
low in fat, unfortunately, do not freeze well.
Store fragile cookies in a shallow tin instead of a deep
cookie jar or crocks as extra weight will brake the delicate
treats.
Brownie or cookie crumbs make a great ice cream topping.
If you live in a dry climate, store crisp cookies in a
loosely covered container.
If you live in a humid climate, store crisp cookies in
an airtight container.
Cookies with a high butterfat content will usually stay
fresh for a week or longer in a tightly covered container.
Empty coffee cans make perfect storage (or transporting)
containers for cookies.
Use a stencil or even a paper cutout doily to quickly decorate
cakes and cookies. Simply put stencil on baked goods and
sift powdered sugar or cocoa powder over. Carefully remove
stencil and you'll have a beautiful design left.
For rich vibrant food colors, use paste, rather than liquid
colors for decorating dough's and icings.
Here's a fun way to let the kids "paint" their
own cookies. Make cookie paint by mixing food coloring with
egg yolks. Let the kids paint pictures on the cookie, before
baking. After baking, the colors will come out bright and
glossy.
For small, quick piping jobs, when you don't want to dig
out the pastry bags, use a small zipper top plastic bag.
Fill with icing, remove excess air, seal the top and snip
off a tiny bit of one corner. You're now ready to pipe away!
For soft chocolate chip cookies, bake at 325 degrees F
until golden brown. For crisper cookies, bake the same dough
at 350 degrees F (again until golden brown).
Unless a recipe specifies otherwise, drop cookies should
be removed from the baking sheet soon after coming out of
the oven.
If you want the chocolate chips in chocolate chip cookies
to retain their shape better, freeze them before adding
to your cookie or cake batters.
Small ice cream scoops are perfect for making uniformly
sized drop cookies.
When re-rolling scraps of cookie dough, dust the surface
with equal parts flour and confectioner's sugar. This will
help keep the dough from getting tough.
Be careful not to over mix cookie dough after adding flour
as this can over-develop the gluten in the flour, resulting
in one tough cookie.
To keep cookie cutters (especially plastic ones) from sticking
to cookie dough, lightly coat them in some vegetable oil.
Cookies made with corn oil or corn oil margarine are softer
than cookies made with butter or other types of margarines.
Make your own custom shaped cookie cutters by using a cardboard
cutout pattern and a sharp knife to cut around the cookie
dough.
It's easier to transfer shaped cookies to cookie sheets,
if you remove the scraps from around the cut out shapes
first.
For fewer scarps and less rolling when making cookies,
start cutting on the outside edges and work your way in
towards the center.
When making sandwich cookies, make sure to only cut the
cookies half as thick as you normally would.
When slicing cylinders of ice box cookies, be sure to roll
the dough every other cut so the bottom of the cylinder
doesn't flatten out.
Be sure to rotate baking sheets from the top to bottom
shelves mid cycle when baking cookies to insure even browning.
Even the best ovens can build up hot spots in certain areas.
To avoid breaking and crumbling, cool bar cookies and cakes
completely before cutting.
To put an end to the chewy versus cake-like brownie debate
- the more eggs in a batter, the lighter and more cake-like
the brownie will be. Less eggs means, denser, chewier brownies.
To get confectioner's sugar to stick to cookies, sprinkle
while they are still warm.
A fun cookie project for kids is "Cookie Pizzas".
Make large round sugar cookies, then let the kids top their
own "pizzas" with various toppings: chocolate
chips, tinted coconuts, jelly bean or other candies.
Need a fun activity to keep a group of kids occupied? Have
a cookie decorating party. Bake large cookies in advance.
Cover a worktable with a plastic disposable cover, lay out
various bowls of colored icings and various topping and
candies for decorations. The kids will take it from there
and everyone goes home from the party with a souvenir.
Want to make chocolate chip cookies, but are out of chocolate
chips? Get creative and raid the pantry. Some tasty alternatives
that will usually work well mixed into any chocolate chip
cookie recipe include: raisins, dates, coconut, nuts, chopped
candy bars, toffee bits and dried fruits.
