Methods For Baking Cookies

Baking cookies is fairly easy. There are a few basic methods and they are very simple. They are the cutting-in method, the creaming method, the whisking method, and the melting method. There are also no-bake cookies and those made from meringue.

Cutting In Method;

This dough is usally rolled out and cut into shapes. The butter is incorporated into the flour by cutting it in with a pastry blender or 2 forks until the dough is crumbly. With this method the butter must be cold to prevent the dough from be too soft and sticky. This dough must not be handled much. The texture of the baked cookie will depend on the proportion of butter and sugar to the flour. The higher the butter content, the softer the cookie and the higher the sugar content, the crisper the cookie. After the butter is cut into the flour, eggs, yolks, or milk are added to bind the dough.

Creaming Method;

This process creates various different textures from soft to crisp to melt in your mouth. The dough is very versatile. It can be firm enough to roll out and soft enough to squeeze through a piping bag or dropped onto a baking sheet from a spoon. The butter needs to be at room temperature for this method so that the creamed mixture is smooth and fluffy. Doing this traps air in the mixture so that when it bakes, the dough rises to make a light and crispy cookie.

Most doughs prepared with this method can be rolled out right after mixing but some need to be chilled to be firm enough to roll out. If any dough is too soft or sticky to work with, just wrap it up in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator for about 15-20 min. Try not to add too much extra flour causing the cookies to be tough.

Whisking Method;

This method makes cake-like cookies as well as very thin wafer cookies. The dough is spooned or piped onto baking sheets. Eggs and sugar are beaten together until the mixture is very thick. Beating with a mixer is ideal for this method but it can be done by hand as well.

Melting Method;

This method makes crunchy cookies as well as crisp thin ones like florentines. The dough can be spooned if soft enough or rolled into balls if too stiff like with gingersnaps. The dough will be sticky as it's being prepared but will become firmer if it is allowed to cool. Don't add more flour to this dough.

No-Bake Cookies;

Simple ingredients come together to make these cookies. They are simple to make but need to be chilled a longer time for a long time to give the ingredients time to become firm. Many of these cookies are held together with melted chocolate. It can be melted in a saucepan with butter and water or in a double boiler if it is being melted alone.

Meringue Cookies;

The main ingredient in most of these cookies is beaten egg whites. Thes cookies can either be piped into fancy shapes or spooned onto a baking sheet.

Refrigerator Cookies;

These cookies need to be chilled before slicing and baking them. The creaming method is used to make the dough. This dough is very sticky once prepared but after much chilling, it's firm enough to slice and bake. Most of these cookies spread so make sure to leave room between each one on a baking sheet. The dough is formed into a cylinder and wrapped in plastic wrap, waxed paper, or parchment paper. Twist the ends so the log looks like one big wrapped taffy. Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or freeze for a couple of months. The advantage to making these types of cookies is that you can keep it in the freezer until you are ready to bake them and you can bake as many as you want at any time. Just rewrap the unused portion of the log and refreeze.