Cookie Dough Tips & Tricks (2024)

Cookie Dough Tips & Tricks (1)

Make your next batch of cookies your best with a few of these simple cookie dough preparation tips.

Cookie Dough Tips & Tricks (2)

Categories: baking / / thanksgiving / Christmas

Cookies make everything better, especially around the holidays when their delicious scent fills your entire house, making it smell like fresh-baked magic. But not all cookie attempts yield perfectly baked cookies that everyone will enjoy. This sweet dilemma usually starts with the dough. That’s why C&H® Sugar has prepared a few tips and tricks to help make sure your cookies both look and taste like perfection.

Cookie Dough Tips & Tricks (3)

Check Your Cookie Dough’s Consistency

The texture of your cookie dough can dramatically affect how your cookies look and taste once they come out of the oven. After mixing your ingredients (sugar, flour, water, etc.), check that the consistency of your dough isn’t:

Tough– For rolled cookies, your dough can become “tough” by adding too much flour to your pin or counter before rolling it out. To avoid this, try using as little flour as possible while preparing to roll your dough.

Dry– “Dry” or “Crumbly” dough is a product of over-mixing or using too much of any ingredient during the mixing process. This can be reversed by adding one to two tablespoons of liquid (water, milk or softened butter) to your mix.

Soft– Dough that’s “soft” or “runny” can be thickened by adding one or two tablespoons of flour to your mix. This will help keep your batch from “Spreading” and coming out of the oven looking like flat, not-so-cookie-like puddles.

Turning Your Cookie Dough Into Delicious Cookies

After mixing your dough to the correct consistency, it’s time to bake them. Some steps you can take to ensure that your cookies come out of the oven looking like fresh-baked perfection are:

Chilling your dough beforehand– Chilling cookie dough keeps it sturdy as it bakes into delicious cookies. This practice also heightens the flavor profile of your cookies and gives your ingredients time to meld.

Using a silicone cookie sheet– This silicone cookie baking tool grips the bottom of your cookie dough patties and keeps them in the perfect shape while they bake. Using one also allows your cookies to brown more evenly.

Sticking to single batches- Bake one batch at a time if possible. Cooking your batches one at a time, on the center rack, is a great way to avoid hitting hot spots in the oven that could result in uneven cooking.

Cooling cookies with a cooling rack– When your cookies are finished baking, remove your pan from the oven and let them settle for about five minutes on a cooling rack. This will keep the cookies from overcooking on your hot pan.

Knowing your oven’s true temperature– If possible, purchase a digital thermometer to get an exact reading of how hot or cold your oven is before you start to bake. A too-hot oven is another factor that will cause your cookies to overcook, while one that is too cold can leave them too raw.

Cookie Dough Tips & Tricks (4)

Additional Tips

Measurements– Make sure all ingredients are properly measured.

Ingredients– Use fresh ingredients.

Room temperature– Use ingredients at room temperature.

Cookie Dough Tips & Tricks (5)

Butter and sugar– Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Cookie Dough Tips & Tricks (6)

Scraping the sides– Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure all ingredients are evenly incorporated.

Cookie Dough Tips & Tricks (7)

Dry ingredients– Add dry ingredients and mix until combined, do not over mix.

Cookie Dough Tips & Tricks (8)

Ice cream scoop– When using a cookie recipe that calls for dropping the dough, use an ice cream scoop to drop your cookie dough evenly. Utilizing this simple tool will ensure that your cookies are even portions, uniform in shape andwill come out of the oven evenly baked.

Cookie Dough Tips & Tricks (9)

Cooling– Allow cookies to rest in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooking rack.

Following these tips will ensure that your cookie dough has the best shot at turning into tasty and evenly baked cookies that your guests will love.

Our Favorite Cookies, Brownies & Bars

  • Easter Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Mimosa Cookies Prep Time: 25 minute
  • Banana Oat Snacking Bars Prep Time: 10 minute
  • Chocolate Marble Cookies Prep Time: 20 minute
  • Hibiscus Lemon Cookies Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Chocolate Crinkle Cookies Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Brown Sugar Cookies Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cookie Dough Bites Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Chocolate Cupcake Cookies inspired by Hostess® Cupcakes Prep Time: 20 minutes

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Cookie Dough Tips & Tricks (2024)

FAQs

What are 3 tips for rolling out cookie dough? ›

Place two equal-sized sheets of parchment paper underneath and above the dough, making a kind of dough sandwich. Then roll out with your rolling pin, keeping the dough sandwiched between the two parchment sheets. Once it has been rolled to the thickness you're going for, chill the dough for the requisite time.

What happens if you don't refrigerate cookie dough before baking? ›

Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you're more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.

How do you make cookie dough even better? ›

How To Make Boxed Cookies Better
  1. Use butter instead of margarine or oil.
  2. Add powdered milk. Sprinkling about 2 to 3 tablespoons of powdered milk per cup of cookie mix may seem kind of unconventional, but it is the best hack! ...
  3. Add brown sugar. ...
  4. Add vanilla extract. ...
  5. Brown the butter. ...
  6. Include an extra egg yolk.
Jan 3, 2024

How long should I chill my cookie dough before baking? ›

As a general rule of thumb, you should refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. More than that, and you won't see a noticeable difference in the final product. Once the dough has chilled, let it warm up at room temperature until it's just pliable (about 5 to 10 minutes).

Do you bake cookie dough straight from fridge? ›

The cookie baked from room temperature, being thinner, has a more uniform texture, while the one baked straight from the fridge. is thick enough to accommodate a softer interior. and crispier exterior. No contest. Generally speaking, you should chill your cookie dough before baking it.

Do you flatten cookie dough before baking? ›

Flattening the cookie dough provides more surface area that comes into contact with the ice bath, shortening the time it takes to chill. Then submerge the dough in the ice water and let it chill. After 20 minutes the dough will be completely chilled and ready for baking.

What is cookie secret? ›

Cookie Secret is the secret used to encrypt and sign session cookies. If you don't provide a cookie secret, Pomerium will generate one for you.

What is the secret to chewy cookies? ›

Cornstarch helps product soft and thick cookies. Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie. An extra egg yolk increases chewiness. Rolling the cookie dough balls to be tall and lumpy instead of wide and smooth gives the cookies a bakery-style textured thickness.

How to master baking cookies? ›

Tips for Baking Better Cookies
  1. Bake Better Cookies. ...
  2. Soften Your Butter. ...
  3. Creaming Butter. ...
  4. Measure Your Flour Correctly. ...
  5. Line Your Pans With Parchment Paper. ...
  6. Add Eggs One at a Time. ...
  7. Add Flour or Dry Ingredients in Batches. ...
  8. Fold in Chocolate Chips by Hand.

What can I add to box cookie mix to make it better? ›

Add brown sugar

Adding it to the pre-made dough will give it more sweetness, a chewier texture, moisture and that homemade flavor you're craving. You can also melt butter with brown sugar and incorporate it into the dough for extra tender, chewier cookies.

Does cookie dough need to rest before baking? ›

Resting your dough in the refrigerator will almost always yield better results. But why? Chilling your cookie dough in the refrigerator after mixing it allows the flour to hydrate and gives the other ingredients time to blend, resulting in a richer, more well-rounded flavor profile.

Can you overmix cookie dough? ›

Unless you want extra-crispy cookies, avoid overmixing your dough. "Overmixing your dough will result in flatter, crispier cookies," Cowan said. If you overmix, you will end up aerating (adding air to) the dough, which causes the cookies to rise and then fall, leaving you with flat cookies.

How do you roll out cookie dough? ›

Place slightly chilled cookie dough between the two pieces of parchment paper and form the dough into rectangle using your hands. Using a rolling pin, start at the center and begin to roll the dough away from your body, rotating the dough 90 degrees every few rolls to ensure even thickness.

How do you keep cookie dough from sticking when rolling out? ›

Different Ways To Keep Dough From Sticking To A Rolling Pin
  1. Coat with excess flour: The foremost tip to prevent your dough from sticking to the dough is to coat your rolling pin with extra flour. ...
  2. Freeze the dough: Another tip to prevent sticking is to freeze the dough ahead. ...
  3. Coat dough in oil:
Mar 8, 2022

How do you roll a ball of cookie dough? ›

Place your rolling pin in the middle of the ball of dough (on top of the wax paper). Press down gently and roll the pin away from your body. Then bring the pin back to the middle of the dough and roll it toward your body. Be sure to use the same pressure on each rolling so that the dough is even.

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