Dorie Greenspan's Do-Almost-Anything Vanilla Cookie Dough Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Does freezing cookie dough make it taste better? ›

A cookie that has been frozen before baking often has a more complex flavor. It usually reaches a much more inviting color and texture too. Science says that this is mostly due to the temperature of the butter at the beginning of the baking process.

As little as 30 minutes in your fridge or freezer can help your cookie brown better, spread less, and develop a richer chewy texture. There's a few reasons why, but one important part is it gives the butter in your dough a chance to firm up before baking.

Spices: Experiment with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, or ginger to give your cookies a warm and aromatic quality. These spices can complement the sweetness of the dough. Extracts: Besides vanilla, consider using other extracts like almond, coconut, or maple for unique and flavorful cookies.

Generally speaking, you should chill your cookie dough before baking it. But for how long? You want to give it at least 2 hours to chill through.

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).

How long do I need to let cookie dough sit after taking it out of the fridge? You don't have to let it sit at all. Just scoop the cold dough onto the cookie sheet and bake as usual. The chilled dough won't spread out as much as warm dough so the cookies will be thicker than if you used warm dough.

Frozen cookie dough balls do not need to be thawed out before baking unless you've been given specific instructions that say to do so. For many cookie doughs, for example, shortbread-style or slice-and-bake cookies, baking immediately from frozen will give you the best results.

Since most cookies are made with softened butter, which is then creamed with the sugar to act as the foundation, it's best to chill the dough after mixing to allow that butter to cool off. “Cookies made from chilled dough expand more slowly as they bake,” Hill says.

If the dough is chilled before baking then the cookies will be slightly more rounded, so if you want slightly flatter cookies then bake them as soon as you have mixed up the dough. But we would not recommend flattening the cookies completely as this will affect the texture.

Chilling cookie dough before baking solidifies the fat in the cookies. As the cookies bake, the fat in the chilled cookie dough takes longer to melt than room-temperature fat. And the longer the fat remains solid, the less cookies spread. In addition, the sugar in the dough gradually absorbs liquid.

Should you cover cookie dough in fridge? ›

To refrigerate cookie dough, simply scoop out cookie-sized portions of your dough and place them on a sheet pan covered with airtight plastic wrap or into resealable bags.

Take your boxed cookie mix to the next level by browning your butter to add nutty, caramelized richness to the flavor. Just melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Then, continue to stir and cook the butter until it's a golden-brown color. And before adding it to the mix, make sure it's totally cooled down!

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.

Anytime a cookie recipe relies on eggs to provide the bulk of the liquid content, resting the dough is generally a good idea. It hydrates the flour, resulting in a better texture and more consistent bake. However, if a cookie recipe instructs you to bake them right away, it's usually on purpose.

We age ours by way of fermentation for at least three days (but no more than five) because we found that it gives us the flavor profile we like and it gives the dough the best texture and workability for our chefs.

During bulk fermentation, yeasts and bacteria in the sourdough starter (or levain) work to ferment the flour, developing the dough's flavor and structure. Skipping or shortening this step can result in underdeveloped flavors and a poor crumb structure.