Preparation of Cookies
Cookie means small cake.
Four Cookie Characteristics
Crispness-Softness-Chewiness-Spread
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Crispness:
 Low proportion of liquid in the mix. Stiff dough.
 High sugar and fat content. Make it possible to mix a
workable dough with low moisture content.
 Baking long enough to evaporate most of the moisture
 Small size, thin shape, cookie dries faster during baking.
 Proper size, crisp cookies can become soft if they
absorb moisture.
Cookie characteristics contd…
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Softness:
 High proportion of liquid
 Low sugar and fat
 Honey, molasses, or corn syrup in the formulas
 Underbaking
 Large size or thick shape so that they retain
more moisture
 Proper storage. Soft cookies can become stale
and dry if not tightly covered or wrapped
Cookie Characteristics contd…
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Chewiness:
 High sugar and liquid content, but
low fat content
 High proportion of eggs
 Strong flour or gluten developed
during mixing
Cookie Characteristics contd…
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Spread: Several factors contribute to spread or lack of it.
Sugar- High sugar content increases spread
Leavening- Baking, soda/powder, encourages spread
Creaming- The creaming together of fat and sugar contributes to
leavening by incorporating air. Creaming a mixture until light
increases spread. Blending fat and sugar just to a paste (without
creaming in a lot of air) reduces spread
Temperature- Low oven temperature increases spread. High
temperatures decreases spread because the cookie sets up before it
has a chance to spread too much
Liquid- High liquid content, spreads more than a stiff dough
Flour- Strong flour or activation of gluten decreases spread
Three Mixing Methods
One Stage-Cream -Sponge
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One Stage Mixing Method: Low moisture
cookies where all ingredients are mixed at
once.
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Measure ingredients accurately. Have all
ingredients at room temperature.
Mix the ingredients until uniformly blended.
Scrape down sides of bowl as necessary.
Mixing Methods: Creaming method
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1. Measure ingredients accurately. Have all ingredients at room
temperature
2. Place the fat, sugar, salt, and spices in the mixing bowl.
Cream these ingredients. For light cookies, cream until mix is
light and fluffy, in order to incorporate more air for leavening.
For denser cookies, blend to a smooth paste, but do not cream
until light.
3. Add the eggs and liquid, if any, and blend in a low speed
Sift in the flour and leavening. Mix until just combined. Do
not over mix, or gluten will develop
Mixing Methods: Sponge method
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Measure all ingredients accurately. Have all
ingredients at room temperature
2. Following the procedure given in the formula used,
whip the eggs and the sugar to the proper stage: soft
peaks for whites, thick, and light for whole eggs and
yolks.
3. Fold in the remaining ingredients as specified in
the recipe. Be careful not to over mix or to deflate the
eggs.
Six Types of Cookies
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Cookies are generally grouped into six different
types.
No matter what types of cookie you are making one
important rule applies:
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Make all cookies a uniform size and thickness.
Also if the tops of cookies are to be garnished with fruits,
nuts or other items place the garnish on the cookies as soon
as they are in the pan and press down gently. If you wait
too long the dough begins to dry and the garnish may not
stick and will fall off while baking.
Bagged
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Bagged or pressed cookies are made from soft doughs.
The dough must be soft enough to be forced through a pastry
bag but stiff enough to hold its shape.
Dropped
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Dough that contains pieces of fruit, nuts, or chocolate would
clog the pastry tube.
Drop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets and allow
enough space between cookies for spreading.
Rich cookies spread by themselves, but if the formula requires
it, flatten the mounds of batter slightly with a weight dipped in
sugar.
Rolled
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Chill dough thoroughly
Roll dough out 3mm thick on a floured canvas and place
cookies on prepared sheets.
Cut as close together as possible to reduce the quantity of
scraps and roll scraps into fresh dough to minimize toughness.
Baked cutout cookies are often decorated with colored icing
for holidays or special occasions.
Molded
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Refrigerate the dough if it is too soft to handle and roll it out
into long cylinders about 1 in. thick, or whatever size is
required.
With a knife cut the roll into 15g pieces.\
Place the pieces on prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 in. space
between each.
Flatten the cookies with a weight, such as a can, dipped in
granulated sugar before pressing each cookie.
A fork is sometimes used for flattening the dough.
Icebox
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The icebox or refrigerator method is ideal for operations that
wish to have freshly baked cookies on hand.
The rolls of dough may be made up in advance and baked as
needed.
Cookies can easily be cut and baked as needed.
Bar
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This type of cookie is baked in a baking pan
and later cut crosswise and lengthwise into
bars.
Spread dough into sheet pan
Flatten dough with fingers
Bake as directed
After baking, while still warm cut into bars
generally 1 ¼” x 3”
Preparing the Pan
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Use clean unwarped pan.
Line with parchment paper or grease.
Heavily greased pans cause spreading
A greased/floured pan decreases spreading
High fat cookies can be baked on ungreased
pans.
Baking
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Most cookies are baked at a relatively high
temprature for a short time.
If the temperature is to high the bottom and
sides of the cookie may burn
Too low a temperature increases spreading and
can produce, hard, dry and pale cookies
Cookies continue to bake if they are left on the
pan after being taken out of the oven
Baking contd…
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Doneness is indicated by color. The edges and
bottom should be turning a light golden color.
Excessive browning is undesirable. This often
occurs when cookies have been colored.
To prevent burning the bottom of cookies with
a large fat content you can double the pan by
placing a sheet pan of the same size under the
cookie sheet.
Cooling
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Remove cookies from the pan while they are
still warm or they will continue to cook or
stick to the pan.
If cookies are very soft do not remove from the
pan until they are cook and firm enough to
handle.
Cookies that are soft when hot often become
crisp when cool.
Troubleshooting Guide
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Too tough
Too crumbly
Too hard
Too dry
Not brown enough
Too Brown
Poor flavor
Surface or crust sugary
Too much spread
Not enough spread
Stick to pan
General Instructions
Preheat the oven
Assemble all utensils and ingredients. Measure
ingredients accurately, mixing thoroughly at every
step.
Baking sheets should be at least 5 centimeters (2
inches) shorter in length and width than the over
rack. For browner cookies, use shiny baking
sheets.
When greasing cookie sheets, leave a 2.5centimeter (1-inch) margin around the pan. Do not
use too much grease. Bake cookies with a high fat
content, such as refrigerator cookies, on ungreased
sheets.
Shape cookies so that are uniform in size and
thickness.
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General Instructions Contd…
Chilling the dough first will make rolling easier. Roll dough
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from the center out in all directions so that it is even in thickness. Use
just enough flour to make rolling the dough easy. Too much flour will
make the cookies dry and hard. When using cookie cutters, flour them
slightly after each cutting
Cut cookies close together to make as many as possible before
rolling the dough a second time. Rerolling makes cookies less tender.
Bake a test cookie first. If the cookie comes out too thin, add a little
flour to the rest of the dough. Then arrange cookies in rows on sheets,
allowing enough room for them to spread out.
For even baking, space the pans so that one pan is not directly over
another on a lower rack.
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Test cookies for doneness when the minimum baking time is up:
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1.
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4.
5.
Bar cookies- pulled away from sides of pan
Drop cookies- when pressed with a finger, they spring back
Refrigerator cookies and pressed cookies- light brown around the edges
Rolled cookies- light brown, firm to the touch
Molded cookies- firm, sometimes slightly crumbly