Cookies

1. Cookies

2. Different kinds: • Rolled • Dropped • Bar • Refrigerator • Pressed • Molded • The same ingredients are used to make all the six types of cookies. • Cookie dough differs in consistency, and you shape them differently.

3. Rolled cookies • Stiff dough is used to make rolled cookies. • Roll the dough on a pastry cloth or board to a thickness of 1/8 to ¼ inch. • Example: Sugar cookies

4. Dropped cookies • Soft dough is used to make dropped cookies. • Drop or push the dough from a spoon onto cookie sheets. • Leave 2 inches of space between cookies because they will spread. • Example of dropped cookies: • Chocolate chip cookies

5. Bar cookies • Soft dough is used to make bar cookies. • Spread the dough evenly in a baking sheet and bake it. • These may be chewy or cake like depending on the thickness of the dough. • Example of bar cookies: • Brownies

6. Refrigerator cookies • Contain a high proportion of fat. • Form the stiff dough into a long roll, two inches in diameter. • Place in the refrigerator until it has hardened, then cut into slices. • Example of refrigerator cookies: • Pinwheel cookies

7. Pressed cookies • You use very rich, stiff dough • Pack the dough into a cookie press. • This utensil has perforated disks through which you push the dough onto cookie sheets. • Example of pressed cookies: • Spritz

8. Molded cookies • You also use a stiff dough to make molded cookies. • Break off small pieces of dough and shape them with your fingers. • Example of molded cookie shapes: • Crescents & small balls

9. Cookie ingredients • 7 basic ingredients: • Flour • Sugar • Liquid • Fat • Salt • Eggs • Leavening • Baking soda, baking powder, etc.

10. Flour • Gives cookies their form and structure • When flour is mixed with water, gluten is formed. Gluten gives the dough its elasticity.

11. Sugar • Sources of sugar: • Sugar beets • Sugar cane

12. Sugar • Makes cookies sweet • Adds tenderness • Helps makes cookies turn brown in color

13. Brown Sugar • Granulated sugar with molasses added to it. • Molasses softens the texture of the sugar • Brown sugar comes in dark and light varieties. • Dark brown sugar has a more intense flavor

14. Eggs • Give cookies structure • Add flavor, color, liquid, protein, and fat to cookies. • Egg yolk adds tenderness and flavor to cookies. • Eggs come in small, medium, large, and extra large • Large eggs are the best size to use in most recipes

15. Fat • Butter: • Gives flavor, tenderness, crispness, and a golden-brown color to cookies • Cookies will spread more, have a lighter texture and richer flavor if butter is used rather than margarine • Shortening: • Gives flavor and tenderness • Cookies will spread less, and have less flavor if shortening is used rather than butter.

16. Baking Powder • Leavening agent: makes batter and dough rise.

17. Baking Soda • Leavening agent: makes batter and dough rise.

18. Salt • Enhances flavors in cookies

19. Ingredient facts • Rolled cookies often contain no liquid. • The proportion of ingredients, as well as the way you shape the cookies, determines if the cookies are soft or crisp.

20. Mixing methods for cookies • Many cookies are made using the conventional mixing method. • Blend the sugar and fat until smooth. • Add the eggs, liquid, and flavorings, followed by dry ingredients.

21. Pans for baking cookies • Bake dropped, rolled, refrigerator, pressed, and molded cookies on flat baking pans or cookie sheets. • Cookie sheets should not have high sides, or cookies will cook unevenly. • Bake bar cookies in pans with sides. • Cookies baked on bright, shiny cookie sheets will have light, delicate brown crusts.

22. Pans for baking cookies • Cookies baked on dark cookie sheets will have dark bottoms. • Cookie sheets should be cool when you place cookies on them for baking. • Warm sheets will cause cookies to spread and lose their shape.

23. Pans for baking cookies • If you bake two sheets of cookies at one time, you may have to rotate the pans during baking. • Baking pans should never touch each other or the sides of the oven.

24. Microwaving cookies • Most microwave ovens are not large enough to efficiently cook dozens of cookies. • Bar cookies work well in a microwave oven because the whole pan cooks at once. • These should be micro waved on medium power and tested with a toothpick for doneness.

25. Storing cookies • Store crisp cookies in a container with a loose fitting cover. • To retain their crispness, crisp cookies need to remain dry. • Store soft cookies in a container with a tight fitting cover. • Exposure to air will dry out soft cookies.

26. Storing cookies • Never store crisp and soft cookies together. • The soft cookies will soften the crisp cookies. • You can store bar cookies in their baking pan if you cover them.

27. Storing cookies • For longer storage, you can freeze cookies. • To freeze refrigerator cookie dough, wrap the shaped rolls tightly in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. • You can freeze shape molded, rolled, and drop cookie doughs in a large ball.

28. Storing cookies • You can freeze bar cookie dough in the baking pan. • To freeze baked cookies, pack them in a sturdy container with a tight-fitting cover.

29. Freshening stale cookies • If crisp cookies have become soft or begun to stale, you can make them crisp again by placing them on a cookie sheet in a 300 degree F oven for a few minutes. • If soft cookies have become hard, you can make them soft again by placing a piece of bread, an apple slice, or an orange section in the cookie container.