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Cookie Troubleshooting It’s especially unnerving when a Christmas cookie recipe you’ve been making for years suddenly comes out screwy—whether it’s too soft or too dry, overly brown or not brown enough. Wouldn’t it Guide be great if you knew exactly what causes the problem? This handy chart tackles some of the most common cookie calamities. The Problem Possible Causes Fix-it Tips for Now or Next Time Cookie dough is sticky and difficult to roll The dough probably became too warm. A quick chill in the refrigerator or freezer and cut. In particular, doughs rich in butter and egg will make most doughs behave—butter are especially difficult to handle if not kept solidifies quickly. For ease of handling, roll very cold. the dough between sheets of parchment paper, then chill. You can add more flour as a last resort if chilling doesn’t do the trick. Dough sticks to springerle mold, tears, The dough is too warm. Keep the dough as cool as possible, leaving and won’t stay together when turned out the portion you aren’t working with in the re- of the mold. frigerator. Use a fine sieve to dust flour over the mold or, even better, dust the dough that will be pressed against it. Slice-and-bake cookies are not Refrigerating a quickly hand-formed log often Roll the log a couple times throughout the perfectly round. creates imperfections. Also, the pressure of chilling process to work out inconsistencies slicing can flatten the bottom of the log. of shape. Rotate the log while you’re work- ing to prevent an uneven shape. If the dough feels uneven and bumpy when you begin, let it soften for a few minutes and roll it against the counter until it evens out. Refrigerate once more, then begin slicing and baking. Cookies are unappealingly white, pallid. Recipes that contain mostly white ingredi- Try increasing the oven temperature by ents (bleached flour, cake flour, shortening, 25°F to see if you get better results. Using granulated and confectioners’ sugar) will unbleached flour in your next batch will take make lighter cookies. Cookies containing your cookies up a shade; and substituting baking powder will brown less than those a little butter, margarine, or butter-flavored made with baking soda, so be sure not to shortening for some of the white shorten- confuse the two. Also, your oven may not be ing will impart a golden hue (but watch the hot enough. spread! See next tip). Photos: Scott PhillipsScottPhotos: 1 www.finecooking.com © 2006 The Taunton Press, Inc. Copying and/or distribution of this article is not permitted. The Problem Possible Causes Fix-it Tips for Now or Next Time Rolled cut-outs spread, blurring shape. The dough was too warm going into the A quick chill before baking is an easy fix: Just oven—the edges of cold dough will firm and pop the cookie sheet, with cut-out dough set in the oven before the center of the dough and all, into the refrigerator or the freezer warms, which inhibits spread and creates if you have room. If this doesn’t solve the defined edges on cut-outs. Cookies rich in spreading, knead a small amount of flour butter, molasses, honey, and a lot of leavening into the dough. Flour is a guaranteed fix, may not be suitable for detailed cut-outs, so but use it as a last resort, since the finished beware when adapting recipes to a new use. texture and flavor will change. Cookies brown too much but are An overly hot oven can make cookies For a quick fix, try reducing the oven not overbaked. brown before they’re baked through, but temperature by 25°F. If you don’t see browning is often an ingredient issue as well. better results, next time substitute some Molasses, honey, corn syrup, dark brown lighter ingredients, like bleached flour or sugar, milk products, and baking powder granulated sugar, or reduce the amount of all encourage browning. Substituting dark liquid sugars (molasses, honey, corn syrup) brown sugar for light can dramatically in the recipe. change the color of your cookie. Cookies are pale on top and burnt An oven that runs too hot; the use of dark, If you don’t bake often, get an oven on bottom. heavy baking sheets; the placement of baking thermometer. It will save you lots of sheets on the bottom rack of the oven, or any guesswork. Choose lighter baking sheets combination of these three things will cause for your cookie baking or a double pan your cookies to burn only on the bottom. (stack an extra pan underneath) to better insulate the dough. Always, always rotate pans from the top to bottom rack (and back to front) midway through if the oven has hot spots for even color and texture. Cookies don’t spread enough. Recipes high in shortening and flour but Before you start next time, scrutinize your lean on sugar are more resistant to spread flour and leavening, making sure you have in the oven. A change in flour type or brand the appropriate, fresh ingredients on hand. can cause this—both cake and bread Try holding back 2 Tbs. to 1⁄4 cup of the flour flours absorb more liquid than other flours. at the end of the mixing. Before adding the A too-cool oven is another possible culprit. last of the flour, bake a test cookie to check Leaving out or using expired leavening the texture. This will also help you decide makes for leaden cookies, as does adding whether to increase the heat a little. Adding too many nuts or chips. extra chips is fine, but don’t double the amount. Gingerbread ornaments/house cut-outs Many gingerbread cookie recipes have For firmer cookies that will stand up to are too soft and cakey. generous amounts of molasses, which being frosted, hung, or assembled into a keeps baked cookies soft and contributes house, return the cookies to the oven and to a cakey texture. They’re delicious to eat bake until well done to compensate for but tend to be too delicate to handle if not the softening effect of the molasses. Next thoroughly baked. time try adding more flour to the dough to accomplish the same thing, or reduce the amount of molasses slightly. 2 www.finecooking.com Photos: Scott Phillips The Problem Possible Causes Fix-it Tips for Now or Next Time Chocolate chip cookies spread too much. Recipes based on the Toll House® recipe Chilling the dough before baking might fix are rich in butter, sugar, and egg, all of which the cookies. If not, stir a small amount of contribute to spread. A change in flour can flour into the dough. Flour is a guaranteed fix, alter spread, even just a brand change. A but also a last resort, since the texture and too-hot oven or too-warm dough is a sec- flavor will change. Adjust the oven tempera- ondary cause. If a recipe calls for lots of ture, if necessary, and be sure you’ve added chips and nuts, but you leave out the nuts, the amount of chips and nuts specified. your cookies will be flatter and wider. Chocolate chip cookies are too crisp Recipes generous in butter and sugar but First, try chilling the dough to firm up the and thin. lean on egg and leavening create crisper butter and slow down spread. If this doesn’t cookies. Was the leavening left out or the do the trick, beat in half an egg (or a whole flour mismeasured? Did you use smaller one if the recipe contains no egg and calls eggs than specified? for at least 2 cups flour) and 2 Tbs. flour. Bake a test cookie before adding more flour. Chocolate chip cookies are too cakey The most common cause is using a different Next time try holding back 2 Tbs. to 1⁄4 cup or dry, or both. flour than usual, such as cake flour, and of the flour at the end of mixing. Before measuring flour with too heavy a hand. adding the last of the flour, bake a test Using larger eggs than called for can make cookie to check the texture. Make sure the cookies cakey, as will the addition of milk or eggs are the right size and omit the milk if more milk or other liquids than specified. you prefer denser cookies. Oatmeal cookies are crumbly and dry. Classic oatmeal cookies have a lot of oats, Try removing the cookies from the oven be- which can be drying to the finished cookie fore the centers are set—you’ll be surprised and make them more susceptible to over- at how much the cookies will firm as they baking. Mismeasuring flour can also tip the cool. Next time hold back 1⁄4 cup of the flour balance from crisp-chewy to dry. Using all and/or 1⁄2 cup of oats and bake a test cookie; granulated sugar for the brown sugar will add more if needed. Most oatmeal cookies create a drier cookie, too, since the molas- call for some brown sugar—be sure to add ses in brown sugar provides moisture. the right amount and the right type. Drop sugar cookies or gingersnaps don’t Baking powder and soda give these Next time, be sure you have fresh leavening have cracked tops. cookies their characteristic cracks, so stale on hand before you start baking—baking leavening is probably at fault here. Also, soda isn’t usually tightly sealed and loses the right amount of flour is necessary to its power faster than baking powder from allow the dough to expand, crack, and set exposure to warm, humid air.

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