Most cookies fall into three categories:
Drop cookies—you drop the dough directly onto baking sheets, for near-instant gratification—are a perfect vehicle for all sorts of add-ins; chocolate chip cookies are the paradigm. See Drop Cookies Your Way, Improvising Cookies, and How to Dress Up Any Cookie for suggestions on how to adapt them to your personal taste.
Shaped, rolled, piped, and molded cookies use cookie dough that needs some shaping, whether it’s piped through a pastry bag, formed into small balls, rolled out and cut, or baked in a mold, like Madeleines. For some, like classic slice-and-bake cookies, you’ll need to refrigerate the dough before shaping to let it set up; see Refrigerator Cookies.
Bar cookies—from brownies to lemon bars—are baked in a pan and cut into squares for serving. They are casual, couldn’t be simpler to prepare, and are impossible not to love; check them out starting on page 179.
MIXING COOKIE DOUGH
Most cookie recipes start by instructing you to cream together sugar and softened butter. This step makes a difference: Creaming creates tiny pockets of air that steam up during baking and make the cookies light, velvety, and tender. If you’re using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars for no longer than 3 minutes or so, until the individual sugar granules disappear. Once you add eggs, the dough can handle up to 6 or 7 minutes more of beating, until it almost doubles in size. You can get away with using melted butter instead, but you’ll get much denser results. A better option, usually, is a food processor; you can start with chilled butter this way (since the blade softens it so quickly) instead of waiting for it to come to room temperature. You’ll still get those desired air pockets in the end, and the dough comes together much faster.
Generally mixing cookies is a very flexible affair. You can do it by hand, hand mixer, standing mixer, even food processor—whatever you like best. If I suggest a particular method in a recipe, it means it’s easier, but any other will get the job done:
TO MIX COOKIE DOUGH BY HAND Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl, use a fork to cream the softened butter until it’s airy, then mash in the sugar until well blended. Stir in eggs and any other wet ingredients, then gradually fold in the dry ingredients.
TO MIX COOKIE DOUGH WITH AN ELECTRIC HAND-HELD OR STAND MIXER Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Put the softened butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat on low speed until creamy. Add the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until combined, then gradually beat in the dry ingredients.
TO MAKE COOKIE DOUGH IN A FOOD PROCESSOR Put all the dry ingredients in the processor and pulse once or twice to combine. Cut chilled butter into bits, add to the machine, and process for about 10 seconds, until the mixture is well blended. Add the remaining wet ingredients and pulse just enough to blend.
BAKING COOKIES
Most ovens have hot spots, and this can make a difference: The cookies in the back of the oven or on the bottom rack, if you are cooking two sheets of cookies at the same time, may brown (or burn) faster. The solution is simple: Halfway through the estimated baking time, rotate the baking sheets from back to front and, if you’re cooking two sheets, also exchange them from top to bottom.
When it comes to cookie sheets, you have a choice between flat cookie sheets, which have no rims, and rimmed baking sheets. It can be argued that the rim impedes airflow as the cookies are baking, but I’ve never noticed a difference. You can use whatever type you prefer or have on hand. Either way, the sheet’s material plays a role. Heavy baking sheets tend to transfer heat most evenly, and darker sheets attract heat, making for darker cookies. No need to go out and buy brand-new cookie sheets, though; just be aware of what you’re using and adjust cook time accordingly. If your sheet is dark, try baking on a piece of parchment and check the cookies a few minutes before the estimated bake time; if it’s shiny, you may need to bake for a few extra minutes. When in doubt, use a spatula to check the bottoms of the cookies.
A few other details: Each cookie recipe will indicate whether the baking sheet should be greased or ungreased; follow the instructions so your cookies won’t get stuck to the pan. In the case of some very sticky or delicate doughs, the sheet should be lined with parchment paper (which, in any case, makes cleanup easier) or a nonstick silicone mat. Second, note how far apart to space the mounds of cookie dough on the baking sheet. Some dough spreads more than others, and if you crowd the pan, your cookies could end up baking into one huge mass. Also, don’t bake more than two sheets of cookies at one time, even if your oven has a third rack; the extra pan will impede airflow and likely result in uneven baking. Most of the time, the rest of the dough can simply wait at room temperature; dough for cutout or slice-and-bake cookies should be refrigerated until you’re ready to bake it.
Last, let the baked cookies cool on the sheets for several minutes before removing them with a spatula, which will give them time to firm up just a bit. (Don’t let them sit too long, or they may stick to the baking sheet.) Don’t put the next batch of cookie dough on a hot baking sheet, or the bottoms will start to cook before you can get them in the oven. If need be, rinse the underside of the sheets in lukewarm water (not cold, which may warp your pan), wipe dry, and then load them up with the next batch.
STORING COOKIES
Cookies rarely get stale because people eat them quickly. Store them in a closed container at room temperature and they’ll do fine, although soft and crisp cookies should be stored separately or each type will lose its texture.
Wrapped tightly, baked cookies can be frozen pretty much indefinitely, as can the dough, which is then available whenever you have a yen. For refrigerator cookies (or even thicker drop cookie doughs), just shape the dough into a log or a disk and wrap in a couple layers of plastic; you can then slice directly from the freezer (30 minutes of thawing will make that job a little easier) and bake, or thaw completely in the fridge before proceeding as usual. It’s terrifically convenient, and with far tastier results than a store-bought log. For drop cookies, you can also portion out the dough as if you’re about to bake, freeze on a baking sheet until firm, then transfer to a freezer bag, making sure to squeeze out all excess air. Let warm up a bit on the counter before cooking.