How To Make Great Homemade Cookies
Everyone loves homemade cookies, as they taste much nicer than store bought cookies. There is something very comforting about a chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven, and they smell heavenly. It helps to understand why certain ingredients need to be used in cookies.
Flour is important for providing some flavour and nutrition. Flour is basically starch, and when baked absorbs the moisture from the dough and expands to hold the shape of the cookie. Good quality eggs are essential. The yolks can add flavour and richness to the cookie mix, while the whites give strength and stability.
The best kind of fat to use is butter, but if you want to make a lighter dough then you may substitute other fats. Butter adds richness to the dough, and helps it to rise as air gets trapped in butter as it is being incorporated into the mixture. Sugar adds sweetness, and helps the cookies to last longer as it preserves them. If you like soft cookies then you need to add more sugar to your dough. Your dough needs baking powder in order to rise.
Cookie dough can have lots of different flavours added to it before baking. Chocolate is a popular option, but you can use your imagination to try lots of spices and other flavourings. Grown up cookies can have alcohol added for an extra kick.
Great cookie baking relies on have the right tools and using the correct techniques. You need to have good baking pans on which to cook the mix. It is vital to measure out all ingredients very accurately as cooking is part chemistry. Your mixing technique is important as the dough should not be over mixed as it could become hard and dense.
Let all your ingredients reach room temperature before you start mixing. You do not need an electric mixer as you can do it by hand. One way of mixing the ingredients is to make a figure of eight in the bowl with your spatula or spoon. Shape the cookies in the manner indicated by the recipe, and as they do not take very long to cook, check the oven often as they can easily burn.
The ingredients for the basic dough can be found in most kitchens. All you need is five cups of flour, three cups of sugar, and one and a half teaspoons of salt, and two tablespoons of baking powder. Mix all the dry ingredients together then add one and a half cups of softened butter and mix until you get a crumbly dough. Add one egg to the mix and it is ready. Now you can add flavourings. If you like chocolate add one cup of chocolate chips and half a cup of brown sugar. Place small spoonfuls of the mix onto the baking trays and place in the oven for eight minutes. Take them out and let them cool for a few minutes then eat your homemade cookies.
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