STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Elle · Hermes

Baking Q's/Holiday Cookiiiiiieeeees!

blubirde · Chanel

I'm not a baker but here are some things I've learned when making cookies/desserts:

* sifting flour/dried ingredients into wet ingredients makes for a better consistency of the dessert, as opposed to mixing all at once (is true for fondue as well but that's another post)

* sometimes using applesauce in lieu of oil makes the cookie/dessert more moist but sometimes it doesn't (trial and error)

* and finally: wrapping slice and bake cookies around bite-sized snickers and then baking makes the best holiday cookie of all time (as long as you don't slice your fingers in the process because then it makes the best apparent murder scene kitchen of all time)

Sandy · Kate Spade

blubirde wrote:

* and finally: wrapping slice and bake cookies around bite-sized snickers and then baking makes the best holiday cookie of all time

Yeah it does! Easiest and tastiest cookies ev-ah!

Sorry, Elle, but no tips here. I'm not an intuitive baker either... I look forward to more responses though, as I'm excited to start baking my cookies soon.

dot · Marc Jacobs

i love baking around the holidays. i get into this madness zone but i look forward to it every year.

not really too many tips here. definitely agree with the sifting dry ingredients tip!

also try room temperature eggs for cookies.

cold butter for piess.

i can't stress the importance of quality ingredients! pulgra butter is absolutely the best flavor!

also use parchment and silpats (i use one or the other depending on the style of cookie).

chill dough for chewy cookies.

and... enjoy!

scarlett · Marc Jacobs

i don't know about the melted butter either, but i love baking! i've also found the room temperature eggs to be a help, and to have all ingredients at room temperature in general. ditto on the sifting and plugra butter. when i measure flour, i scoop spoonfulls of it into the measuring cup and then level it with a knife, as opposed to just digging into the flour with the cup itself. my grandma told me it's a better method -- not sure if that's true, but she is my cooking whiz grandma so i assume she knows what she's doing. ;)

hotcocoa · Kate Spade

ooooooooooh! i love baking and i'm in the process of making a list of holiday cookies to bake this year.

i'm trying the pulgra butter this year (i'm an ingredient snob, so this idea is right up there on my list)

lining baking sheets with parchment paper for baking cookies works like a dream

for flour, i use a fork to "fluff up" the flour in the container and then scoop it into my measuring cup either by the spoonful or just dipping the cup right into the container. then level off with the back of a knife. i use to use my kitchen scale to weigh it (super accurate way of measuring flour) but the battery died and it's some exotic battery that i cannot seem to find a replacement for. :(

i made a lot of freezer cookies last year, which is great when you want fresh cookies right from the oven but don't have time to "whip up a batch". bring them to room temp before popping them in the oven OR just add a minute to the baking time.

happy baking!

Elle · Hermes

I just pulled a batch of peanut butter cookies out of the oven, so we'll see how they turned out! The recipe called for Crisco, but because I find Crisco personally offensive I used butter instead. It called for a cup, so I melted one of the sticks to see if they came out chewy at all (the one melted stick plus one softened stick resemble Crisco in texture anyway once they're mixed together ). I also popped them in the fridge before baking. And left the eggs and remaining stick of butter come up to room temperature before using them. AND I put a dozen balls of dough in the freezer (once they're frozen I'll transfer to a plastic bag) for 'whipping up' at a later date.

I think that's all the tips so far ! Anyone got any others?

-- Edited by Elle at 18:44, 2006-12-07

twinkle · Coach

what i have been taught - the most important baking tips are:

*pay very close attn to the temperature of the butter that the recipe calls for! ie if it says room temp, and you use refrigerated, you will notice a big difference
*as scarlett said, that is absolutely hte correct way to measure flour - otherwise you will be packing it in and using too much- baking recipes are very scientific and you can't eyeball amounts
*don't overmix!!! stop mixing as soon as the ingredients are integrated. overmixing can really screw up your recipe

hth!

jacks435 · Kenneth Cole

These tips are helpful. My friends and I got together last night to bake and swap cookies, holiday music blaring (yes, we're nerds), and I kept these ideas in mind... and all our cookies turned out great. Coincidence? I think not! :) We made cutouts, pecan crescents and fudge.

Blubirde (or anyone else), have you had any experience with using applesauce where it did NOT work? I'm always afraid to make substitutions like that without hearing firsthand from someone else how it worked out.