Things That Affect The Quality Of Your Cookies and Other Baked Goods (Part 1)

As the outside temperatures drop and the holidays approach, many of us find ourselves itching to do some baking. Something about the warmth from the oven and the delicious aroma that fills the air makes baking during the cold holiday months so comforting and inviting.

However, those warm feelings can come to a halt if, after all the work to mix up some cookie dough, you find that your efforts have fallen flat (quite literally) during baking. Rather than the delicious cookies you envisioned and longed for, the cookies on your pan are utterly unappealing.

Where did things go wrong? While we don’t know the exact reason for your cookie blunder, we happen to know several things that can affect the quality of your baking. Keep reading for our first three.

1. Measurements

Have you ever asked your mom or grandma for the recipe for one of their delicious dinners, only to have them tell you something like, “Oh, I don’t use a recipe; I just add in a little of this or a little of that”?

If so, you likely realize that it’s a common cooking practice to freely add spices to your liking. “Season to taste,” as it’s called. While this might work for cooking, it’s not the best practice for baking. Here’s why:

Baking is a science. Just like in your high school chemistry class, you are combining different ingredients to create a chemical reaction. In a chemistry class, the results could be explosive if your ingredient ratio isn’t precise.

While an explosion isn’t likely to happen from inaccurate baking measurements, your results may be less than desirable.

Correctly measuring each ingredient will ensure the taste, texture, and density are consistent every time. And it will likely mean the difference between barely edible and nearly gourmet chocolate chip cookies.

• Dry Measuring Cups– As the name implies, dry measuring cups are for dry ingredients, such as sugar, flour, nuts, etc.To get the correct measurement, spoon the ingredient into the cup and level off the top using a flat edge to scrape off the excess. With the exception of brown sugar, dry ingredients should NEVER be packed into the measuring cup.
• Liquid Measuring Cups– Use a liquid measuring cup for ingredients such as milk, oil, water, etc. This type of measuring cup is transparent, with lines indicating various measurements and a pour spout at the top.Trying to measure liquid ingredients with a dry measuring cup can be tricky. Even if you get the liquid right to the very top of the cup, you will likely spill a little before it gets poured into the batter.A liquid measuring cup helps prevent this occurrence, as there is a little extra space between the highest measurement and the top of the cup.
• Weight– Using a kitchen scale is the best and most accurate way to measure ingredients. When using cups to measure, you are measuring volume, whereas a scale measures the weight of the ingredient.Ingredient weight is much more precise than volume, as the density of each ingredient can vary greatly. For example, one cup of flour will not weigh the same as one cup of butter.

2. Butter Temperature

One of the common ingredients in cookies is butter. Butter provides structure to cookies and adds the rich flavor and soft texture we crave. But did you know that the butter temperature can significantly affect the outcome of your cookies and other baked goods? It’s true.

• Cold– Adding cold butter right from the fridge to your cookie dough is a terrible idea. Cold butter will not be able to mix properly with other ingredients and will leave you with undesirable and inconsistent results.
• Melted Butter– Using melted butter when making cookies will produce a runnier dough, causing cookies to spread more while baking. These cookies will be thinner, denser, and crispier than traditional ones.For better results when using melted butter, chill the dough before baking. Doing so will mean less spreading during baking and a chewier cookie.
• Room-Temperature– When baking, the most commonly used form of butter is room-temperature or “softened.” Room-temperature butter creates cookies that are uniform in size and shape with a traditional cake-like texture.You may wonder how to gauge this, as “room temperature” can vary greatly from one house to another.In baking, room temperature is considered around 65°F. Butter at room temperature should have no visible melting, and your finger can make an indent into the butter without sliding all the way through.If you didn’t plan ahead or you merely don’t want to wait around for your butter to get to room temperature, there are a few hacks you can try.

  First, you can cut the butter into smaller pieces so that they will warm up quicker. But this still takes a bit of time. For an even quicker option, use the microwave.

  Microwave one cup of water for about three minutes. Meanwhile, cut butter into pieces and put on a plate. Once the water is hot, place the plate of butter on top of the water and let it sit in the microwave for about 10 minutes.

  Another microwave method is to heat the butter for 20-30 seconds on a low-power setting, turning the butter every five to ten seconds. Be careful; a few seconds could mean the difference between softened and melted butter.

3. Altitude

Have you ever wondered why your sister’s cookies always turn out better than yours? You follow the recipe, along with all of her tips and tricks, yet something isn’t quite right.

Maybe she’s just a better baker than you. Perhaps she’s keeping her favorite tip a secret. Or, maybe it’s something neither one of you has control over. We are talking about the altitude of where you live. High altitudes can directly affect the outcome of your cookies.

If you live at a high altitude (3,000 feet above sea level or higher), follow these tips:

• Increase oven temperature by 15-25 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Decrease baking time by about 20%.
• Add one to three tablespoons of milk or water to your dough.
• Do not overbeat your eggs.
• Add one tablespoon of flour if baking at 3,500 feet. Increase by one and a half tablespoons for every 1,500 feet after that.
• Decrease sugar by one tablespoon per cup.
• Reduce the amount of baking soda or baking powder by 15-25%.

Hopefully, these tips will help you achieve the cookies of your dreams. However, this is only half of our list of things that affect the quality of your baking. Stay tuned for part two of this article for more tips and information.

By the end, you’ll be baking delicious cookies this holiday season. These cookies will be perfect for care packages, gifts, or to simply enjoy yourself.