Common Mistakes Beginners Make When Baking Cookies
Cookies are not evenly baking
In case you are experiencing this problem, you are trusting your oven too much. Remember that ovens have cold and hot spots that can cause your cookies to be undercooked while some are closely burnt. To prevent this, rotate your baking pans halfway through the process. The cookies will be exposed evenly to different oven temperatures.
Wrong flour measurement
Measuring is always the key to baking. You must use the right amount of flour while also using the right type of flour. Do not scoop straight out of your flour without leveling it. Measure the correct amount by scraping off the excess using a straight edge like a knife. This method will change your whole cookie baking experience.
Do not use eggs straight from your refrigerator
Cold eggs are not recommended to use in baking. It prevents the dough from aerating accurately. It will not have any air pockets that can improve the texture of your cookies. Use room temperature eggs to achieve light and fluffy dough. Supposing you do not have enough time to room temperate it, you can use a bowl of warm water and soak the eggs for a few minutes.
Using stale baking soda or powder
Baking soda and powder are important in baking as they act as the leavening agents to help the dough to rise. With time, it will become less strong and will stale. If you will still use this on your dough, you will have a dense dough. One good thing to remember is use for only six months the opened baking soda or powder. It ensures that your cookies will rise properly and result in amazing work.
Over greasing cookie sheet
Unless you have the perfect reason to use grease on your cookie sheet, never use it. A greased pan will cause the cookies to spread more and this will give you thin, hard, and shapeless cookies. Rather than using grease, you can use parchment paper to line your baking tray or cake tins for easy peel-off of cookies.
Never giving the cookies right time to cool down
When you have your perfect cookies with you, never ruin your masterpiece. Do not immediately remove them from the pan. Give a few minutes for the cookies to cool down. It ensures that your cookies will not fall apart when you transfer them to the container. Allowing them to cool down also prevents you from burning yourself.