COOKIE BAKING HINTS AND TIPS

[Kitchen Witch]

COOKIE BAKING HINTS AND TIPS

Bakeware
Use a shiny, flat cookie sheet at least two inches narrower and shorter than your oven rack. The cookie sheet may be open on one, two or three sides. Cookies may not brown evenly if a cookie sheet is warped.

Follow manufacturer's instructions if using a cookie sheet with a nonstick coating; the oven temperature may need to be reduced by 25 degrees F.

Follow manufacturer's instructions if using an "insulated" cookie sheet; cookies may take slightly longer to bake or may brown differently.

Baking
Bake only one sheet of cookies at a time in the center of the oven.

Check cookies at minimum baking time.

Cooling
Remove baked cookies immediately from the cookie sheet with a wide spatula, unless the recipe states other cooling directions. Place cookies in a single layer on a wire rack to cool completely before storing.

Preparation
Grease the cookie sheet only if directed in the recipe, using solid vegetable shortening (not butter, margarine, vegetable oil spread or oil) or use nonstick cooking spray.

Make cookies the same size and thickness to ensure uniform baking.

Clean and cool cookie sheets before reusing or cookies may stick to sheet or spread too much.

Always remove the foil wrapping from HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Chocolates before placing them on cookies. Do not put cookies back into the oven after placing chocolates on top of them. Do not substitute HERSHEY'S KISSES with Almonds for HERSHEY'S KISSES Brand Chocolates, as they may melt too much from the heat of the cookies.

Storage
Store crisp, thin cookies in a container or a tin with a loose-fitting cover.

Store unfrosted soft cookies in an airtight container to preserve moistness.

Store frosted soft cookies in a single layer in an airtight container so that the frosting will maintain its shape and the cookies will remain moist.

Trouble Shooting
Use this checklist to determine what went wrong with a batch of cookies.

If homemade cookies spread too much during baking, the following problems may have occurred:
The oven temperature was too cold. Pure cane sugar (sucrose) was not used; fructose sugar or a blend of sugars was substituted. The cookie sheets were greased too heavily. Diet margarine or vegetable oil spreads were substituted for butter or regular stick margarine (80% fat). Dark brown sugar was used instead of light brown sugar generally called for in recipes. The cookie sheet was still warm when the cookie dough was placed on the sheet.

If homemade cookies did not spread enough during baking, the following problems may have occurred:
The cookie dough was over-mixed. The cookie dough was too cold. The oven temperature was too hot. Solid vegetable oil shortening was substituted for butter in the recipe.

If homemade cookies stick to the cookie sheet, the following problems may have occurred:
The cookie sheets were not sufficiently cleaned between uses. The cookie sheets were not greased and the recipe called for greasing. The cookies were under-baked. The cookies were left on cookie sheets too long before removal. The cookie batter is too warm (hot kitchen). The cookie sheets are warm or hot before baking.