ALCOHOL COOKING SUBSTITUTIONS
A lot of recipes call for wine or some type of alcohol. If you don't use alcohol, or have that readily available, here are some options when cooking.
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Alcoholic Ingredient + Description + Substitution
Amaretto - Italian almond-flavored liqueur - Substitute: Almond extract.
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Beer or ale + Various types.
For light beers, substitute chicken broth, ginger ale or white grape juice. For heavier beers, use a stronger beef, chicken or mushroom broth or stock. Non-alcoholic beers may also be substituted.
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Brandy +Liquor made of distilled wine or fruit juice.
Scotch or bourbon. If a particular flavor is specified, use the corresponding fruit juice, such as apple, apricot, cherry, peach, raspberry etc. or grape juice. Corresponding flavored extracts can be used for small amounts.
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Calvados, Apple brandy
Substitute: Apple juice concentrate or juice.
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Chambord, Black raspberry liqueur
Substitute: Raspberry juice, syrup or extract.
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Champagne, Sparkling white wine.
Substitute: Sparkling white grape juice, ginger ale, white wine.
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Claret
Light red wine or Bordeaux.
Non-alcoholic wine, diluted currant or grape juice, cherry cider syrup.
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Cognac, Aged, double-distilled wine or fermented fruit juice.
Substitute peach, apricot or pear juice.
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Cointreau, French, orange-flavored liqueur.
Substitute: Orange juice concentrate or regular orange juice that has been reduced to a thicker consistency.
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Curacao, Liqueur made from bitter Seville oranges.
Substitute: Orange juice frozen concentrate or reduced fresh orange juice.
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Creme de menthe, Thick and syrupy, sweetened mint liqueur. Comes both clear and green.
Substitute: Mix spearmint extract or oil with a little water or grapefruit juice. Use a drop of food coloring if you need the green color.
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Framboise, French raspberry liqueur.
Substitute: Raspberry juice or syrup.
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Frangelico, Italian hazelnut liqueur.
Substitute: Hazelnut or almond extract.
Galliano, Golden Italian anise liqueur.
Substitute: Licorice extract.
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Grand Marnier French liqueur, orange-flavored.
Substitute: Orange juice frozen concentrate or reduced fresh orange juice.
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Grappa Italian grape brandy.
Substitute: Grape juice or reduced red wine.
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Grenadine, Pomegranate syrup, sometimes alcoholic.
Substitute: Pomegranate syrup or juice.
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Hard Cider, Fermented, alcoholic cider.
Substitute: Apple cider or juice.
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Kahlua, Syrupy Mexican liqueur made with coffee and cocoa beans.
Substitute: touch of cocoa powder.
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Kirsch (Kirchwasser) Colorless liqueur made of cherries.
Substitute: Black cherry, raspberry, boysenberry, currant, or grape juice or syrup, or cherry cider.
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Red Burgundy, Dry French wine.
Substitute: Non-alcoholic wine, red wine vinegar, grape juice.
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Red wine, Sweet or dry wine.
Substitute: Non-alcoholic wine, beef or chicken broth or stock, diluted red wine vinegar, red grape juice diluted with red wine vinegar or rice vinegar, tomato juice, liquid from canned mushrooms, plain water.
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Rum, Liquor distilled from molasses or sugar syrup.
Substitute: For light rum, use pineapple juice flavored with almond extract. For dark rum, use molasses thinned with pineapple juice and flavored with almond extract. Or use rum extract flavoring.
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Sake,Fermented rice drink.
Substitute: Rice vinegar.
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Schnapps, Flavored, colorless liquor.
Use corresponding flavored extract such as peppermint, peach, etc.
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Sherry, Fortified dessert wine, sweet or dry, some with a slightly nutty flavor.
Substitute: Orange or pineapple juice.
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Southern Comfort, Bourbon mixed with peach liqueur.
Substitute: Peach nectar mixed with a little cider vinegar.
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Tequila, Liquor made of the agave plant.
Substitute: Cactus nectar or juice.
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Triple Sec, Orange-flavored liqueur.
Substitute: Orange juice frozen concentrate or reduced fresh orange juice.
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Vermouth, Wine-based drink infused with herbs, sweet or dry.
Substitute: For sweet, use non-alcoholic sweet wine, apple or grape juice or balsamic vinegar. For dry, use non-alcoholic white wine, white grape juice or white wine vinegar.
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White Burgundy, Dry French wine.
Substitute: Non-alcoholic wine, white grape juice diluted with white wine vinegar.
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White wine, Sweet or dry wine.
Substitute: Non-alcoholic wine, chicken broth or stock, diluted white wine vinegar or cider vinegar, white grape juice diluted with white wine vinegar, ginger ale, canned mushroom liquid, water. For marinades, substitute 1/4 cup vinegar plus 1 Tbsp sugar plus 1/4 cup water.
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August 13, 2008 TERRIFIC USES FOR BOUNCE DRYER SHEETS I love any product with multiple uses. Turns out that Bounce dryer sheets are the multi-tasking gold mine! This is a product that most of us have in our laundry room, and check out the myriad of uses!
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1. Need to keep yellow-jackets and bees away? Forget the bee spray and simply tie a sheet of Bounce to your belt loop.
2. Have a problem with ants? Forget the toxic ant sprays and lay a sheet of Bounce near them. Watch it chase the ants away!
3. Do your old photo albums and books that are used infrequently have a funny odor? Stick in a sheet of Bounce.
4. Not just a yellow-jacket repellent, Bounce sheets work as mosquito repellant as well.
5. Use Bounce sheets to eliminate static electricity from your TV or computer screen. This will also help keep dust from re-settling.
6. Use Bounce to clean your shower doors, and watch the soap scum disappear.
7. Place a sheet of Bounce in your drawers to freshen the air in your home.
8. Next time you replace your vacuum's bag, put in a sheet of bounce. The heat from the vacuum will enhance the scent.
9. Prevent thread from tangling. Run a threaded needle through a sheet of Bounce before beginning to sew.
10. To prevent suitacases from getting musty, place a sheet of Bounce inside empty luggage before storing. 11. Place a sheet of Bounce under the seat in your car to freshen the air.
12. Clean baked-on foods from a cooking pan. Put a sheet in a pan, fill with water, let sit overnight, and sponge clean. The anti-static agent apparently weakens the bond between the food and the pan. (I love this one!).
13. Eliminate odors in wastebaskets by placing a sheet of Bounce at the bottom.
14. Eliminate static electricity from Venetian blinds. Wipe the blinds with a sheet of Bounce to prevent dust from re-settling.
15. Deoderize shoes or sneakers. Place a sheet of bounce in your shoes or sneakers overnight. 16. Wipe up sawdust from drilling or sand papering. A used sheet of Bounce will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.
16. If your hair is full of static electricity, rub a dryer sheet lightly across it. It will quickly take care of the problem.
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August 10, 2008 CANDY - MAKING CHART *
Thread
begins at 230°
The syrup will make a 2" thread when dropped from a spoon.
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Soft Ball
begins at 234°
A small amount of syrup dropped into chilled water forms a ball, but flattens when picked up with fingers
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Firm Ball
begins at 244°
The ball will hold its shape and flatten only when pressed.
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Hard Ball
begins at 250°
The ball is more rigid but still pliable.
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Soft Crack
begins at 270°
When a small amount of syrup is dropped into chilled water it will separate into threads which will bend when picked up.
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Hard Crack
begins at 300°
The syrup separates into threads that are hard and brittle.
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Caramelized Sugar
310° to 338°
Between these temperatures the syrup will turn dark golden, but will turn black at 350°.
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LIQUID & DRY MEASURE Dry Measure
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3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon = 1/2 ounce = 14.3 grams
2 tablespoons = 1/8 cup = 1 fluid ounce = 28.3 grams
4 tablspoons = 1/4 cup = 2 fluid ounces = 56.7 grams
5 1/3 tablespoons = 1/3 cup = 2.6 fluid ounces = 75.6 grams
8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup = 4 ounces = 113.4 grams = 1 stick butter
12 tablespoons = 3/4 cup = 6 ounces = .375 pound = 170 grams
32 tablespoons = 2 cups = 16 ounces = 1 pound = 453.6 grams
64 tablespoons = 4 cups = 32 ounces = 2 pounds = 907 grams
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Liquid Measures
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1 cup = 8 fluid ounces = 1/2 pint = 237 ml
2 cups = 16 fluid ounces = 1 pint = 474 ml
4 cups = 32 fluid ounces = 1 quart = 946 ml
2 pints = 32 fluid ounces = 1 quart = 0.964 liters
4 quarts = 128 fluid ounces = 1 gallon = 3.784 liters
8 quarts = one peck
4 pecks = one bushel
dash = less than 1/4 teaspoon
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LIQUID MEASURE CONVERSION
1/2 fl oz =1 tbsp = 3 tsp
1/8 cup = 1 fl oz = 2 tbsp = 6 tsp
1/4 cup =2 fl oz = 4 tbsp = 12 tsp
1/2 cup =4 fl oz =8 tbsp = 24 tsp
1/4 qt =1/2 pt = 1 cup = 8 fl oz
1/2 qt = 1 pt = 2 cups = 16 fl oz
1/4 gal = 1 qt = 2 pt = 4 cups = 32 fl oz
1/2 gal = 2 qt = 4 pt = 8 cups = 64 fl oz
1 gal = 4 qt = 8 pt = 16 cups = 128 fl oz
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August 7, 2008 BAKING SUBSTITUTIONS Have you ever been smack in the middle of a recipe, and realized that you are missing a vital ingredient? Here are a few substitutions that just might come in handy some day.
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MILK:
1 Cup Milk=1/2 C. evaporated milk plus 1/2 C. water; or 1 C. buttermilk plus 1/2 tsp. baking soda; or 3 Tbs. sifted reg. non-fat dry milk plus 1 C. minus 1 Tbs. water; or 1/3 C. instant non-fat dry milk plus 1 C. minus 1 Tbs. water.
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1 Cup whole milk=1 C. reconstituted non-fat dry milk plus 2 1/2 tsp. butter or margarine.
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1 cup Sour or Buttermilk=1 Tbs. vinegar or lemon juice plus enough milk to make 1 Cup. Let stand for 5 min. or 1 3/4 tsp. cream of tartar plus 1 C. milk.
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1 cup Heavy Cream=1/3 C. butter plus about 3/4 C. milk
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FLOUR:
1 Cup sifted all purpose flour=1 C. unsifted all purpose flour minus 2 Tbs. or 1 C. plus 2 Tbs. sifted cake flour.
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1 Cup sifted Cake Flour=7/8 C. sifted all purpose flour or 1 C. minus 2 Tbs. sifted all purpose flour.
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1 Tablespoon Flour for Thickening=1/2 Tbs. cornstarch or 2 tsp. quick cooking tapioca.
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CORNSTARCH: for thickening
1 Tablespoon=2 Tablespoons flour
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SHORTENING OR LARD:
Many great OLD recipes call for Lard. Most of us don't have lard hanging around. Use this instead:
1 cup Lard=1 1/4 C. butter minus 1/2 tsp. salt from your recipe.
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BAKING POWDER:
1 teaspoon=1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar plus 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
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BROTH:
1 Cup=1 cup hot water plus 1 teaspoon bouillon granules or 1 bouillon cube
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CHOCOLATE:
1 square semisweet (1 ounce)=1 square (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate plus 1 tablespoon sugar or 3 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
1 square Chocolate (1 ounce)=3 tablespoons baking cocoa plus 1 tablespoon shortening or vegetable oil
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CORN SYRUP, DARK (1 cup)=3/4 Cup light corn syrup plus 1/4 cup molasses
CORN SYRUP, LIGHT (1 cup)=1 Cup sugar plus 1/4 cup water
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HONEY (1 cup)=1-1/4 cups sugar plus 1/4 cup water
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LEMON JUICE (1 tsp) = 1/4 tsp. cider vinegar
LEMON PEEL (1 tsp)=1/2 tsp. lemon extract
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MOLASSES (1 cup)=1 cup honey
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MUSTARD, PREPARED (1 tablespoon)=1/2 teaspoon ground mustard plus 2 teaspoons cider or white vinegar
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ONION (1/3 cup chopped)=1 tsp. onion powder or 1 Tablespoon dried minced onion
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POULTRY SEASONING (1 tsp.)=3/4 tsp. ground sage plus 1/4 tsp. dried thyme
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SOUR CREAM (1 cup)=1 Cup plain yogurt
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SUGAR (1 cup)=1 cup packed Brown Sugar or 2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
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TOMATO JUICE (1 cup)=1/2 cup tomato sauce plus 1/2 cup water
TOMATO SAUCE (2 Cups)=3/4 cup tomato paste plus 1 cup water
Showing posts with label Helpful tips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Helpful tips. Show all posts
Monday, June 20, 2016
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Eggs Eggs Eggs... helpful tips
My favorite site:tipnut.com
If you ever have a ton of eggs to boil. Don't bother with wasting water or getting out a pot. You can have hard boiled eggs straight from the lovin' of your oven! Gotta love that!
Here’s a way to cook lots of hard boiled eggs without having to work with big pots of boiling water, cook them right in the oven!
Put a baking sheet on the bottom of the oven then place all the eggs you need cooked directly on the oven rack. This is in case they break, it will be got by the sheet. Bake the eggs at 325°F. for half an hour (do not preheat).
Take the eggs out of the oven then put them directly into a big bowl of very cold water (with ice added). This will stop the eggs from cooking and make them easier to peel too.
■When cream will not whip, add the white of an egg to your cream–chill it and it will whip.
■If egg yolks become stringy after being added to hot puddings, especially tapioca, use a beater; the lumps will adhere to the beater and leave the pudding smooth.
■A well-beaten white of egg added to mashed potatoes will add to the looks and taste of the dish.
■If an egg has a very thin shell, or is chipped, and likely to crack when being boiled, add a few drops of vinegar to the water.
■When making mayonnaise add the white of the egg to the mixture after the vinegar is added. This will prevent curdling.
■Eggs beat up lighter and make finer cake when not too cold. They should be at cool room temperature (60°F. to 70°F.) for best results. When making sponge cakes, especially angel food, remove eggs from refrigerator several hours before using.
■Don’t wash eggs before storing. Water destroys the protective film that keeps out air and odors.
■The fresher the egg, the harder it is to remove the shell of hard-cooked eggs. Use eggs you’ve had the longest.
■Many cook books advise taking eggs out of the refrigerator long enough before using them to allow them to warm up to room temperature. This is only necessary if making recipes where fat, sugar and eggs must be blended together. Cold eggs will harden the fat and the batter looks curdled, and this may affect the texture of the finished product.
■To prevent curdling when making custards, mix sugar with egg, add hot liquid, a little at a time. Cook over hot not boiling water or over very low heat. Do not overcook.
■■The color of the egg shell has nothing to do with the quality of an egg. Buy brown or white eggs, whichever are cheaper. Old ones are smooth and shiny while fresh eggs are rough and chalky in appearance.
Egg tip information found from this site.
To easily remove the shell when boiling eggs add a good amount of salt or vinegar to the water. The salt helps the egg whites to firm up faster and stay separate from the shell. (Also, if you happen to crack an egg as you put it in, this will help the white to seal up the crack)
To prevent eggs from cracking when added to boiling water, let stand in warm water a few minutes while cooking water is being brought to boiling point.
Over-cooking a hard-boiled egg results in a greyish green ring around the outside of the yolk. To avoid this when you are wanting your eggs to look pretty, chill the egg in cold water immediately after cooking. (The grey ring is just unappetizing to look at)
If you have some boiled eggs in the fridge and you can’t remember which ones are cooked and which ones aren’t, just give them a good spin.
A hard boiled egg will spin like crazy and a raw egg will only spin a few times.
When baking, it is best to use large eggs. And, a good way to judge whether your eggs should be used straight out of the fridge or should be at room temperature is based on the butter. If the butter in the recipe is supposed to be cold then the eggs can be too, but if the butter is supposed to be room temperature or warmer then the eggs should be room temperature as well.
When a recipe calls for eggs to be whipped they should be at room temperature for maximum volume. The whites of eggs will whip more readily if a pinch of salt is added to them.
To warm eggs quickly to room temperature, place the eggs (shell on, of course) in a small bowl and cover them with steaming hot tap water. Let them sit for a couple of minutes until no longer cold to the touch.
Not sure how old the eggs are in your fridge? An easy way to tell if an egg has gone bad is to drop it gently into a cup of water. If it floats, throw it in the trash.
Interesting fact: The egg carton was invented to solve a dispute about broken eggs between a farmer and the owner of a Hotel. Joseph Coyle from British Columbia was the smarty-pants behind that one.
I really like this gals sense of humor, she asks:
And, the age old question that must be asked. What do you think came first: the chicken or the egg? :)
If you have any other egg tips I would love to read them, leave me a comment
If you ever have a ton of eggs to boil. Don't bother with wasting water or getting out a pot. You can have hard boiled eggs straight from the lovin' of your oven! Gotta love that!
Here’s a way to cook lots of hard boiled eggs without having to work with big pots of boiling water, cook them right in the oven!
Put a baking sheet on the bottom of the oven then place all the eggs you need cooked directly on the oven rack. This is in case they break, it will be got by the sheet. Bake the eggs at 325°F. for half an hour (do not preheat).
Take the eggs out of the oven then put them directly into a big bowl of very cold water (with ice added). This will stop the eggs from cooking and make them easier to peel too.
■When cream will not whip, add the white of an egg to your cream–chill it and it will whip.
■If egg yolks become stringy after being added to hot puddings, especially tapioca, use a beater; the lumps will adhere to the beater and leave the pudding smooth.
■A well-beaten white of egg added to mashed potatoes will add to the looks and taste of the dish.
■If an egg has a very thin shell, or is chipped, and likely to crack when being boiled, add a few drops of vinegar to the water.
■When making mayonnaise add the white of the egg to the mixture after the vinegar is added. This will prevent curdling.
■Eggs beat up lighter and make finer cake when not too cold. They should be at cool room temperature (60°F. to 70°F.) for best results. When making sponge cakes, especially angel food, remove eggs from refrigerator several hours before using.
■Don’t wash eggs before storing. Water destroys the protective film that keeps out air and odors.
■The fresher the egg, the harder it is to remove the shell of hard-cooked eggs. Use eggs you’ve had the longest.
■Many cook books advise taking eggs out of the refrigerator long enough before using them to allow them to warm up to room temperature. This is only necessary if making recipes where fat, sugar and eggs must be blended together. Cold eggs will harden the fat and the batter looks curdled, and this may affect the texture of the finished product.
■To prevent curdling when making custards, mix sugar with egg, add hot liquid, a little at a time. Cook over hot not boiling water or over very low heat. Do not overcook.
■■The color of the egg shell has nothing to do with the quality of an egg. Buy brown or white eggs, whichever are cheaper. Old ones are smooth and shiny while fresh eggs are rough and chalky in appearance.
Egg tip information found from this site.
To easily remove the shell when boiling eggs add a good amount of salt or vinegar to the water. The salt helps the egg whites to firm up faster and stay separate from the shell. (Also, if you happen to crack an egg as you put it in, this will help the white to seal up the crack)
To prevent eggs from cracking when added to boiling water, let stand in warm water a few minutes while cooking water is being brought to boiling point.
Over-cooking a hard-boiled egg results in a greyish green ring around the outside of the yolk. To avoid this when you are wanting your eggs to look pretty, chill the egg in cold water immediately after cooking. (The grey ring is just unappetizing to look at)
If you have some boiled eggs in the fridge and you can’t remember which ones are cooked and which ones aren’t, just give them a good spin.
A hard boiled egg will spin like crazy and a raw egg will only spin a few times.
When baking, it is best to use large eggs. And, a good way to judge whether your eggs should be used straight out of the fridge or should be at room temperature is based on the butter. If the butter in the recipe is supposed to be cold then the eggs can be too, but if the butter is supposed to be room temperature or warmer then the eggs should be room temperature as well.
When a recipe calls for eggs to be whipped they should be at room temperature for maximum volume. The whites of eggs will whip more readily if a pinch of salt is added to them.
To warm eggs quickly to room temperature, place the eggs (shell on, of course) in a small bowl and cover them with steaming hot tap water. Let them sit for a couple of minutes until no longer cold to the touch.
Not sure how old the eggs are in your fridge? An easy way to tell if an egg has gone bad is to drop it gently into a cup of water. If it floats, throw it in the trash.
Interesting fact: The egg carton was invented to solve a dispute about broken eggs between a farmer and the owner of a Hotel. Joseph Coyle from British Columbia was the smarty-pants behind that one.
I really like this gals sense of humor, she asks:
And, the age old question that must be asked. What do you think came first: the chicken or the egg? :)
If you have any other egg tips I would love to read them, leave me a comment
Sunday, September 13, 2009
TIPNUT.COM
I have been hanging out here. I absolutely adore this place and hope that you do too! It has everything you would ever want to know about. Since our blog is the place I want our children to turn to. There will be some things taken directly from this wonderful site with a link back!
But you may find things on this site that I might not share. Please head there and be a subscriber too! Tell them I sent ya!
This is among the many reasons why I absolutely adore the internet.
But you may find things on this site that I might not share. Please head there and be a subscriber too! Tell them I sent ya!
This is among the many reasons why I absolutely adore the internet.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
PERFECT COOKIE TIPS
I found this great helpful hint from allrecipes.com and knew I just needed to include this for our family recipe book! I intend to print this blog to book when one of my children marry. So, that should be in like 5 to 10 years. LOL, but seriously!
I have been trying to perfect my Chocolate chip cookie recipe. They look so beautiful and plump as they come out of the oven but as soon as the cool air hits them they deflate like a flat tire! ::bummer::
If you have any helpful tips about anything kitchen related I would love to add it to the helpful tip section!
Perfect Cookies
By: Allrecipes Staff
Some cookies should be crisp and delicate, while others ought to be chewy and tender.
Troubleshooting
If you have a cookie recipe that you love, but aren’t getting the desired results, use these tips to get your perfect cookie:
•Flat If you want your cookies on the flat side, you can do some or all of the following things: Use all butter, use all-purpose flour or bread flour, increase the sugar content slightly, add a bit of liquid to your dough, and bring the dough to room temperature before baking.
•Puffy For light, puffy cookies, use shortening or margarine and cut back on the amount of fat; add an egg, cut back on the sugar, use cake flour or pastry flour, use baking powder instead of baking soda and refrigerate your dough before baking.
•Chewy Try melting the butter before adding it to the sugars when mixing. Remove cookies from the oven a few minutes before they are done, while their centers are still soft but are just cooked through. The edges should be golden. Use brown sugar, honey or molasses as a sweetener. Let cookies cool on the pan for several minutes after baking before transferring to cooling rack.
•Crispy For crisp, crunchy cookies, use all butter and a proportion of white sugar. Use egg yolks in place of a whole egg. Cookies should be baked completely. Let cool on the baking sheet for one minute before transferring to a cooling rack.
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Ingredients
Using the correct ingredients is key. Follow the recipe closely and measure ingredients carefully for best results.
Fats Cookies are made primarily with butter, margarine or shortening. Fats play a major role in the spread of a cookie--whether a cookie keeps its shape or flattens in the oven. Shortening and margarine are stable, and will help cookies keep their original unbaked shapes. Butter melts at a much lower temperature than other solid fats--it melts at body temperature, resulting in a “melt-in-your-mouth” burst of flavor. Cookies made with butter tend to spread out. Butter is essential in certain cookies, such as shortbreads; if they don’t hold their shape, consider lowering the amount of butter, sugar, or baking soda in the recipe. The amount of fat also affects the cookies: in general, more fat equals flat, crispy cookies while less fat equals puffier, cake-like cookies. Whipped spreads are not suitable for baking: use solid sticks of margarine instead.
Flour Flour also affects how cookies behave. Most cookie recipes call for all-purpose or pastry flour. Both bread flour, with its high protein content, and cake flour, which is high in starch, produce cookies that tend to spread less. (The gluten in the bread flour and the absorbant starch in cake flour are responsible for the similar results.) Higher flour-to-liquid ratios are needed in shortbread and crumbly-textured cookies.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda Baking powder and baking soda are the two most common leaveners in cookies. Baking soda is simply bicarbonate of soda, while baking powder is a combination of bicarbonate of soda plus cream of tartar, an acidic ingredient. Baking soda neutralizes the acidity of the dough, allowing the cookies to brown in the oven. Since baking powder already contains its own acid, it will not reduce the acidity in the dough, and the resulting cookies will be puffier and lighter in color.
Sugars Like fats, sugars liquefy in the oven. The type and amount of sugar used play a big role in cookie performance. White sugar makes a crisper cookie than brown sugar or honey. Cookies made from brown sugar will absorb moisture after baking, helping to ensure that they stay chewy. Most chocolate chip cookie recipes contain both brown and white sugars. If you lower the amount of sugar called for in a cookie recipe, the final baked cookie will be puffier than its high-sugar counterpart.
Eggs and Liquids Eggs are a binding agent. Liquids can either cause cookies to puff up or spread. If egg is the liquid, it will create a puffy, cake-like texture. Just a tablespoon or two of water or other liquid will help your cookies spread into flatter and crisper rounds. Egg yolks bind the dough and add richness but allow a crisp texture after baking, whereas egg whites tend to make cookies dry and cakey. To make up for the drying effect of the egg whites, extra sugar is often added. This is why cookies made with just egg whites tend to be so sweet--think of macaroons.
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Mixing
Cookies are not as delicate as cakes, but proper mixing is still important. Some recipes require a creaming step in which the fat and sugars are beaten together until light-colored and fluffy. Other cookies require a sandy texture, so the fat is cut into the flour. Over-mixing can incorporate too much air into the dough, resulting in flat, overly spread-out cookies. Follow the recipe instructions. Once you combine the dry and wet ingredients, mix until just combined.
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Temperature
Unless otherwise specified, ingredients should be at room temperature before mixing. Cookie dough that is chilled before baking will hold its shape better. Rolled and cut-out cookies should be refrigerated before baking for sharper, clearer edges. Drop cookies, such as chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies, can be at room temperature before baking; the spoonfuls of dough will spread and flatten out to the desired result.
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Equipment and Baking
Different baking sheets and ovens produce different results. Thin baking sheets may allow the bottoms to brown too fast. Special insulated baking sheets allow air movement and help cookies bake evenly, but they can be expensive. Semi-thick rimmed baking sheets--also called jellyroll pans--are available just about everywhere, and are a fine multipurpose baking choice. Rather than greasing each baking sheet, consider investing in a roll of parchment paper or a nonstick pan liner to make cookie removal and clean-up easy.
Follow the recipe’s instructions for baking. Invest in an oven thermometer to be sure your oven temperature is calibrated correctly. Generally, cookies are baked in a moderate oven--350 degrees F (175 degrees C)--for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie. For chewy cookies, allow them to cool on the pan for 3 to 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. For crispier cookies, let cool for one minute on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.
I have been trying to perfect my Chocolate chip cookie recipe. They look so beautiful and plump as they come out of the oven but as soon as the cool air hits them they deflate like a flat tire! ::bummer::
If you have any helpful tips about anything kitchen related I would love to add it to the helpful tip section!
Perfect Cookies
By: Allrecipes Staff
Some cookies should be crisp and delicate, while others ought to be chewy and tender.
Troubleshooting
If you have a cookie recipe that you love, but aren’t getting the desired results, use these tips to get your perfect cookie:
•Flat If you want your cookies on the flat side, you can do some or all of the following things: Use all butter, use all-purpose flour or bread flour, increase the sugar content slightly, add a bit of liquid to your dough, and bring the dough to room temperature before baking.
•Puffy For light, puffy cookies, use shortening or margarine and cut back on the amount of fat; add an egg, cut back on the sugar, use cake flour or pastry flour, use baking powder instead of baking soda and refrigerate your dough before baking.
•Chewy Try melting the butter before adding it to the sugars when mixing. Remove cookies from the oven a few minutes before they are done, while their centers are still soft but are just cooked through. The edges should be golden. Use brown sugar, honey or molasses as a sweetener. Let cookies cool on the pan for several minutes after baking before transferring to cooling rack.
•Crispy For crisp, crunchy cookies, use all butter and a proportion of white sugar. Use egg yolks in place of a whole egg. Cookies should be baked completely. Let cool on the baking sheet for one minute before transferring to a cooling rack.
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Ingredients
Using the correct ingredients is key. Follow the recipe closely and measure ingredients carefully for best results.
Fats Cookies are made primarily with butter, margarine or shortening. Fats play a major role in the spread of a cookie--whether a cookie keeps its shape or flattens in the oven. Shortening and margarine are stable, and will help cookies keep their original unbaked shapes. Butter melts at a much lower temperature than other solid fats--it melts at body temperature, resulting in a “melt-in-your-mouth” burst of flavor. Cookies made with butter tend to spread out. Butter is essential in certain cookies, such as shortbreads; if they don’t hold their shape, consider lowering the amount of butter, sugar, or baking soda in the recipe. The amount of fat also affects the cookies: in general, more fat equals flat, crispy cookies while less fat equals puffier, cake-like cookies. Whipped spreads are not suitable for baking: use solid sticks of margarine instead.
Flour Flour also affects how cookies behave. Most cookie recipes call for all-purpose or pastry flour. Both bread flour, with its high protein content, and cake flour, which is high in starch, produce cookies that tend to spread less. (The gluten in the bread flour and the absorbant starch in cake flour are responsible for the similar results.) Higher flour-to-liquid ratios are needed in shortbread and crumbly-textured cookies.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda Baking powder and baking soda are the two most common leaveners in cookies. Baking soda is simply bicarbonate of soda, while baking powder is a combination of bicarbonate of soda plus cream of tartar, an acidic ingredient. Baking soda neutralizes the acidity of the dough, allowing the cookies to brown in the oven. Since baking powder already contains its own acid, it will not reduce the acidity in the dough, and the resulting cookies will be puffier and lighter in color.
Sugars Like fats, sugars liquefy in the oven. The type and amount of sugar used play a big role in cookie performance. White sugar makes a crisper cookie than brown sugar or honey. Cookies made from brown sugar will absorb moisture after baking, helping to ensure that they stay chewy. Most chocolate chip cookie recipes contain both brown and white sugars. If you lower the amount of sugar called for in a cookie recipe, the final baked cookie will be puffier than its high-sugar counterpart.
Eggs and Liquids Eggs are a binding agent. Liquids can either cause cookies to puff up or spread. If egg is the liquid, it will create a puffy, cake-like texture. Just a tablespoon or two of water or other liquid will help your cookies spread into flatter and crisper rounds. Egg yolks bind the dough and add richness but allow a crisp texture after baking, whereas egg whites tend to make cookies dry and cakey. To make up for the drying effect of the egg whites, extra sugar is often added. This is why cookies made with just egg whites tend to be so sweet--think of macaroons.
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Mixing
Cookies are not as delicate as cakes, but proper mixing is still important. Some recipes require a creaming step in which the fat and sugars are beaten together until light-colored and fluffy. Other cookies require a sandy texture, so the fat is cut into the flour. Over-mixing can incorporate too much air into the dough, resulting in flat, overly spread-out cookies. Follow the recipe instructions. Once you combine the dry and wet ingredients, mix until just combined.
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Temperature
Unless otherwise specified, ingredients should be at room temperature before mixing. Cookie dough that is chilled before baking will hold its shape better. Rolled and cut-out cookies should be refrigerated before baking for sharper, clearer edges. Drop cookies, such as chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies, can be at room temperature before baking; the spoonfuls of dough will spread and flatten out to the desired result.
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Equipment and Baking
Different baking sheets and ovens produce different results. Thin baking sheets may allow the bottoms to brown too fast. Special insulated baking sheets allow air movement and help cookies bake evenly, but they can be expensive. Semi-thick rimmed baking sheets--also called jellyroll pans--are available just about everywhere, and are a fine multipurpose baking choice. Rather than greasing each baking sheet, consider investing in a roll of parchment paper or a nonstick pan liner to make cookie removal and clean-up easy.
Follow the recipe’s instructions for baking. Invest in an oven thermometer to be sure your oven temperature is calibrated correctly. Generally, cookies are baked in a moderate oven--350 degrees F (175 degrees C)--for 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie. For chewy cookies, allow them to cool on the pan for 3 to 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. For crispier cookies, let cool for one minute on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack.
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