Generally, cookies are one of the first things you learn when it comes to baking anything. But, that doesn’t mean they can’t be messed up. They may be too hard, too well done, too thin/flat, or to crumbly. If these sound all too familiar, you may be making one or more of these common cookie mistakes or bad baking habits.
#1 Measuring The Flour Incorrectly
The biggest cookie baking mistake out there has got to be measuring the flour incorrectly. If you’re usual method is to scooping your measuring cup into the bag of flour, you could be using as much as 25-30 percent more flour than is needed in your recipe. That’s a recipe for dry and tough cookies.
The correct way: Get yourself a digital scale that can be set to grams, and from now on, for every cup of flour a recipe calls for, weigh out 130 grams.
#2 Using The Wrong Type Of Flour
Usually, cookie recipes will call for all-purpose flour, which is a medium-protein blend of hard and soft wheat flours. Should you decide to substitute bread flour (made from a different strain of wheat and is higher in protein), you’ll be rewarded with cookies that are too hard. If you try pastry or cake flour (which are softer), you’ll end up with crumbly or fragile cookies. Now, if you decide to use self-rising flour (baking powder already mixed in), you will end up with any number of unfavorable outcomes.
The correct way: Use the flour that the recipe states – Most likely all-purpose flour.
#3 Overworking The Dough
Overworking the dough can happen with any and all types of cookie dough. But, none more so than rolled cookies. That’s where you literally roll out the dough and use cookie cutters get your shapes. Flour has a component called gluten, a protein that gets stiffer and tighter the more you mix, roll and knead it. I know that one of the funnest parts of making cookies (other than eating them) is rolling out the dough, especially for kids. However, too much rolling is ……You guessed it, a no-no.
Side note: When it comes to re-rolling the scraps, that will definitely make the cookies harder, but in a case like this, there really is no other alternative.
The correct way: Roll or mix your dough as little, and as gently, as you can.
#4 Hand Creaming The Butter
The obvious reason we cream butter and sugar is to combine the 2 ingredients. But, it’s important to also integrate air into the butter. Doing so will add lightness to the dough and make it easier for the baking powder to do its work. Your dough will not be fluffy enough, if all you intend on doing is stirring. Remember, the butter needs to ideally be cool: If it’s to the point where you can stir it by hand, then that’s usually too soft.
The correct way: If you have access to a stand mixer, use that with the paddle attachment.
#5 The Butter Is Straight From The Fridge
This relates to #4 on our list, creaming the butter. If your butter is too cold, you will have more dense cookies and, chances are when you bake them, they will not spread enough on the pan. The rule of thumb here is, use cool butter, but not cold.
The correct way: Allow the butter to sit for about 15 minutes at room temperature, but not longer – see #6 below before you begin creaming.
#6 The Butter Is Too Soft
If the butter you are using is too soft, you’ll have a lack of aeration – Same as in #4. If the butter is too soft, instead of holding in the air, it will sort of just flop over onto itself. The ramification is that your dough will become heavy instead of fluffy.
The correct way: Keep the butter you use for baking in the fridge. If you want butter for toast, then I suggest a separate butter in a butter dish at room temperature.
#7 Using Stale Baking Powder
Baked goods get their “rise” from the chemical leavening agent in baking powder. Even though it generally has a long shelf life, it isn’t infinite. Usually after the 6 month mark, it will lose a large amount of its potency. While not as critical in cookies as it is in cakes, for example, it will still make a difference.
The correct way: If your baking powder is older than 6 months, replace it.
#8 Baking Pans Are Too Dark
You’re probably thinking I’m off my rocker. But, this is a fact. Dark colors absorb more heat than light ones and when it comes to baking, the difference is significant enough to influence the cookies. If you’ve dotted your “i”s and crossed your “t”s and your still burning the bottoms of your cookies, the dark pan is likely the culprit.
The correct way: Use light-colored cookie sheets. If you can’t, then I recommend reducing the oven temperature by 25 degrees.
#9 Over Greasing
When you bake cookies, they spread as the butter and sugar melt. Sometimes they spread and nearly merge into one giant cookie. There are many reasons for the “giant cookie syndrome”, but assuming the recipe was followed exactly in every other way, the most likely cause is over greasing the cookie sheet.
The correct way: Avoid greasing all together and use parchment paper. The cookies won’t spread too much, but they won’t stick either.
#10 Forgot To Preheat The Oven
You know this and I’m sure I don’t need to remind you. It’s step 1 in any recipe. Plus, you’re not skipping it intentionally. Just like many mistakes, it’s usually a matter of just forgetting. This is especially crucial for cookies because they might only need 10-12 minutes in the oven. That’s why you’re first batch may not bake like the rest.
The correct way: Get in the habit following the steps in the recipe to a tee – That includes preheating the oven.
#11 Opening The Oven Repeatedly
You need to take the cookies out, so clearly you have to open the oven door. But, you definitely don’t want to be doing that every minute or so. Each time you do that, you’re letting the heat escape, which causes the oven temperature to fall. Even though this is worse for cakes than cookies, it’s still bad. It can possibly prevent your cookies from browning or spreading.
The correct way: You want to check the “doneness”? The oven door has a window, use it. Can’t see through the window, then it might be time to clean it.