BAKING COOKIES

To bake... …to cook in dry heat in an oven. The oven heats the air and the hot air cooks the food. Do not overcrowd an oven when baking, as it interferes with the circulation of hot air. Science principle: No lid is used during baking. A lid would trap the moisture as it was trying to evaporate. The evaporating moisture would then collect on the inside of the lid during condensation, and fall back into the food. That is moist heat…and is NOT baking.

+ Baking Ingredients... liquid flour structure The flour and liquid form the shape of the product. The flour and the eggs are known as the ‘strengtheners’.

Flour... Flour – all-purpose flour is used for most. Provides structure for cookie. Whole-wheat flour can be substituted for 1/3 to ½ of the all-purpose flour. If substituted for all the flour, the cookies will be to dry. Measuring flour - Spoon or sift lightly into a dry measuring cup. Level. Too much flour results in tough, crumbly, dry cookies.   Too little flour causes cookies to spread and lose shape.

Types of flour... Flour is usually purchased pre-sifted, bleached or unbleached. Bleaching whitens the flour.

Types of flour... Gluten is the protein found in flour mixed with liquid. The more a dough is mixed, worked, or kneaded, the longer the strands of gluten become, and the more ‘elastic’ the dough becomes. When baked, elasticity provides a firm structure and light texture. Cake flour: very low gluten content; pure white color Pastry flour: very low gluten content; creamy white color; slightly less delicate than cake flour Lower gluten flours have just enough gluten to keep products from crumbling, but not enough to create chewiness.

Types of flour... Bread flour: highest gluten content; creamy white color All purpose flour: medium gluten content; medium white color; good for general production work Gluten-free flour: People who have a gluten sensitivity or Celiac Disease cannot tolerate certain levels of gluten. If you simply take gluten out of your baking, you're likely to have disappointing results. Gluten is sticky stuff which helps prevent your baked goodies from crumbling. It also traps pockets of air, improving the texture of your bread, cakes or biscuits. Gluten-free flour may need to be mixed with guar or xantham gums or cornstarch, etc. to restore stickiness.

Liquids Used... The liquid used in baking provides moisture and allows the gluten to develop. Milk or water are the most common liquids. Others are buttermilk, cream, molasses, honey, melted fats or oils, and juices. Adding too much liquid creates a soggy product. Adding too little liquid creates a dry product.

Leavening agents… Leavening – helps cookies to rise and adds structure Cause the food to "rise”… by providing air, steam, or gas. Leavening – helps cookies to rise and adds structure Baking soda – (bicarbonate of soda) – must be mixed with an acid (lemon juice, buttermilk, molasses) ingredient to release its CO2 which makes the baked goods rise. Baking powder – includes baking soda and an acid plus a moisture absorber. Not interchangeable with baking soda. Leavener should be fresh and not out of date.

The ‘creaming method’ adds air as fat and sugar are creamed together. Baking Ingredients... leavening agents cause the food to "rise" Air is a physical method of causing food to ‘rise’. It can be used in two different methods: The ‘creaming method’ adds air as fat and sugar are creamed together. The ‘foaming method’ adds air as beaten egg whites are folded into a batter.

Cooking oils; do not substitute oils for solid fats Baking Ingredients... fats add richness, flavor, and tenderness Adding too much fat creates a crumbly product; adding too little creates a tough or chewy product. ‘Just enough’ creates a ‘melt-in-your-mouth’ product. Butter or margarine; do NOT use soft margarines for baking, as they contain added water Solid shortening Cooking oils; do not substitute oils for solid fats

Fats and Oils – adds tenderness and flavor – most of the time you will use only the solid form for baking cookies. Butter, margarine, shortening – should contain more than 65% fat for baking. Softened Butter – let stand at room temperature approx. 30-45 minutes. Perfectly softened butter should give gently to pressure, but should be solid in appearance. If fat is too soft it will cause cookies to spread too much.

Baking Ingredients... eggs 4. THICKENER 1. FLAVOR 8. LEAVENING AGENT 5. BINDER 2. TENDERIZER 6. ENRICH 7. PRESERVE TEXTURE 3. COLOR 2 eggs whites can be substituted for 1 whole egg to reduce fat and calories.

Baking Ingredients... sweeteners for flavor Molasses (a by-product of beet or cane sugar production.) Brown sugar must be packed into the measuring cup. It is an unrefined sugar with a high moisture content OR white sugar with molasses added. The amount of molasses determines whether it is dark or light brown sugar. Either can be used in most recipes. Honey Granulated sugar is the most common sweetener in baking. It is either cane or beet sugar. Powdered sugar is also called confectioners sugar.

Baking Ingredients... Flavorings! Ummm....Yum! Nuts Candies Flavored chips Fruits & vegetables Extracts & flavorings

Use an electric mixer to save time! Use medium speed on your mixer. Standard baking procedure... Most of the time, you wouldn’t even need a recipe to follow. For most cakes and cookies, just follow standard baking procedure using the 5 step ‘creaming method”: 1. "cream" together the fats and sugars Creaming- refers to combining shortening and sugar. Use an electric mixer to save time! Use medium speed on your mixer. 2. add eggs one at a time, beating after each Air + egg whites = volume

Add 1/3 dry, then 1/3 wet…repeat ‘til all ingredients are used Standard baking procedure... 3. sift together the dry ingredients Sifting eliminates lumps, helps in the even distribution of ingredients, and adds air 4. "add alternately" the dry and liquid ingredients Add 1/3 dry, then 1/3 wet…repeat ‘til all ingredients are used 5. stir in flavoring pieces by hand An electric mixer at this point would break up the chips, raisins, nuts, etc.

Selecting the right bake ware... Shiny aluminum – are highly recommended for cookies. They reflect heat and should be narrower than the oven so the heat can circulate. Dark non-stick – need to reduce oven temperature by 25 degrees because the dark sheet conducts heat and causes cookies to brown faster Insulated sheet – help prevent browning and becoming too dark – may take longer to bake.

Baking pans for bar cookies – use exact size of pan called for in recipe Greasing cookie sheets and baking pans. Only grease when called for in recipe Don’t grease non-stick cookie sheet even if recipe calls for greasing, it causes cookies to spread to much Can use parchment paper or aluminum foil to place of greasing sheets.

Before baking... Space cookies on the cookie sheet for baking, leaving enough space so they won’t touch. Preheating the oven to the correct temperature is critical! Adjust oven racks so you can bake in the middle of the oven! If rack is too low, food gets too brown on the bottom; if rack is too high, food gets too brown on top.

There are 6 different categories of cookies: Types of cookies... Drop cookies such as chocolate chip and oatmeal, are made from a soft dough dropped from a spoon 2. Pressed or Piped cookies , such as ladyfingers or macaroons, are piped through a pastry bag 3. Rolled cookies, such as sugar cookies, are rolled out and cut in shapes

There are 6 different categories of cookies: Types of cookies... Molded cookies are molded by hand into shapes, such as peanut butter cookies marked with fork tines Refrigerator cookies are made when dough is rolled in logs and chilled; then sliced and baked Bar or sheet cookies are made in long bars or fill sheet pans, and then are cut into bar shapes after baking

After baking... Cookies are removed from the oven, cooled for a couple of minutes, removed from the pans with a spatula, and placed on a wire rack for cooling.

Remember… YOU SHOULD NOT EAT RAW COOKIE DOUGH!

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