The One Step Most Bakers Skip That Transforms Your Cookies
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Did you know there's one transformative step many bakers skip when making cookies? It's a cookie expert-approved trick for baking cookies, and it's none other than double-chilling the dough. To double-chill means to let the dough rest, either in the refrigerator or freezer, after it's first mixed together, and then again after it's divided and shaped into balls.
After mixing your cookie dough, it may feel sticky and a bit tricky to shape. This frequently happened to me when I was testing hundreds of cookie recipes for my latest cookbook, "108 Asian Cookies." I found that chilling the dough at this stage allows the flour to fully absorb the liquids, and gives the warmed butter and fats time to firm up, making the dough easier to handle. This first rest also helps the cookies' flavors develop and deepen.
After about 15 to 30 minutes of chilling, shape the dough into balls and chill once more before baking in order for the cookies to hold their shape. When you don't chill cookie dough, you'll often find your cookies spreading too much or getting a bit thin. Also, when you're baking a lot of cookies, don't keep the cookie dough out between batches. Instead, keep the dough refrigerated.
Not every cookie dough needs to be chilled, but the ones that do benefit from chilling
Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, and not every type of cookie dough needs to be refrigerated. My vegan and gluten-free mochi cookie dough, for example, does not need chilling or refrigeration. There are no fats in the dough or protein-heavy flour that needs to absorb liquids. Cookies that are meant to be thin, crispy, and crunchy, like tuile or lace cookies, also do not require double-chilling.
Your typical sugar cookies, butter cookies, and chocolate chip cookies, however, almost always improve with double-chilling. That said, if you're short on time, chilling once or overnight is perfectly fine for most cookies. In this case, I typically mix up the dough, scoop and shape, and then refrigerate or freeze before baking.
So, the next time you're ready to bake a batch of cookies, be patient and give the dough time to rest, relax, and develop flavors. Your taste buds will thank you as you bite into the best-tasting cookies with perfect texture every time.