Chef Shane Smith Shares All The Top Tips For Cracking Cookies!
Cookie Making
When baking cookies, there are a few essential dos and don'ts to ensure they turn out perfectly.
Following these tips will give you the best chance of baking perfect cookies every time!
DOs:
- Measure Ingredients Accurately. Baking is a science, so precision matters for the best results.
- Chill the Dough. If your cookie dough feels too soft or sticky, chill it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking. This helps the dough hold its shape and prevents spreading too much in the oven.
- Use Parchment Paper or Silicone Mats. Lining your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat will prevent cookies from sticking and help them bake more evenly.
- Preheat the Oven. Always preheat the oven before placing your cookies inside. This ensures they bake at the correct temperature from the start.
- Rotate the Baking Sheet. For even baking, rotate the cookie sheet halfway through the baking time, especially if your oven has hot spots.
DON'Ts:
- Overmix the Dough. Overmixing the dough can lead to dense, tough cookies. Mix just until the ingredients are combined to keep the texture light and tender.
- Skip the Resting Time. Don't skip the resting/chilling time for the dough if the recipe calls for it. This helps improve the flavour and texture of your cookies.
- Use expired/old raising agents: Fresh baking soda or powder ensures that your cookies rise properly.
- Bake at the Wrong Temperature. Avoid baking at too high or too low of a temperature. Too high can lead to over-browning, while too low may cause the cookies to spread too much or be undercooked.
- Crowd the Baking Sheet. Don’t place the cookie dough too close together. Cookies need space to spread, so leave enough room for them to grow without merging into each other.
Peanut M&M Cookies
Makes: 10
Prep time: 20 minutes
Baking time: 12-24 minutes
Ingredients
- 80g butter
- 30g peanut butter
- 175g caster sugar
- 1 medium egg
- Dash vanilla essence
- 200g plain flour
- ½ tsp bicarb of soda
- Pinch salt
- 100g peanut m&ms
- 60g salted peanuts
Garnish
- 30g peanut m&ms
Method
- Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan.
- Line two baking trays with parchment.
- Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar together.
- To this add the vanilla and the egg. Mix
- Sieve in flour, salt and soda. Mix
- Add the m&ms and salted peanuts. Mix
- Chill the batter for 20 minutes.
- Once rested, divide into 10 cookies and place 5 on each lined tray.
- Top the cookies with the remaining m&ms and pop them into the oven for 12-14 minutes.
- Once baked, remove and allow to cool before tucking in.
