How to Make Cookie Dough

There are a couple of important steps to making cookie dough that makes all the difference: ingredient temperature and the mixing itself.

Ingredient Temperature

Have all ingredients at room temperature before mixing the dough, unless your recipe specifically says otherwise. This helps all the different kinds of ingredients come together evenly. After you mix the dough, you can chill it for 30 minutes before baking so it holds its shape better as it bakes. 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.

• Room temperature butter is best for creaming together butter and sugar.
• Chilled butter is best for cutting butter into flour.

How to Mix Cooke Dough

Mixing cookie dough doesn't require as delicate a touch as mixing cake batter or quick bread, but it's still important to get it right. Some cookie recipes require a creaming step in which the fat and sugars are beaten together until light-colored and fluffy. Other cookie recipes 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. Always read through and follow the recipe instructions.

Troubleshooting Cookie Problems

If you have a cookie recipe that you love, but aren't getting the desired results, use these tips to get your perfect cookie:

• How to make cookies flatter: 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.
• How to make cookies puffier: 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.