Holiday cookie baking secrets

WILTON, Conn. - It's the time of year when even non-bakers push up their sleeves and get out the baking equipment. Making cookies is a family activity that works well because it spans the generations - and, of course, eating cookies seems to know no age boundary either!

• Photos

Here are some basic reminders to make sure your baked goods turn out delicious every single time:

-Read the recipe instructions and gather all the ingredients and equipment you will need to prepare the recipe.

-Make sure your baking powder and baking soda are current and that use-by dates have not expired. Baking is a precise science.

-Measure ingredients correctly. Use clear glass or plastic cups to measure liquid ingredients and use stacked cups to measure dry ingredients. Measure the flour carefully and as directed in the recipe. Spoon it lightly into the appropriate size of dry measuring cup and level the top off with the flat edge of a spatula or knife.

-Check your oven's temperature with an oven thermometer and adjust accordingly. To avoid overbaking, check the cookies a few minutes before the minimum baking time. Bake cookies on the center rack in your oven for even browning. If you use more than one rack to speed up the baking process, make sure to rotate the baking sheets halfway through the baking time front to back and from one shelf to the other.

-Do not run hot baking sheets under cold water. Abrupt temperature changes may cause them to warp.

-Never put cookie dough on a hot baking sheet or the cookies will spread out too much.

To get you started in the kitchen, there are a couple of new books on making cookies.

First up, "The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion" (The Countryman Press, $29.95), subtitled "The Essential Cookie Cookbook."

This is an absolutely wonderful baking book, dedicated to telling the reader clearly and concisely how to make every kind of cookie imaginable. Helpful and charming illustrations supply technical detail on how to make cookies that come out tasting terrific, just the type of cookie you want to make.

For several favorite cookies, they have broken the category down further. For instance, there is the Essential Chewy Oatmeal Cookie, the Essential Crunchy Oatmeal Cookie, the Essential Crisp Oatmeal Cookie and so on. Then eight variations are added to change any one of these cookies into vanilla oatmeal, say, or cranberry-chew cookies, or "Coconutties."

In the center of the book, there's a section of mouthwatering color photographs of some of the cookies. Although the book is written by a flour company, I found several cookies that did not contain flour, and all-in-all this is a serious cookie book written by folks who take baking seriously.

Here's one our family liked:

Soft Molasses Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) unsalted butter

1 cup (7 ounces) sugar, plus more for coating the dough

1/2 cup (6 ounces) molasses

2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 large eggs

3 1/2 cups (14 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses while mixing at slow speed, then the baking soda, salt and spices. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated. Stir in the flour. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

Shape or scoop the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here. Roll them in granulated sugar and put them on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them.

Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. The centers will look soft and puffy, which is OK. As long as the bottoms are set enough to lift part way off the cookie sheet without bending or breaking, they're ready to come out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Makes 44 cookies.

(Recipe from "The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion," The Countryman Press, $29.95)

For fans of chocolate chip cookies, Dede Wilson, food writer, cookbook author and television food-show host, has put together a collection of 75 different ways to make this all-American favorite.

Her new cookbook, "A Baker's Field Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies" (Harvard Common Press, $16.95) includes cookies, bars and brownies, all related to the traditional chocolate chip cookie. It's a handy hardcover book with a concealed ring binding so it can lie conveniently flat on a kitchen counter.

As its name says, the book is set up as a "field guide" with notes and symbols that explain concisely each recipe's type, its description, whether it's kid-friendly or especially quick to make, whether the dough freezes or stores well ("Lifespan") and whether you can substitute ingredients ("Related Species").

Among cookies featured in the book are Caramel Chocolate Turtle Cookies, White Chocolate Bittersweet Chunk Brownies and Ginger Chip Brown Sugar Shortbread Fingers. The following recipe for chewy cookies with a rich brownie flavor baked up fine and went down very well with my family.

If you like, Wilson says, you can substitute milk or white chocolate morsels instead of the semisweet, and use pecans instead of the walnut.

Chewy Brownie Chip Drops

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup Dutch-processed unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

1 cup walnut halves, toasted and chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together in a medium-size bowl.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add granulated sugar and brown sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, and scraping down bowl once or twice. Beat in vanilla, then eggs, one at a time, scraping down bowl.

Add about one-third of flour mixture and mix on low speed. Gradually add remaining flour mixture, mixing just until blended. Stir in chocolate morsels and nuts. Drop by generously rounded tablespoon 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.

Bake until firmed up around the edges but still a bit soft in the center, about 10 minutes (you want to keep them chewy). Slide parchment onto racks to cool cookies completely.

Good Cookie Tip: These cookies are so dark that it's hard to gauge doneness by color. Follow these textural clues: They should be firm around the edges, yet soft in the center.

Makes 48 cookies.

(Recipe from "A Baker's Field Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies" by Dede Wilson, Harvard Common Press, $16.95.)

My favorite sugar cookies

Almost every year, I make cut-out cookies, baking along with others. This started with my mom, then continued with my friends, and now with my kids.

Following is the recipe that I think makes the best cut-out cookies. A tablespoon of light corn syrup makes the dough a little more easy to handle. Rolling the cookies in between sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap instead of on a floured surface keeps them from getting too tough from absorbing excess flour.

If the shapes are too soft to transfer to the baking sheet, another technique I employ is to simply pop the baking sheet into the freezer or refrigerator until the dough is firm. It then becomes much easier to transfer the cookies to the baking sheet for baking.

Sugar Cut-Out Cookies

3 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1 tablespoon vanilla extractIn a medium bowl, mix the flour and salt. In a large bowl, stir together the butter and sugar until creamy. Stir in the egg and then the corn syrup and vanilla extract. One-third at a time, add the flour mixture until thoroughly mixed. Pat the dough into two disks, wrap them in plastic, and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours, or until firm enough to roll. If the dough is too firm, soften at room temperature for about 5 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Roll the dough to a ¼-inch thick between two pieces of waxed paper or plastic wrap. Remove the top sheet of waxed paper and cut out the cookies with cookie cutters. Using a spatula, transfer the shapes to an ungreased baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch between the cookies. Sprinkle the shapes with colored sugar or sprinkles, if desired. (If the dough is too soft, place the sheet with the waxed paper and cut-out shapes in the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes to make it easier to remove the shapes.)

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies start to brown lightly around the edges.

Set the baking sheet on a wire rack and cool for about 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies to racks and cool completely. The cookies can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month and for up to 3 days at room temperature before you frost them.

Makes 12 to 50 cookies, depending on their size.

Variations:

Chocolate Sugar Cookies: After the last third of flour has been added to the dough, mix in 1 ounce melted, slightly cooled unsweetened chocolate.

Lemon Sugar Cookies: For a lemon-flavored cookie, add 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel or 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Almond Sugar Cookies: Stir in 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.

Cookie Frosting

This basic frosting can be spread with a knife or small spatula or squeezed through a pastry bag onto the cookies. If you plan to pipe the frosting through the bag, make it a little stiffer by adding a little less milk.

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Liquid or paste food coloring (optional)

In a large bowl and using an electric mixer set at low speed, beat the confectioners' sugar, butter and vanilla extract until it reaches spreading consistency. Add more sugar or a little milk, if necessary, to achieve the right texture. Stir in the food coloring until combined, if desired.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.