Welcome to Hotline Rewind, the weekly collection the place we collect up your questions from the week (and pepper in some from the Hotline archives) a few particular culinary subject. As a result of the vacations are formally right here, we’re totally targeted on the bite-sized, extremely adorned world of cookies. We have obtained tons of questions over time—and lots of within the final week!—concerning the intricacies of baking. Listed here are a couple of of the most typical ones:
My cookies all the time unfold! What am I doing incorrect?
This nearly all the time comes right down to fats: if you happen to’re doing a basic cookie recipe with creamed butter and sugar, it’s possible that you’re both utilizing butter that’s too heat or borderline-melted, otherwise you’re not chilling the dough. Quite a lot of cookie recipes don’t require chilling, however I believe nearly each cookie would profit from 10 to twenty minutes within the freezer pre-bake.
That’s as a result of chilling helps to chill the fats down and let the flour take in extra moisture. With hotter butter, it’ll soften quicker within the oven and hold the cookie from holding its form.
Two different much less frequent causes will be overworking your dough or that your leaveners may very well be expired. Individuals all the time neglect to examine their baking powders and sodas however this stuff completely expire and lose their rising energy!
What’s the distinction between semisweet and bittersweet chocolate chips?
The first distinction is cacao content material: Semisweet often has ~60% vs bittersweet’s 70%. As a result of they will style a bit extra bitter than milk chocolate, use them in baking initiatives the place you want to stability out sweetness. Chocolate chip cookies are an ideal instance of the place milk chocolate received’t carry sufficient of that strong punch of chocolate, whereas that bitter and semisweet can.
My sugar cookies hold sticking to my rolling pin and cookie cutters. Assist!
For rolling, sandwich your dough in between two sheets of parchment, then roll flat. For slicing, dip your cookie cutter in flour first, and press confidently!
I all the time neglect to melt my butter. How can I do it rapidly?
Okay right here’s a hack I realized once I was a meals stylist and would wish softened butter quick: Use the microwave. This might sound apparent, however I’ve very particular directions for you. Depart the stick of butter in its wrapper and nuke it for 8 second intervals, rotating the stick every time. Do that till the butter is softened.
That is very removed from idiot proof, so go sluggish to be sure you don’t find yourself with a pool of butter in your microwave.
Do I want a cookie press to make spritz cookies?
It does assist, and if I had to decide on one, it’d be the de Purchaser Le Tube. However you don’t want one. It’s also possible to use a piping bag and enjoyable tricks to make good shapes.
Are rainbow cookies even cookies?
Actually? No. They’re truly made up of three layers of cake and fruit preserves. However they’re scrumptious—and look wonderful on a cookie platter, so possibly sure?
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