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 I have made a lot of cookies, and I have made a lot of mistakes! Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes as well as my successes and have an easier time coming up with your perfect cut-out cookies! Here are some things I have learned that will help you be successful: 
After mixing up the cookies, I always divide my dough in half
or thirds and wrap in plastic wrap.
Once the portions of dough are wrapped, I pat them into a
disc shape and place them in large zip-top
bags and refrigerate them overnight. This ensures that the
dough is thoroughly chilled and easier to
work with.Keeping the dough cold is very important. I take the dough out of the refrigerator at the last possible moment. Also, make sure your cookie sheet is completely cooled before you put the cut-out shapes on it. If you want to have a continuous assembly-line going, I recommend having at least 3 cookie sheets. That way you have one in the oven, one cooling and one you are putting cookies on for the next baking. If you get a little ahead of yourself, just pop the cut cookies, pan and all, in the refrigerator until the next batch is out of the oven. Parchment paper is a must, as far as I'm concerned. They help the cookies bake more evenly and they keep the dough from spreading. Parchment paper can be bought in sheets and in rolls at bakery supply stores, cake decorating supply stores, and even some grocery stores. Once you have a sheet of parchment on your pan, it can be used over and over again. There is also a new technology out there that takes the place of parchment. If you ever watch Martha Stewart, you've heard of Silpat! (She must own stock in the company!!) It is a rubber-type mat that is heat-proof that you put on your pan and bake on. It can be used indefinitely, and I've heard it's fantastic... but right now I'm too cheap to buy one at $25 a pop! I'm sure that someday I will buy one, but until then, parchment paper serves me well. Some bakers choose to roll out their dough directly on the cookie sheet, cut out the desired shapes, and then remove the remaining scraps. This seems like a good idea because it eliminates the need to transfer the cut cookies from the work surface to the cookie sheet, and reduces the risk of deformed cookies. I don't do this because most of my baking sheets have a rim. If you do have flat cookie sheets, though, I think it's worth a try! Baking time will vary A LOT. It depends on how thick your cookies are and how large the cutters are. The edges should be a very light golden brown. Don't rely on baking times stated in recipes. Keep an eye on the first batch and adjust your time accordingly. |
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