The Art of Cookie Making
CHEF'S
HANDBOOK
Y O U R C O M P L E T E G U I D E T O B A K I N G P E R F E C T C O O K I E S
BY CHEFS OF TRUFFLE NATION
INDEX
1. Introduction To Cookie Making
2. Notes On Texture
3. Notes On Creaming
4. Different States Of Butter
5. Methods Of Cooking Making
6. Types Of Cookies
7. Faults In Cookie Making
8. Terminology And Rules Of Cookie Making
9. Frequently Asked Questions
1 0 .K e y I n g r e d i e n t s A n d T h e i r R o l e
1 1 .S t o r a g e
1 2 .M a i n T o o l s R e q u i r e d F o r C o o k i e M a k i n g
1 3 .H o n e y A n d T e a J a m m e r s E g g l e s s R e c i p e A n d
Costing
14.Diet Cookie : Whole Wheat Cookies Eggless
Recipe And Costing
15.Wholesome Cookie : Oats And Cranberries
Cookies (egg) Recipe And Costing
16. Oats And Cranberries Cookies Eggless
Recipe And Costing
INDEX
17.Tea Time Cookie : Breakfast Cookies (egg)
Recipe And Costing
18.Breakfast Cookies Eggless Recipe And
Costing
19.Classic Cookies: Jeera Cookies Eggless
Recipes
20.Bar Cookies: Orange & Almond Biscotti(egg)
Recipe And Costing
21.Orange & Almond Biscotti Eggless Recipe And
Costing
22.Fancy Cookie : Occhi Di Bue Cookies Recipe
And Costing
23.Savoury Cookies: Herbs Shortbread Cookie
Recipe And Costing
24.Chocolate Cookie: World Peace Cookies (egg)
Recipe And Costing
25.World Peace Cookies Eggless Recipe And
Costing
26.Celebrtion Cookie: Gingerbread Christmas
Wreath Recipe And Costing
INDEX
27.New York Style Chocochip Cookie (egg)
Recipe And Costing
28.New York Style Chocochip Cookie Eggless
Recipe And Costing
29. Cost Reduction
Introduction to Cookies
Mostly the terms 'cookies and 'biscuit' are used interchangeably and generally substituted for
each other, but there are point that differentiate between the two items. A cookie is
commonly known so in the USA, while in the UK it is known as a biscuit.
For instance, the Dutch made small tidbits from leftover cake batters and called them koekje,
which meant little cake.
The word 'cookie' is understood to have derived from ‘koekje’ in North America. Biscuit, on
the other hand, is understood to have come from the Latin word ‘panis biscotus’, which meant
bread cooked twice.
Leftover bread or cakes were baked until crisp and eaten as biscuits. Even in France, biscuit
means to Cook twice.
A cookie is a product that is soft centered, usually made in the style of preparing cake batter
and is traditionally sweet. A biscuit, on the other hand, is crisp and hard like a cheese cracker,
which can be savory.
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TEXTURE
Some cookies are soft whereas some are crispy in texture, some cookies spread while baking
while some hold their actual shape. For understanding the texture firstly we should
understand the role played by ingredients that we use:
1. CHEWY TEXTURE
A chewy cookie needs a high moisture content, which can be provided by eggs and
other liquid ingredients. Eggs must be in higher proportions and fat should be low.
Brown sugar is also used to provide chewy texture. There must be some gluten
formation while mixing the dough.
2. CRISP TEXTURE
For a crisp cookie the dough must contain low moisture content. Size of the cookie
should be thin which will help them to dry easily when they are baked. It must be high
in sugar and fat content. It should not contain any hygroscopic (tendency to attract
moisture from air) ingredient like nuts as they can absorb moisture and soften the crisp
texture.
3. SOFT TEXTURE
The dough of soft cookies requires a high proportion of liquid and low of sugar and fat
content. They are generally thick and large in size. They usually contain corn syrup,
honey or molasses which are hygroscopic. These cookies are left slightly unbaked and
should be stored in covered container or else they will dry out.
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CREAMING
Creaming is a technique used in most of the baked goods. It is the method of mixing
ingredients with high fat content in order to incorporate air. It involves beating butter/
shortening & sugar together to give aeration to the product.
It can be done either mechanically (using stand mixers or hand beaters) or manually (using
spatula). During creaming fat is beaten with sugar with the help of spatula or hand beater
along the sides of the bowl, creating air pockets with every turn. The network becomes
strong as we keep on beating it.
When we start creaming fat and sugar, initially it is dense and looks like wet sand. When
we cream it for 1 minute it becomes a paste more like a clay. Another minute later it
becomes soft.
SCIENCE BEHIND CREAMING METHOD
• Sugar crystals have sharp edges that ‘dig’ into butter when beaten together, creating
tiny pockets of air that are trapped in fat. The smaller the crystals, the larger quantity
of small air pockets there are, resulting in a very light and fluffy texture.
• This is the reason caster sugar is preferred as its crystal size is small and sharp enough
to hold more air pockets than granulated sugar & icing sugar.
IMPORTANCE OF AIR POCKETS
• The air pockets created while creaming expand during baking giving a lighter and fluffy
texture.
• Air pockets expand when:
– subjected to heat.
– filled with steam created from liquid ingredients in batter.
– carbon dioxide released from reaction of chemical leaveners i.e. baking soda &
baking powder.
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WHEN TO STOP CREAMING?
• Initially when you start beating butter and sugar together, butter does not stick to
sides of the bowl. But when you keep on mixing it, it starts to stick to the sides and
becomes pale in colour. It also looks fluffier in texture. This is when you should stop
creaming, or else it results in over creamed butter.
• Over creaming results in dense, flat and greasy baked products.
CURDLING OF CREAMED MIXTURE
Curdling is separation of fats and liquids. When curdling happens, it is a water in fat emulsion.
It usually happens when -
• Fats and liquids are not at same temperature
• Eggs/ liquids are added too quickly to creamed mixture
While adding eggs to creamed mixture, it is important to add them slowly. This is because yolks
(fat) in eggs coat air cells formed during creaming and help in their expansion enabling them to
hold liquid ingredients (egg whites or milk, etc.) without curdling. When we add eggs too fast,
yolks are unable to coat air cells properly resulting in lesser air cells capable of holding liquid
ingredients. This results in curdling of mixture.
POINTS TO REMEMBER
When creaming butter/ shortening, it is important to use these at room temperature i.e.
around 21˚C. This is because cold butter is not soft enough to entrap air quickly and warm
butter (24˚C or more) is too soft and air pockets formed easily burst due to friction
created by mixing.
Creaming using hand beaters or stand mixers should be done at medium speed as high
speed can burst air pockets.
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Different States of Butter
Too cold butter
Ideal room temperature butter Too warm butter
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METHODS OF COOKIE MAKING
There are various ways of making cookies and biscuits which usually depends upon the type
of cookie that we are making. Some of the common methods of preparing cookies are
discussed below:
1. STRAIGHT METHOD
This method is also known as one stage method as it is one of the simplest methods in
which all the ingredients are put in bowl and mixed together until a uniform dough is
obtained. Mostly cookies that have no or very less moisture follow this method.
2. CREAMING METHOD
It is the most common method of making cookies or biscuits. In this method, butter and
sugar is creamed until fluffy and pale in color. Then the liquid ingredients such as eggs,
milk or cream are added gradually and mixed properly. Lastly the dry ingredients such
as flour are folded in.
3. SANDING METHOD
This method utilizes the technique of rubbing-in. The fat is rubbed with the flour with
fingertips until the fat is fully incorporated. The liquid ingredients are then mixed to
create a dough. This method is used for cookies with short texture.
4. SPONGE METHOD
This method of cookie making is similar to that of cakes. Eggs and sugar are whipped
together until light and fluffy and dry ingredients are then folded in to prepare batters.
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