Munching on soft and moist sugar cookies, that are just out of the oven, is one of the most wonderful guilty pleasures. But the downside to these beauties is that if you bite on the same gooey cookie the next day; it will be hard to bite on. Isn’t that annoying? You spend a good amount of time making those scrumptious cookies and then BOOM, they turn stale. So how to keep it fresh and soft for at least a few days? Let’s find out.
What will make the cookies soft?
Baking is nothing less than science. Cookies can turn hard fast, due to the ingredients that you use in them. Or they can be the most gooey cookies you have ever made, depending on what you put into them and the proportions you use. At the end, it is all about the moisture.
So what will keep the cookies soft? The main ingredients that play a role in making soft and gooey cookies are butter, egg yolks and brown sugar. These 3 main ingredients are the key to retaining moisture and thus, are your key to success for softer sugar cookies. This is the major reason why biscotti cookies are never soft because they lack the key ingredients that retain moisture for a long time.
Also, it is best that you do not fiddle with the ingredients a lot. Make sure that you don’t experiment with the proportions a lot. However, if you are fiddling with them a bit, you can play with egg yolk, use food coloring gel to look it more moisture, and it will certainly pay off.
Why do sugar cookies get hard?
Just like your skin gets deprived of hydration, same is the case with cookies. They will turn hard as soon as they run out of moisture and hydration. The process of drying out begins as soon as you take the cookies out from the oven as the sugar and other starch based ingredients begin to solidify. But this is not always the case, especially for those breastfeeding moms, who are recommended to take the healthier lactation cookies singapore.
How to keep cookies soft?
So how do we keep cookies soft and fresh for a long time?
Firstly, make sure that you add brown sugar to your cookies. Even a simple addition of 2 tbsp will make a difference. Brown sugar is great at locking the moisture.
Another great way is to store the sugar cookies with bread. Pop a little bread in the jar that you toss the cookies in and you will see this work as magic.
You can also try under-baking your cookies for a minute or two. Take them out two minutes earlier from the oven and it will also help in keeping them fresh.
Lastly, the container you store them in, must be extremely air-tight. Air is the main element that sucks the moisture out of the cookies. Therefore, you want to ensure that you store them in an air-tight container.
Methods/techniques for Baking that Keep Cookies Soft
- Cookies will stay softer if baked at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature because they will bake more quickly and spend less time in the hot, drying oven air.
- Under baking is preferable to overbaking, so take the cookie sheet out of the oven as soon as the cookies are just set.
- As soon as the cookies have dried on the baking sheet, remove them. After removing them from the oven, most recipes instruct you to leave them on for three to five minutes.
- Due to the cookie sheet’s heat, that period is still considered baking time. Transfer the cookies to cooling racks as soon as they are solid enough to move without breaking.
How to make the ideal soft and chewy cookies
Use butter
Butter creates a richer, fluffier, more texturized dough that gives baked goods their signature melt-in-your-mouth crumbliness. Use pure butter that doesn’t have any additives or vegetable or sunflower oils or emulsifiers added because these things affect how good the butter melts. Avoid these as these are typically the butters that are marketed as being “spreadable.” If you wish to regulate the salt content, use unsalted butter.
Select appropriate flour
Self-raising flour is recommended in some cookie recipes while plain flour is recommended in others as well. Actually, you may just use self-rising as most plain flour recipes already contain some sort of raising agent. Plain flour with a rising agent added is self-raising flour.
Select appropriate sugar
The flavor, color, and depth of your cookie will vary depending on the type of sugar you choose. Sugars can be combined to provide caramelized sweetness, a golden hue, and the ideal chew.
Make sure your flour is up to date
To prevent the raising ingredient from losing its effectiveness, make sure your flour is wrapped tightly after opening and is up to date. Just have basic flour on hand? Nothing to worry about. To make it self-raising, simply mix 1 tsp of baking powder with 100g of plain flour.
Butter and sugar
It involves mixing softened butter and sugar until they are light and frothy. The dough you make at this stage must be of a top quality. Large, nearly transparent splotches of butter may appear in your cooked cookies if you don’t cream the butter for a sufficient amount of time. So, take time in mixing these two together.
Make the correct chocolate selection
Choosing your favorite cookie is perhaps the most personal decision you’ll ever make. When baking cookies, it’s advised that you use high-quality chocolate that you like to consume on its own. Semi-sweet chocolate chips are excellent because chocolate chip cookies’ somewhat bitter flavor complements the cookie’s often extremely sweet dough. For a chocolate chunk cookie, it is highly advised to break up a good-quality chocolate bar into huge chunks to create larger melting chocolate pockets.
Change the baking time
The size of your cookies and your oven will determine this. Set a timer for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on whether your fan is on or off. One of the main causes of hard cookies is overbaking, and frequently you will get a tougher cookie than you anticipated since your oven is baking hotter. You may always bake your cookies for one to two minutes less than the suggested baking time specified in the recipe, or even go as far as to remove it from the oven a few minutes early to test it out and see if you get softer cookies.
Make your dough chilled
While chilling your cookie dough is not required, doing so overnight for at least 24 hours in the fridge will yield the greatest results. By doing this, the flavors are developed and each cookie bakes uniformly. Put the dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour prior to baking to keep the butter cold and prevent it from spreading, which will help prevent your cookies from becoming thin and crispy.
Beating the eggs
It takes longer than you may think to beat the eggs in. Eggs should be added gradually, beating thoroughly after each addition. The eggs give your cookies richness and volume. If you like them deep filled, beat them well. Take your time, then. Do not rush!
Including a lot of chocolate chips will help
Be generous with your sprinkles of magic. It’s no surprise that these are chocolate chip cookies. Toss the chips with your hands instead of a wooden spoon; you might find it simpler. Who does not love cookies with a lot of chocolate chips? That is heaven.
Weigh the dough
To get the desired size, weigh your dough balls (around 50g). Also, you should rotate the baking pans in the oven because hot spots develop in all ovens. The number of turns will depend on the quantity of your cookies.
Don’t Overmix
If you overmix your cookie dough, it will become more aerated, which will cause the cookies to rise and fall in the oven and promote spreading. Spreading cookies get flatter and become crispy rather than soft as a result. Usually, you want to beat the butter and sugar until frothy, but when you add the remaining ingredients, just whisk them until they are incorporated.
How to store cookies to keep them soft
- Cool cookies should be kept at room temperature in an airtight container. Cookies, cakes, and breads will get dry if placed in the refrigerator. The refrigerator will suck moisture out of your cookies since refrigeration technology eliminates moisture from the air as it cools.
- Unless you’re freezing them, which is the best way to keep most cookies for up to six weeks, three days is the most amount of time you should keep cookies.
- Fresh white bread, which is moist, will give up some of its moisture for the benefit of preventing the cookies from drying out, keeping the cookies soft. This will help the cookies stay soft.
Conclusion
There are so many great ways to enjoy cookies including finding personalised cookies online and other great options.
You now know what elements can keep your cookies fresh and moist. Thus, make sure that you add them to your cookies and store them right to keep them fresh for days.