29 must-know tips for perfectly baked cookies every time

Easy ideas for next-level bakes

Baking is a great way to pass the time or entertain kids, and a classic cookie is the ultimate sweet treat. But how do you get the best chewy and crisp texture? Should you use chips or chunks? And can healthier cookies ever be delicious? We’ve got all your cookie questions answered, plus some of our favorite traditional and with-a-twist recipes.

Use a mix of sugars

Mixing sugars adds depth of flavor and helps give the perfect crunch and chew. Try granulated and soft brown sugar for a pleasing texture with a caramel flavor, or mix light and muscovado sugars for a darker cookie. Plus it's handy if you've only got odds and ends of packets of sugar in your cupboard. 

Use plain flour

Plain flour is typically used in cookies but you can use strong bread flour, or a mix of bread and all-purpose flour, if you prefer a slightly puffier texture. You could also substitute in a little almond flour, rye, spelt or another favorite alternative flour to add subtle flavor.

Baking soda or baking powder?

Baking soda is the traditional raising agent in cookies. Some recipes add baking powder but that can create a more cake-like structure rather than a chewy cookie, so we recommend baking soda.

Butter or margarine?

Butter makes the most traditional cookie, giving it a smooth, rich taste. But ultimately it's personal preference, as some cooks prefer to use softer margarine. And if margarine is all you have, recipes should still work.

Keep butter out of the fridge

Most cookie recipes call for room temperature butter as softened butter mixes best with the dry ingredients. If you prefer a chewier cookie, try melting your butter before mixing. The water and fat molecules separate when butter is melted which helps form more elastic, chewier bonds with the flour proteins.

Use room temperature eggs

Egg whites will give more volume to your cookie dough if they’re at room temperature so take your eggs out of the fridge an hour or so before you intend to start baking. This also helps the eggs emulsify the dough.

Don’t over-mix the dough

Mix the dough until it just comes together because over-mixing adds too much air and makes a puffier cookie rather than a perfect one.

Chill it

Cookie dough is best if chilled in the fridge for around 30 minutes before rolling out. This allows for a more caramel flavor to develop and makes the mixture easier to shape. You could even chill overnight if you're really patient. However, you can still bake your cookies straight away if you’re in a rush or freeze the dough if you’re planning ahead.

How to shape cookies

Cookies are best rolled into balls about the size of golf balls and gently pressed onto the tray so they don’t roll around. Leave plenty of space between each cookie for them to spread while cooking.

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Keep your cookies the same size

Use a measuring spoon or small ice cream scoop to keep your cookies the same size. This ensures they will cook evenly and in the same time.

Baking tray or cookie tray?

Specialist cookie trays are carbon steel, flat trays with perforated holes to allow full air circulation and get the ultimate crisp base. However a traditional large, flat baking tray without the holes works just as well.

Baking paper or silicone?

Silicone mats are great as they turn any tray into a non-stick surface. If you’re able to invest in a couple of silicone mats, you can re-use them to get crispy cookies time and time again. Otherwise, baking paper works fine too and will stop cookies sticking.

Always preheat the oven

The correct oven temperature will vary with each recipe but you usually want a moderately hot oven between 160–190°C (320–375°F). Your homemade creations will only be in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Always preheat your oven so the cookies start baking straight away.

How to avoid over-cooking cookies

Look for the cookie to be golden brown and the edges to be just set. Higher fat cookies, such as peanut butter cookies, also benefit from being taken out of the oven a minute or so earlier than you might think as they continue cooking and will crisp up on cooling.

Turn the tray

Your oven may well have hot spots so turn the tray halfway through cooking to get each cookie evenly baked. Make sure you can do this safely and quickly so you don’t lose too much heat from the open oven door.

Cool on a wire rack

​Allow cookies to sit for a minute on the tray to firm up and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. This helps them maintain a crisp bottom and avoid over-baking.

Freeze then bake

A chunky cookie mix like classic chocolate chip or oat cookies can be portioned out into balls as if you were going to bake them, frozen on the tray until firmed up, then placed and sealed in a plastic bag or container. Delicate butter cookies or shortbread can be wrapped in cling film in a log shape, frozen and sliced to make rounds when you need them. You can bake both from frozen.

Slow-cooker cookie

You don't always have to make cookies in an oven. If you’ve got some time on your hands, experiment and try baking in a slow cooker. It'll be more dense than your average cookie but just as irresistible and perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Get the recipe for butterscotch slow-cooker cookie here

Add oats

Rolled oats bring a chewy texture to classic cookies. Whiz up the oats into loose flour for a smoother finish or leave them chunky for more texture.

Get the recipe for coconut and oat cookies here

Simple sugar cookies

Sometimes there's no need to complicate things. Easy sugar cookies have a shorter texture (more similar to a crumbly biscuit) but they're just as irresistible. Best of all, you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry.

Get the recipe for vanilla sugar cookies here

How to ice sugar cookies

For a professional finish, decorate sugar cookies with royal icing. The most important thing to remember is to ensure cookies are completely cool before you start icing, otherwise it'll melt.

Get the recipe for iced sugar cookies here

The best gluten-free cookies

Cookies can still be an indulgent free-from treat, without gluten, wheat or refined sugar. You could also play around with the filling. Add toasted pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts, or substitute dark chocolate for white chocolate and dried raspberries.

Get the recipe for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies here

Add a splash of color

Add a handful of your favorite dried fruit to bring an extra flavor profile and pop of color to your cookie. Bright red, tart cranberries work well or sultanas, raisins and dried mango add extra sweetness.

Add a handful of nuts

Walnuts, macadamia nuts and pecans all work well with chocolate, or bake an old-fashioned peanut butter cookie for a rich and nutty treat.

Get the recipe for dark chocolate and walnut cookies here

Drinkable cookies

If you just can’t wait for your cookies to come out of the oven, try a cookie-inspired smoothie. There’s not actually any cookie dough in it but it tastes just like the baked treat. Our version is packed with caramelly dates, pecans, cacao nibs and lucuma powder, a natural sweetener.

Get the recipe for cookie dough smoothie here

Double the chocolate

Add cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips to your cookie mixture to really amp up the chocolate factor. The slightly bitter cocoa and chips will add a depth of flavor and provide a pleasing contrast to the sweet dough. If you prefer your cookies a little sweeter, mix in milk chocolate chips instead.

Get the recipe for the ultimate double chocolate cookies here

Go back to basics

Stay true to the chocolate chip cookie's roots and have a go at making the original recipe. The cookie craze started by accident when Ruth Wakefield experimented with a butter cookie recipe and chocolate chips at the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts USA, in the 1930s. Nestlé promptly bought the recipe and started printing it on the back of every packet of chocolate chips.

Chunks, chips or chopped?

Chocolate chips are the traditional chocolate for a cookie – chips' uniform size means they'll melt evenly and save on time, as you don’t have to cut them up. If you prefer a more rustic homemade texture, cut chocolate into large chunks or smaller chopped pieces. Just try and ensure they're roughly the same size for even baking.

A pinch of salt

Balance out the cookie dough sweetness with a pinch of salt in the mixture. Or as a final flourish, sprinkle sea salt flakes on top of each cookie when they come out of the oven for a delicious sweet and salty flavor.

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For more baking advice, find out easy hacks for making the best-ever cakes