Look, I made something delicious.

Most folks reading this tumblr know that cookies are one of my favorite things to produce… but, surprisingly, there were many things I did not know about them!

Texture is becoming a common theme in these, isn’t it? Often related to fat. (Or applesauce, which can replace oil in cakes and brownies, but we’ll get to that later.)

In the case of most conventional cookies, the important step as texture goes is creaming the shortening and sugar. Because you’re introducing air, you can’t use a liquid fat- something the consistency of room temperature butter is best.

And, on a personal note… generally, I don’t like using electric mixers, but for this process, having a paddle to thoroughly aerate your mixture is so much simpler than going at it with a whisk. If you prefer cookies with a lighter texture, using a mixer is to your benefit, as well, to quickly incorporate flour and avoid overmixing.

But the major thing I learned about cookies, the thing that puts in perspective every failed attempt I have made at troubleshooting a recipe, is that

Cookies are bizarro cakes. What I mean is this:  

Spread is to cookies as rise is to cakes. As leaveners go, what will make a cake flat will make a cookie strong and tall, and what will make a cake rise will make a cookie spread itself over the pan. A buttery cake will rise from the steam, a fat-laden cookie will be spread across the pan if this spread is not counteracted by something else, such as cornstarch or a high baking temperature. The same goes for baking powder.

As an example: The butter cookies I made today had a high fat content, as the name would suggest. However, the sugar component was entirely powdered sugar, which contains cornstarch and holds a firmer structure. A classmate used granulated sugar, and his cookies melted together into a sad baked blob, which was still delicious, but not nearly so attractive.

That’s all for this week, because unfortunately, I had a snow day on Wednesday. See you later!