How Long to Let Cookies Cool (and Why) (2024)

FAQs

How long should you let a cookie cool? ›

Finally, too-hot cookies will likely fall apart in your hands. However, as we all know, warm cookies are a wonderful thing. So, let your cookies cool just until they hold their shape (generally after about 5 minutes on a cookie cooling rack) and savor them warm while you can.

This prevents the butter from melting out of the dough and puddling up on the sheet. 9. As a rule, let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 1 to 2 minutes. This is just long enough to firm them slightly and make it easier to slide them off the sheet and onto a rack.

Oven Temperature

For chewy cookies, allow them to cool on the baking sheet for 3 to 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. For crispier cookies, let cookies cool for one minute on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.

Rack: If the cookie is placed on a rack air can travel around the cookie, taking away the heat. This is generally the fastest way. Also, the air can take away any moisture that's still evaporating from the cookie. Tray: A metal tray (probably the same one the cookies were baked on) still cools quite quickly.

As she says, not chilling the cookie and baking at 350 degrees can result in a more crackly cookie, since the dough hasn't had enough time to absorb the flour. Chilling it for half an hour, however, gives you thicker, chewier dough.

The first step to making beautifully decorated cookies is making sure the cookies are completely cooled when you begin adding the icing. Play it safe by making it a two-day process: Bake the cookies one day, then decorate the next day.

Chilling cookie dough before baking solidifies the fat in the cookies. As the cookies bake, the fat in the chilled cookie dough takes longer to melt than room-temperature fat. And the longer the fat remains solid, the less cookies spread. In addition, the sugar in the dough gradually absorbs liquid.

They go from soft to hard because they start to dry out, and it begins as soon as you pull them from the oven. (Yikes.) Whatever moisture is left in the cookies is always in a state of evaporation. At the same time, the sugars and starches are solidifying.

You can always return cookies to the oven if they need a few more minutes. You can even rebake cookies long after they're cool to restore crispness or freshness. Here's our best tips. Turns out the cookies weren't quite done when you took them from the oven and they're soft and mushy.

Most cookies are still soft when done (they harden as they cool) and will continue to bake on the cookie sheet once removed from the oven. Remove cookies from the cookie sheet as soon as they are firm enough to transfer, using a spatula, to a cooling rack or paper towels to finish cooling.

Will putting cookies in the fridge dry them out? ›

Storage Temperature Matters

Unless otherwise noted, don't store cookies in the refrigerator: The cool air can rob cookies of their moisture and make them taste bland. In general, store cookies at room temperature or freeze them, as specified above.

As a general rule of thumb, you should refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. More than that and you won't see a noticeable difference in the final product, says Haught Brown.

Keeping them on the sheet too long after baking can cause them to get hard or stick to the sheet. Cookies are done when they are firmly set and lightly browned. When you touch them lightly with your finger, almost no imprint will remain.

The dough can be wrapped in plastic, scooped into balls for baking on a cookie sheet, or left in the mixing bowl, covered. For example, if you want to make some sugar cookie cutouts that call for at least an hour of chill time in the fridge, you could freeze the dough for 15 minutes instead.

Let it sit for long enough—the famous Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookie, published in the New York Times, mandates a rest of at least 24 hours and up to 72—and the starches and proteins in the flour begin to break down, leading to more browning and caramelization.

Storing Tips to Keep Cookies Soft

Store cool cookies in an airtight container (not a cookie jar with a loose lid) at room temperature. Putting cookies, cakes or breads in the refrigerator will dry them out.

It is important to note that, most of the time, a cookie isn't completely done cooking until up to 20 minutes after it comes out of the oven: as it cools it firms up, sets, and finishes baking.

Q: HOW LONG SHOULD I CHILL THE DOUGH? Anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. The longer you chill the dough, the more flavor will develop. The flour will also absorb more of the moisture so the thicker and chewier the final texture will be.

But you don't want your cookies to spread too much because they can stick together and become much thinner than you'd like. Chilling cookie dough reduces this spread by cooling down the fat. The fats, like butter, become firm when chilled, which in turn makes your dough more solid.

A lot of cookie recipes use 350°F as the preferred temperature, but if you lower it to 325°F, your cookies will cook a little slower and retain more moisture. Shorten Your Baking Time Another way to keep your cookies chewy and tender is to try baking them for less time.

How do I make my cookies softer? ›

Why are my cookies tough? The most common reason that cookies are tough is that the cookie dough was mixed too much. When flour is mixed into the dough, gluten begins to form. Gluten helps hold baked goods together, but too much gluten can lead to tough cookies.

Warm cookie dough or excess butter will cause the cookies to spread too much, baking quickly on the outside but remaining raw in the middle. Next time, chill your cookies in the fridge for 10 minutes before you bake them. If the problem persists, use less butter.

Curious how long cookies last at room temperature? Most homemade cookies will maintain their taste and texture for up to 3 days. If you leave them out for too long, the cookies begin to harden or dry out. To prevent cookies from becoming stale, cover them with plastic wrap or keep in an airtight container.

To keep chewy cookies from turning dry and brittle, store them in a zipper-lock bag at room temperature with a small piece of bread (no more than half of a slice) placed inside.

To extend the shelf life of products, many bakers use specially formulated enzymes for preservation. These naturally occurring protein compounds can keep baked goods soft while preventing crumbling and staling.

Make sure cookies cool completely before storing. Store them at room temperature in an air-tight container, like Tupperware. Store different flavors separately. Over time, strongly flavored cookies like molasses or mint will seep into other cookies, so if possible store each flavor in its own container.

Youngman says chilling the dough for at least one hour before baking is crucial. An overnight sleepover in the fridge is even better. But if you can't wait, shape your dough into balls and freeze them for 15 minutes before popping them into the oven. So yes, resting your cookie dough makes better cookies.

Most cookies have top crusts that remain relatively soft and flexible as the cookies set during baking. However, if the top surface dries out before the cookie is finished spreading and rising, it hardens, cracks, and pulls apart, producing an attractive crinkly, cracked exterior.

What Causes a Soft Cookie? The texture of a cookie is based on a number of different parts of the baking process. For one, the amount of flour you use will determine what kind of structure the cookie has. From there, the fat and sugar in the cookie will also determine just how hard or soft the cookie is.

Does chill mean put in fridge? ›

Refers to food that is thoroughly cooled in a refrigerator compartment, but is not frozen. Proper chilling of food is usually accomplished within a temperature range of 33°F to 42°F.

The baking pan should be cool when it goes into the oven. Cookies will flatten when placed on hot baking pans, so when baking batches of cookies, either swap out pans or give your one pan time to cool between batches.

Keeping them on the sheet too long after baking can cause them to get hard or stick to the sheet. Cookies are done when they are firmly set and lightly browned. When you touch them lightly with your finger, almost no imprint will remain.

Chilling cookie dough before baking solidifies the fat in the cookies. As the cookies bake, the fat in the chilled cookie dough takes longer to melt than room-temperature fat. And the longer the fat remains solid, the less cookies spread. In addition, the sugar in the dough gradually absorbs liquid.

If your cookies repeatedly turn out flat, no matter the recipe, chances are your oven is too hot. Here's what's happening. The butter melts super quickly in a too-hot oven before the other ingredients have firmed up into a cookie structure. Therefore, as the butter spreads so does the whole liquidy cookie.

The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.

The temperature can be a big factor when storing cookies. Unless otherwise noted, don't store cookies in the refrigerator: The cool air can rob cookies of their moisture and make them taste bland. In general, store cookies at room temperature or freeze them, as specified above.