COOKIES
10. CLASSES OF COOKIES.--Cookies are of two general classes: those which are made thick and are expected to be soft when they are served and those which are made thin and are intended to be crisp and brittle when eaten. Thin, crisp cookies are usually known as wafers or snaps. Soft cookies are made from a dough that contains a little more liquid than that used for brittle cookies. The dough of which both varieties are made should be thick enough to remove from the mixing bowl in a lump and roll out on a board. After being rolled until it is the desired thickness, it is cut into pieces of any desired size and shape and baked in the oven on large flat pans.
11. INGREDIENTS IN COOKIES.--The ingredients used in the making of cookies are similar to those used for drop cakes, with the exception of the amount of flour. In fact, any cooky mixture that is made a little more moist by omitting some of the flour may be used for drop cakes. More flour is needed in cooky mixtures because they must be of a certain thickness in order to be rolled out successfully. The amount of flour needed varies with the kind that is used, more of some varieties of this ingredient being required than of others. It is usually advisable to add the last cup of flour with caution. If the mixture seems to be getting stiff before all the flour is added, what is not needed should be omitted; but if it does not become stiff enough to handle, more should be added.
12. Considerable variety exists in the shortening that may be used in cooky mixtures. If desired, butter may be used, but for most cookies it is not at all necessary that the shortening consist entirely of butter, and for some no butter at all is required. Other fats and oils, such as lard, Crisco, lard compound, Mazola, cottoline, butterine, and any other tasteless shortening, may be substituted for all or part of the butter. Any of the following cooky recipes that contain butter do so because that particular cooky or cake is better when made with butter, but, if desired, some other fat may be used for a part or all of it. In case merely shortening is mentioned, any fat or mixture of fats preferred may be used.
13. PROCEDURE IN MAKING COOKIES.--The combining of the ingredients in cooky mixtures need give the housewife very little concern, for it is accomplished in much the same way as for cup and drop cakes. When all of them have been combined, a dough that is stiff enough to handle and still not so stiff that it is tough should be formed. The chief precaution to be taken in the making of all kinds of cookies is to avoid getting too much flour into the mixture. To produce the best results, the mixture should be so soft that it is difficult to handle. A good plan is to allow it to become very cold, for then it will be much stiffer and may be handled more easily. Therefore, after the dough has been mixed, it is well to set it in a refrigerator or some other cool place and let it stand for several hours before attempting to roll it. In fact, a cooky mixture may be made in the evening and allowed to stand until the next morning before being rolled out and baked. As can readily be understood, such procedure is possible with a stiff mixture like that for cookies, while it would not be practicable with a thin mixture, such as cake batter, because the gas that is formed by the leavening agent would escape from a mixture that is not thick and the cake, after being baked, would have no lightness.
14. With the dough ready to be rolled, divide it into amounts of a size that can be handled conveniently at one time. Take one of these from the mixing bowl and place it on a well-floured board. Work it with the fingers into a flat, round piece, using a little flour on the fingers during this process. Dust the top lightly with flour and, by means of a rolling pin, roll the dough into a flat piece that is as nearly round as possible. Continue rolling with a short, light stroke until the dough is as thin as desired. Remember that light, careful handling is always necessary when any kind of dough mixture is rolled on the board, and that as little handling as possible is advisable. Skill in this respect will come with practice, so the housewife need not be discouraged if she has difficulty at first. For cookies, 1/4 inch is the usual thickness of the dough after it is rolled; but for snaps or wafers the dough should be rolled as thin as possible. If the dough is as moist as it should be, it may be necessary, from time to time, to dust the top with flour as the rolling continues. However, no more flour should be used than is needed to keep the rolling pin from sticking; otherwise, the dough will become too thick and the cookies will be tough and dry.
15. When the dough has been rolled until it is of the right thickness, cut it in the manner shown in Fig. 9, using cooky cutters of any desired size and shape. The four cutters shown, which are heart, round, diamond, and star shapes, are the ones that are most commonly used. They are merely strips of tin bent into a particular shape and attached to a handle for convenience in using. In cutting the dough, try to cut it to the best possible advantage, leaving as little space between the cookies as possible. Very often, as, for instance, when diamond-shaped cookies are being cut, the line of one may be the exact line of the one next to it and thus no dough need be left between the cookies.