9 mistakes in baking cookies that can easily spoil your dish

Wrong oil or butter

Fat plays a key role in baking, providing the perfect flavor and texture. Therefore, do not replace butter with spread or margarine - this can make the cookies tasteless or even ruin them.

In addition, it is better to take the butter out of the refrigerator in advance (about an hour beforehand) so that it is plastic. Or you can grate the butter on a coarse grater and leave it for a few minutes.

Then the ingredients are much easier to mix. At the same time, the butter must not melt into a liquid.

Changing ingredients for no reason

Changing the amount of ingredients or substituting a product is a risky step in baking. Due to the precise proportions, fats, sugar, baking powder, eggs, and flour interact to determine the appearance and taste of the baked goods.

Therefore, you should not replace wheat flour with buckwheat flour, increase or decrease the amount of ingredients. In this case, it is better to look for another recipe.

Using food after the expiration date

Some expired ingredients, such as baking soda or baking powder, lose their properties. Others, like eggs, can increase the risk of food poisoning. Therefore, only fresh products should be used for baking, as well as for any dish.

Mixing all the ingredients at once

Although it may seem like a waste of time to beat sugar and eggs or butter separately from the dry ingredients, these processes are an important step in making delicious baked goods. It gives the cookies their shape and texture.

Inaccurate measurement of ingredients

Although it is possible to cook without a recipe with experience by measuring ingredients by eye, it is better to use a kitchen scale and measuring cups to get started. This will make baking easier and ensure a reliable, tasty result.

Inaccurate measurement of ingredients is a common mistake in baking (photo: Freepik)

Improper preparation of the pan

Baked goods often burn and stick to the baking sheet if you don't line the pan with parchment or grease it with oil. There are many options, but it is better to use the method specified in the recipe.

Baking cookies from freshly prepared dough

Do not put freshly mixed dough in the oven. In this case, the cookies may lose their shape or stick to the baking sheet. To prevent this, it is recommended to refrigerate the dough for half an hour before baking.

Not checking the cookies during baking

Although it is important to observe the amount of ingredients, it is important to choose the baking time according to the characteristics of the oven. After all, the temperature indicated on the appliance's sensor is rarely accurate - it can be much lower or higher inside the oven.

Therefore, you should focus not on the baking time specified in the recipe, but on the condition of the baked goods. For example, if the cookies need to be baked for 15 minutes, it is recommended to check their condition after 8 minutes.

You can also bake a small amount of cookies first to adjust the exact baking time to your oven.

Not waiting for the cookies to cool down

Warm cookies are quite fragile and tend to stick together. Therefore, wait until the cookies have cooled completely to room temperature before transferring them to a container or plate.