Have you ever eaten the perfect cookie? The one that melts in your mouth and calls your name every time it’s presented? Yeah, that one. You know,
you can make them yourself. Yes, you. I am sure of it. And I will give you some tips to help you with making them.

1. Chill the Cookie Dough: most cookie dough should be chilled before you cook it. Feel it and look it over to determine whether you should chill it or not. If the dough is wet feeling or greasy, you should chill it. This makes it less likely to become a greasy puddle when you cook it. After the chilling process, let the cook dough sit for about ten minutes at room temperature before you roll it into balls and bake.
2. Prevent Excessive Spreading: Do your cookies turn into greasy puddles? There are a few things you can do to help with this.
   • Again, chill the dough
   • Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Spraying with nonstick spray just makes things more greasy. Using the mats or paper will prevent the cookies from sticking and promote even browning.
   • Put the cookie dough only on baking sheets that are room temperature. Never put on a hot sheet.
   • You may have used butter that was too warm
   • You may have too little flour. The flour helps to absorb the wet ingredients in the dough, so too little makes your dough too wet.
   • Never over mix the ingredients in the dough. When you whip too much air into your cookie dough, they will likely collapse when baking.
3. Keep all Temperatures in Check: This goes for your oven and the temperature of the ingredients.
   • Oven temps: there’s a really good chance the the temperature on your oven is inaccurate, unless you have it calibrated regularly. This can cause issues with baking. Use an oven thermometer to help you with this and prevent you from cooking at the wrong temperatures.
   • Temperature of butter and eggs: When your ingredients are at room temperature, they give the dough a more uniform texture and structure. Try to set them out an hour or so before you start baking.
4. Following the Baking Times: Yeah, that’s something I don’t really do. I use the times listed more as a suggestion. It is best to go with your instincts on this one. Keep in mind, though, that the items will continue to cook a little a few minutes after they are out of the oven.
5. Only Bake a Single Batch at a Time: Yeah, it’s tempting to bake a few batches at a time, I know. Problem is, ovens all have a hot spot. If you want your baked goods to be consistent, then consistently bake only one batch at a time.

Hopefully these tips will help you the next time you are wanting to bake something. Maybe you will become the person that always brings the perfect cookies to the party.