Cookie Mixing Methods
Cookie Dough Mixing Fundamentals
There are three types of mixing we use to make cookies. Mono phase, Sponge, and creaming method. Overall, they all are like typical cake formulas except the lower fluid content and expected lower gluten formation in the dough. Remember that more gluten means that the dough will be stiffer at the end. Also, it is also useful to know how to hand-mix your dough properly and what slight different approaches we can take to make things easier. So, learn these methods well as they will help you to turn your recipes to perfect cookies.
Mono Phase(single stage) Mixing Technique
It is what exactly “mono phase” means. You mix all ingredient together at once. If you have baked a cake or seen doing so, we incorporate certain ingredients in several stages that we do not follow in this method.
Steps:
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Measure and weight all your ingredients precisely according to the recipe.
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Remember, unless specified in recipe, always make sure what you mix are at room temperature.
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Mix them at low speed with a paddle hook of your electric mixer or a manual hand mixer. Always make sure that everything in the bowl are evenly blended in the dough
Creaming Mixing Method
Unlike when you cream in ingredients step by step in cake making, due to lower proportions of fluids in recipes, you can add liquids and solids together. Also, if you are making softer cookies, beat the batter little longer or until becomes puffy. Then, if you want to get stiffness or chewiness, only cream short periods to prevent over venting the batter.
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Gather all ingredients and make sure they are at room temp
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Measure them according to the recipe
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Start with sugars, spices, salt and butter (any fatty ingredients) and beat them at slower speed using a paddle hook or simply hand mix with a spatula. Make sure to follow above mentioned mixing times depending on what kind of a texture your recipe calls for.
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Now it’s the time for eggs or any fluids in the list to jump in. Remember, you always continue to mix in a slower speed.
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Finally bring in the flour and baking power/soda and slowly incorporate to the batter until your see that they are evenly blended. Personally, I sift flour and soda separately and prepare the mix before incorporating. However, you can use a sifter and directly do it into the bowl if you like.
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Nalaka Daundaratne
Sponge Method
How you handle your eggs is one of the key things getting your spongy outcomes right. Always refer to your recipe and what kind of a specific consistency you need. If you want to build little added volume, warm your eggs before mixing. I place them into a small bowl, cover it up with a plastic and submerge in lukewarm water and leave it about 10-15 mins. Then, if you are only using egg whites, beat them until puffier. On the other hand, for whole and egg yolks we are looking for a frothy or a thicker consistency.
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Prepare your quantities of ingredients as given in recipe.
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Make sure to have them in room temperature except at times you require warm the eggs as mentioned above
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Beat or whip according to the kind of egg-parts used and instructions given
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Now, gently, bring in other ingredient using folding-like motion. Remember, to not be hard on the batter at this stage as it can remove more air away from it and lose puffiness. So, just mix until all are evenly spread
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Nalaka Daundaratne
Hand-mixing Tips
If you don’t have access to an electric mixture, don’t worry, you got this covered as we had been doing for years by simple manual ways. All you need is a spatula with a medium-sized flat head and that’s it.
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According to the recipe, bring in the fat and other ingredient to your mixing bowl
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First, give few random twirls with the spatula to give the ingredients a warm-up session to start mixing
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Then, starting from the middle you push the content on to the wall and move spatula around and scrape at the end of each cycle. Now, bring the batter to center again and repeat same over and over till all creamier gradually. When ingredients are evenly mixed and reach the consistency that your recipe seeks, you are done.
Before we get to recipes, please go to Baking Tools section to be familiar with measurement conversion and other scaling techniques like Baker’s Percentage so that you can master the skill of following a recipe accurately and to modify quantities as you need.
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