Tea and Cookies by Rick Rodgers Read Free Book Online Page A

liquid and is more convenient to use than paste, which must be removed from the jar in minuscule amounts with the tip of a toothpick. Just squeeze the gel from its bottle, a drop at a time, into the food and stir to distribute well. Gauge the color carefully, as the gel is so concentrated that it is easy to go overboard and make the tint too saturated. My preferred brand is Spectrum, made by Ateco, as its colors are very attractive. You can find individual hues or a six- or twelve-pack of the most popular colors in small plastic bottles at cake decorating suppliers and hobby shops. Food colorings with all-natural ingredients are available at natural food grocery stores, but you may find the colors to be muted.
MEASURING
Bakers love to argue about measuring, especially when it comes to flour, as its fluffy texture makes it susceptible to variations in measurement methods. Professional bakers always weigh their dry ingredients, while most home bakers prefer measuring cups. After interviewing many of my baking students in my classes around the country, I know that the vast majority of home bakers don’t own an electric scale, and that they are going to use volume measurements anyway. Therefore, I provide volume measurements only here.
That being said, there is another problem with volume measuring that must be addressed. Some bakers spoon the flour into a measuring cup, and others simply dip the cup into the flour’s container to fill the cup. Each method gives a different weight. The flour in this book has been measured by the “dip-and-sweep” method. Dip a dry-ingredient (metal or plastic) cup into the flour to fill it. Take care that there are no air pockets in the cup, but don’t pack the flour. Sweep away the excess flour with the edge of a knife so the flour remaining in the cup is level with the cup’s edge.
    EQUIPMENT
    OVENS
    Take it from me—ovens are notoriously unreliable. In the last five years, I have had three brand-name ovens in my kitchen, and only one heated to a temperature within an acceptable range of the number set on the thermostat.
    For accuracy’s sake, always test the oven temperature with an OVEN THERMOMETER . The best thermometers have alcohol-filled glass gauges, but dial-type thermometers can be good, too. The most important factor is the visibility of the numbers. Place the thermometer in the center of the oven rack, well away from the sides.
    Many ovens have the option for convection baking, but most of the home cooks I know are simply afraid of it. Convection baking uses a fan to circulate the hot air in the oven, which promotes browning and cooks food more quickly. When using convection baking, decrease the standard temperature in a recipe by 25°F, and estimate that the cookies will bake in about two-thirds of the conventional baking time. You will have to rely on visual and touch tests to check for doneness, but that’s a good idea for any kind of cooking, whether or not convection is used.
    ELECTRIC MIXERS
    A HEAVY-DUTY STANDING ELECTRIC MIXER has become standard in the passionate home baker’s kitchen. Cookie bakers will use the paddle-blade attachment for creaming butter and sugar and subsequent dough mixing, and the whisk attachment for preparing royal icing for decorating. (The dough hook is reserved for kneading bread dough in the work bowl.) The 5-quart model is the most versatile size, and its motor is strong enough to mix cookie dough from start to finish. When adding the flour at the end, be sure to turn the mixer speed to low, or simply stir it in with a wooden spoon.
    If you don’t have a standing mixer, all the recipes in this book can be made with an ELECTRIC HAND MIXER . The only caveat is that a hand mixer may not be strong enough for mixing in the flour. In that case, stop the mixer and stir in the flour by hand with a sturdy wooden spoon. And in cases where there aren’t enough ingredients to sufficiently fill a standing mixer, the hand mixer is a must.
    BAKING