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

SHEETS AND PANS
    The majority of cookies in this book are baked on baking sheets. H ALF-SHEET PANS , which measure about 18 × 13 inches and are made from sturdy aluminum, are the choice of professional bakers, and I used them to test these recipes. (I have no idea why they are called pans when they are only 1 inch deep. A full sheet pan, used in professional kitchens, measures 26 × 18 inches, so now you know where the term “half-sheet” originated.)
    As I stated in the introduction, I made excuses for not buying half-sheet pans, but as soon as I made the change, most of my serious cookie-baking problems disappeared. Half-sheet pans are easy to find at kitchenware shops, but you’ll find the best prices at restaurant suppliers. Buy as many sheets as you have room for in your kitchen (at least two), as you can never have too many baking sheets when holiday baking time rolls around. And they come in handy for savory cooking too, such as roasting vegetables.
    Traditional cookie sheets are too thin and they darken with use, and as dark colors absorb oven heat more readily than shiny surfaces, cookies baked on them cook more quickly and can scorch. Also, cookie sheets don’t hold as many cookies as half-sheet pans, lengthening the time needed to complete a batch. Furthermore the cheap sheets tend to warp. You may find double-thick insulated cookie sheets, but these actually discourage crisp bottoms, so they aren’t right for every cookie.
    For bar cookies, I use 9 × 13-inch oblong and 8-inch square pans. I prefer metal pans as they reflect oven heat and bake evenly. Pyrex pans absorb oven heat, so if you use them, reduce the oven temperature by 25°F and keep a close eye on the cookies to avoid overbrowning. For some shallow bar cookies, I also use a QUARTER-SHEET PAN , measuring about 13 × 9 inches, a size that I have found to be as useful as its big sibling, the half-sheet.
    For special cookies that require molding, I bake shortbread cookies in a 9-inch springform pan and madeleines in their specific pan with scallop-shell indentations. You will need two mini-muffin pans (measuring 1 7/8 inches across the top and 7/8 inch deep) for the Candied Walnut Tassies (page 121).
    UTENSILS AND TOOLS
    A COARSE-MESH WIRE SIEVE does a great job of sifting dry ingredients. Do not use a fine-mesh sieve, which should be reserved for straining the tiny seeds from raspberry puree and the like.
    R UBBER (OR SILICONE) SPATUL AS are used to scrape ingredients down from the sides of a bowl during mixing, or to transfer every bit of batter from the bowl to the cake pan. Silicone spatulas are heat-resistant (some up to 800°F), so they are perfect for cooking and stirring hot ingredients on the stove, especially sticky ones that need to be occasionally scraped from the sides of the saucepan.
    Many cookie recipes call for shaping the dough into 1-inch balls. To portion the dough quickly, use a SMALL, STAINLESS-STEEL SPRING-LOADED ICE-CREAM SCOOP with a .5 ounce (1 tablespoon) capacity. These are available at restaurant suppliers, many kitchenware stores, and online at www.surlatable.com. You may also see plastic scoops designed just for portioning cookie dough, and they work fine as well.
    You’ll use a ROLLING PIN for rolling out dough for cut-out cookies such as Alfajores (page 106) and Sugar Cookie Teapots (page 123). The heavier the pin, the better, as the weight does much of the work for you. I love my SILICONE BALL-BEARING ROLLING PIN because its surface doesn’t stick to sugary doughs.
    A LARGE OFFSET METAL SPATULA is the tool for evenly spreading soft dough for brownies or blondies in the pan. Use a SMALL OFFSET SPATULA when icing sugar cookies.
    W IRE CAKE RACKS give the baker someplace to cool the cookies. The truth is that most cookies can be cooled directly on their baking sheets—they will not overbake. However, many bakers don’t own more than two baking sheets and must remove the cookies from the sheets in order to bake more,