Cookie Baking Tips

These really aren't tips, but I thought I would share what my mom taught me. Ha! That means it is an old tip.

I lay out newspaper on the counter or table where I am going to place my baked cookies. I cover quite a large area so that I have room to lay out the cookies so they are side by side until they cool almost completely.

Next I put waxed paper on the newspaper. Cover the whole thing. When I take the cookies out of the oven I removed them from the trays and place on the waxed paper instead of a cooling rack. When you bake big batches of cookies or even one, this is and easy place to park the cookies until they are cooled. I then put them in rows after they are cooled and lean one against the other kind of stacking at an angle. That makes more room for the hot cookies and makes it easier to count how many you have and helps you know how hard you have worked.

I have also started using Parchment Paper on my cookie sheets. (My mom thought it was a good idea too) I don't really know why, other than I am trying to be like the chef's on the Food Network! The cookies don't stick and it is much easier. The hardest part is getting the paper to fit the size of the sheets. My assistant doesn't cut them for me like Paula Deen's assistant does for her. In fact I haven't seen an assistant around here in a long time. Hil and Mel where are you???