Creaming the ingredients

You want to beat your butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy. Most recipes will tell you to cream your butter and sugar. This helps to incorporate air into the batter, which you need if you want your baking soda and/or baking powder to work. This is important as it keeps your cookies from being heavy and hard to bite into. Another important factor is not to overmix the dough. Once you combine the dry and wet ingredients, mix until just combined and no longer. For more information on creaming ingredients, please feel free to visit my website and email me at www.themadbatter.com

Freeze dough

"Can I freeze dough for cookies, and if so how do I do it?"--was a question I was asked recently. Yes, you can freeze "some" cookie doughs, not all. Wrap all dough twice when putting it in the freezer to avoid freezer burn and absorption of other odors. You may want to label your cookie dough as to the type and date you froze it as many people to when freezing items. When you are ready to use the cookie dough, let it defrost in the refrigerator. Cookie doughs you can freeze: peanut butter, refrigerator, brownies, chocolate chip, etc... Cookie doughs you do not want to freeze include ginger snaps, nut-based doughs(excluding peanut butter), cake-like cookies and cookies with a very liquid batter. For more information you can go to my website and email me with questions at www.themadbatter.com If you want to freeze baked cookies, go ahead--most cookies will freeze well and when you are ready to eat them, just defrost at room tempature and they are ready to eat.

Rolling dough

One of thebiggest mistakes individuals make when rolling out cookie dough is to overly-handle the dough. The gluten in the flour after it has been mixed with wet ingredients should not be moved around very much, the more it moves the tougher the dough will become. So to make the best consistency of cookie, you need to handle the dough as little as possible. One way to make sure you do not have to overly handle the dough is to lightly flour the rolling pin and the surface you are rolling , so the dough does not stick to either surface. Pay attention to the recipe if it tells you when you are done mixing ingredients to separate the dough into 4 separate parts then do so, it will cut down on your waste. If you are using the dough for cut out cookies vs. rolling up the cookies cut the cookies as close as possible to each other, that way there will be less scraps to combine to roll the dough again. If you have baking questions, please contact me at www.themadbatter.com and I will be happy to answer them.

Dear Mad Batter

I recently received an email from Jeanie in Surprise, Arizona. In her email Jeanie explained a situation she was currently involved in with her favorite brownie recipe. It appears Jeanie liked to indulge regularly in baking her favorite brownie recipe and found herself finishing off the pan by herself. It has become a problem for her, because she is not fitting into her loose fitting clothes anymore. She wants to figure out how not to give up her favorite brownies, but at the same time she is wondering if there is a way to make them a bit healthier, with less sugar and fat? My advice was two-fold. One way to go would be to down-size the recipe, so she is not making a full batch at one time. She could make all the batter, but use a much smaller pan to make the brownies. All she would need to do is freeze the rest of the batter. Another option would be to make the brownies into single servings and freeze them accordingly. The other route in looking for a leaner healthier brownie. Try whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose, it will keep the brownies moist when losing the fat. Use 3/4 to 1 cup of unsweeteneed applesauce in place of 1 cup or oil/butter. You can use other fruit purees too, but add in 1/4 cup of the unsweetened applesuace to give it a better texture. Also add 1/4 tsp of baking soda when using appleasuace to your recipe. Be careful when baking, because low fat batter will get done more quickly than full fat brownies. If you have a great fat replacement you like to use while baking, please feel free to write and share what you use at www.themadbatter.com

heavenly sweets

What is your idea of a heavenly sweet? What sort of flavor puts you over the moon? I love chocolate, and would like to have it every day! I also enjoy tart flavors, a nice citrus such as lemon in baked goods can offset the sweetness of many desserts, taming the flavor a bit and giving it a bittersweet appeal. I like crunch in my chocolate too. I am not a fan of milk chocolate and especially milk chocolate plain. That is definitely something which has never been to much to my liking, unless there is a lot of other flavors going on with the treats such as nuts, nougat, caramel, etc... What is the answer to your "sweet" prayer, when you are in need of a tasty treat? I would love to recieve responses, so please feel free to email me at my website www.themadbatter.com

cookie size

Many people have different preferences when it comes to cookie size. Some people enjoy a large cookie size when it comes to chocolate chip, oatmeal or even peanut butter. You can count on many people finding satisfaction through a 5 inch diameter cookie with no problem. Sometimes this is not the case. I have seen the newest gimmick in the grocery stores with 100 calorie packages of cookies, so that someone watching their intake of food that is high in sugar will think it is a dietary bargain. Unfortunately, who says you can stop at one package? Some of the cookies I bake are small in size. I figure you wouldn't eat a 5 inch truffle in one sitting, because it is so rich. My roll ups are very rich and are two-bite size. They have been described as beyond a cookie, they are heaven-sent, etc....I agree, but in the beginning I was very concerned about the size of the cookie. I finally through trial and error, through suggestions from customers have decided "less is more" in terms of the cookies and their flavor. If you have comments you would like to add, please contact me through my website at www.themadbatter.com

Today

A wonderful custom of days gone past was to share baked goods with your neighbors. If you were new to the neighborhood you could be assured you would be presented with a cake or a pie to welcome you to the block. Some communities still have a welcome wagon and bring goods to their new neighbor, along with coupons and items from neighborhood businesses. I think it is a tradition to be done all across the country, positive sentiment would immediately unfold among neighbors as a plate of cookies or a cake is delivered with a welcoming smile. The effort and time it takes to bake for someone you don't know, but are going to introduce yourself to is something to be appreciated. If your community still shares this neighborly custom, please let me know I would love to feature it in my next newsletter at www.themadbatter.com