Chilling cookie dough

Q: Why do some cookie doughs need chilling before baking?

A: Often, cookie or biscuit doughs can be baked straight after making them. But other doughs need a little time in the fridge before rolling and baking.

There are three main reasons for chilling a cookie dough before baking:

1. The dough is too soft (like the fudgy cookies that have melted chocolate in them) to be shaped. Giving it a little while in the fridge will help it firm up making it easier to roll.
2. The dough will spread too much if baked at room temperature giving you super thin cookies. These are the doughs that are often proportionally high in sugar or butter and chilling them will help the cookies keep their shape and not become too thin.
3. If you want soft centred cookies. You can still get a soft centre in your cookie if baking the dough from room temperature but by chilling the dough there will be more contrast between the crisp outer edge and the soft centre.

So next time you are baking some cookies, why not try chilling your dough and see what a difference it makes?

Watch the video of Anneka's answer to this Q&A below: