Measuring Dry Ingredients
Accurate measuring is the secret to great cookies! Here is how bakers measure:
FLOUR: This is the trickiest ingredient to measure! If you pack flour tightly, you get too much and your cookies will be dry and tough.
The correct way:
1. Fluff the flour in the bag with a spoon (it settles and compacts during storage)
2. Spoon flour into the measuring cup until it overflows
3. Use the flat back of a butter knife to scrape across the top, leveling it off
4. The flour should be level with the rim — not heaping, not pressed down
SUGAR: White sugar is easy — scoop and level, just like flour.
BROWN SUGAR is different! Brown sugar should be PACKED into the cup. Press it down firmly with your fingers. When you turn the cup upside down, the sugar should hold its shape like a little sand castle.
Baking soda and salt are measured with measuring spoons. Level them off too — a heaping teaspoon of baking soda could make your cookies taste metallic!