How to make the BEST Soft Cookies

I am known for my cookies. Everyone wants to be added my list of baked Christmas gift list. I am not boasting, I know they are good because I have been offered cash to open a bakery with my cookies and Christmas goodies. You can check out my post on how I bake at the holidays. 30 days of Christmas Goodies. My cookies have rich butter flavors and they are soft and fluffy.

First off is your butter. You can’t fake butter flavor in a cookie. It is what is expected to be tasted when biting into a cookie. When I make things like chocolate chip cookies I use half butter and half margarine. For sugar cookies or a vanilla cookies I use ALL butter. I ALWAYS make sure my butter is room temperature. Do not put it in the microwave!!! This will melt it not soften it. I leave my butter out overnight or at least half the day.

Second tip for the best cookies is to beat the butter or butter/margarine. I mean really whip it on high speed. I scrap down the sides at least 2 times while I am whipping it. The butter will get a little fluffy and a little whiter, it will be more evident if you use all butter.

Third, beat the sugar. This will turn your butter even fluffier. Scrap the sides at least one time at this point. Fluffing up the butter and sugar is the most important part of soft, fluffy cookies.

whipped butter with orange juice and orange zest

Add your eggs one at a time. You don’t have to scrap the sides in between but make sure that each egg is fully mixed in before adding the next. You do need to scrap down the sides before moving on to adding the dry ingredients.

So many recipes call for sifting the flour, but I hate tons of tools in my kitchen that only do one thing. To sift the flour without a sifter I have 2 options. Either a wire strainer or just a fork. Yes a fork. Just mix together the dry ingredients and use your fork to mix them and fluff the flour. Use your fork like a whisk. To use a wire strainer just shake the dry ingredients through! This is the second most important step to fluffy soft cookies. Gotta have fluffy flour to get fluffy cookies.

Now the sixth for perfect cookies is to mix together the dry ingredients just to combine. Only add about 1/2 – 1 cup of the dry ingredients at a time. Do not over work the dough it will be tough and not soft. You want the dough mixed together a little flour left on the sides of the bowl is ok.

So that is really it. Follow these steps and you will have perfectly soft cookies every time no matter the recipe! Give it a try and let me know how it worked for you!