Now that the holiday season is here, everybody has Christmas cookies on their mind—including Ree Drummond. She recently made a few batches of her favorite brown sugar oatmeal cookie dough to stash in the fridge. (That's a pro move for those days when you're craving freshly baked cookies.)
And speaking of pro baking tips, you might be wondering how those cookies come out so perfectly round. After all, no matter how hard you try, there always seems to be those few misshapen cookies—whether they spread into one another or simply come out looking wonky and irregular. Of course, there's nothing wrong with a funny-shaped cookie and it'll probably still taste darn right delicious.
But what if you knew how to make freshly baked cookies come out perfectly round every time? Well, let’s just say you'll have the best-looking Christmas cookie platter at the party. All you need is a mug, glass, or cookie cutter to try this clever little trick below.
How to Make Perfectly Round Cookies
Let’s start with your drop cookie recipe—you can choose from chocolate chip cookies, soft sugar cookies, cake mix cookies, or whatever your heart desires. Many of these recipes call for chilling the dough. Chilling in the fridge for at least 20 minutes helps the cookies firm up so they don't spread too thin when they're baked. While it won't ensure perfectly round cookies, it's a good first step to follow if you want your cookies to retain their shape. So, how do you get your cookies to be round? Follow the two tricks below:
Use a Cookie Scoop
This handy tool will help you portion out mounds of dough that are evenly sized, which in turn will make baking more uniform. You can use big scoops or smaller scoops depending on your preferences. Start by scooping the dough and scraping the scoop against the side of the bowl to flatten the top. This will remove air pockets and guarantee evenly sized dough balls.
Swirl the Cookies
Once your cookie dough balls are on the baking sheet and in the oven, it's time to grab your mug, glass, cookie cutter, or biscuit cutter. Note: the size of the mug or biscuit cutter you use should be larger than the size of your cookies! As soon as the cookies are finished baking, flip the mug upside down over each cookie (while still warm) and swirl in a circular motion until the edges become smooth and perfectly round. Ta-da! It's cookie magic!
Why Cookies Should Be Round
For starters, it's inherently satisfying to shape your cookies into perfect round circles so they look just like the kind you might find at The Merc Bakery. But aside from that, having round cookies will also make it easier to create sandwich cookies filled with frosting or even cookie ice cream sandwiches. Plus, you'll be able to stack up those round cookies evenly in storage containers. It's a win-win!
