Why You Should Roll Out Cookie Dough After Mixing And Before Chilling

There's nothing like having some freshly baked cookies sitting on the counter after a long day, but if you're not going to use pre-made cookie dough or store-bought cookies, you'll need to make them yourself. There are plenty of cookie recipes to satisfy a sweet tooth, and while most recipes contain similar ingredients like flour, sugar, and butter, there are different methods of preparing the cookies before they go into the oven. While there are a few mistakes you could make with raw cookie dough, if you want your cookies to come out chewier while not spreading too much while they bake, the dough should be chilled before cooking.

While some people chill cookie dough as soon as it's mixed, your best bet is to roll out your cookies before setting the dough in the fridge. The main benefit of rolling the dough before it chills out is that it's easier to work with. Freshly mixed dough hasn't hardened, making it easier to form into a sheet of dough, which can then be cut or rolled into your preferred shapes. This is especially helpful if you want to make cookie dough ahead of time. Once the dough is rolled out, it can sit in the fridge until you are ready to shape and bake your cookies, even if that means overnight.

A huge benefit of rolling out your cookie dough before chilling it is that you don't have to worry about cracks forming from the cold temperature. The key to properly rolling out the dough is to go straight from the mixing bowl and use parchment paper to your advantage. With this method, the dough is sandwiched between two pieces of parchment paper, ensuring it doesn't need to be covered in extra flour (which can impact the texture of your cookies). The dough is then rolled out like normal, using a rolling pin to get it flat and even. Once it's nicely rolled, it can be popped into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or into the freezer for at least 15 minutes.

Once the dough is chilled, it will be firmer than when it first went in. In the case of sugar cookie dough, this makes the dough the perfect texture for cutting out all sorts of fun shapes. Inevitably, you'll have some scraps left over from the cookie cutouts. All you need to do is gather up the excess and roll it out between the parchment, just like before. There's no need to rechill, as the dough will still be firm from the first chill. One of the best parts is because you are using parchment, you don't need flour to dust the counter, making clean-up a breeze.