Gransnet forums

Food

Chill the dough, they say...

(10 Posts)
CanadianGran Fri 25-Aug-23 04:12:20

Well, curses on those recipe instructions! Chill the dough (maple cookies, or biscuits as you would say) for 30 minutes or overnight.

Fine, I made the dough yesterday, took it out after dinner today to roll out, and I have a solid brick of dough that a rolling pin won't dent. So now I've turned off the oven that I had set to pre-heat, and will watch television and chat on here while I wait for the dough to soften enough to roll out.

If I ever get them in the oven, I will let you know how they turned out!

Do you sometimes disregard recipe instructions and just do what you think is right?

denbylover Fri 25-Aug-23 05:13:26

Hi, I might in this case, but at the back of my mind would be the thought….I wonder if they’d have been better had I faithfully followed the recipe😁. I’ve never chilled biscuit dough although I’ve seen and heard of this technique. I’m usually too keen to get them into the oven. Good luck I bet they’ll taste great. Let us know, and next time I’ll be keen to try this chilling the dough.

Oopsadaisy1 Fri 25-Aug-23 05:46:39

Most recipes tell you to make the dough into a roll, then after chilling you just slice it up into rounds, I only ever chill dough for 20 minutes or so, not overnight.

teabagwoman Fri 25-Aug-23 07:42:13

Cooking can be so frustrating, especially when using an unfamiliar recipe. I usually shape biscuit dough into a roll, put it in the freezer for a short while and then slice it rather than roll it out. I often keep a roll in the freezer to bring out and bake when needed, it doesn’t take long to soften so you can cut it.

shysal Fri 25-Aug-23 09:36:24

I have always cut out the cookies and chilled them on the baking tray.

NotSpaghetti Fri 25-Aug-23 09:45:08

I'm another who sometimes rolls, chills and then later, slices.
Sometimes I'm in a rush and just make roundish blobs of my mixture, flatten a bit and cook straight away.

Redhead56 Fri 25-Aug-23 09:46:48

I never follow a recipe for pastry I learnt from my mum do it by eye and what feels right fridge it 10 mins it always works.
I earned money catering for special occasions years ago. I had to get food safety /hygiene certificate and went on a baking course. I could not stand or get used to instruction for making pastry I gave the course up after a year.

Hetty58 Fri 25-Aug-23 09:49:33

Maple cookies sound nice. I used to make a lot of biccies when the kids were small and I used a recipe where you made the dough into a roll. You put it in the fridge overnight, then simply sliced it before cooking.

CanadianGran Fri 25-Aug-23 17:35:33

As it turns out, I was side-tracked while waiting for dough to soften, and ran out of evening. I put the dough back in the fridge and will deal with it tonight! Of course, I will take it out in time to soften.

I have made the cookies before, and did not chill the dough before rolling. I think it stops the dough from spreading while baking, but I think I would rather cut them out then chill them on the pan for a few moments before putting them in the oven. I actually do have a maple-leaf shaped cutter.

It is a nice recipe. Basic sugar cookie with a few tablespoons of maple syrup to replace some sugar, and then glaze with a maple infused glaze. I received some birch syrup which has a stronger flavour, so put in a teaspoon of that as well.

eazybee Fri 25-Aug-23 18:24:14

Being really helpful after the event, you could have rolled the dough out and cut it, then left it to chill overnight.