I roll my cookie dough carefully and meticulously into perfectly even little cookie dough balls in hopes of Achieving the Perfectly Round Cookie. But it never fails. Somehow in the baking process, the cookies expand more on this side or that. Maybe it’s because of where the chocolate chips or the pecan pieces fall in each cookie. Maybe it’s some sort of scientific reaction or some unexplained revenge plot of the cookies. “They still taste delicious,” some say. But after all of the work that goes into baking a batch of made-from-scratch cookies, they need to be perfect!
Follow these quick and simple steps and you’ll create lovely, round cookies every time!
What To Do:
- While your cookies are baking, find a glass, mug, or even a round glass container for leftovers (depending on the size of your cookies) with a mouth slightly larger than your baked cookies. I have a designated “cookie shaping” mug with my initial on it, so I’ll refer to whatever container you’re using as a mug.
- Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven (cookies still on the hot cookie sheet), turn the mouth of the mug upside down over the cookie. The cookie should be inside of the mug. Gently move the mug in a circle, which will shape the cookie. If you get too aggressive with your circle, the cookie can become mashed into a small, but tall circle. So be gentle.
- Continue this with each cookie. And Waalaaa! Perfect Cookies! That really couldn’t be easier.
The cookies on the left and the right are literally the same cookies!! The only difference is the cookies on the left are straight out of the oven and the cookies on the right were shaped with a mug and cooled on the pan.
Also take note that some of the cookies in the photo on the left are touching. Not ideal! But no problem to fix! I used the mouth of the mug to separate them and then moved the upside down mug in a gentle circle with the cookie inside to create a round edge.
So get to baking those round Banana Nut Cookies, Mrs. Field’s Cookies, Chewy Toasted Coconut Cookies, or whatever cookie you’re craving. And make them perfect!
