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03-Ingredients |
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All of the ingredients used in the THE MASON JAR COOKIE COOKBOOK are common, easy-to-find items. While a few of the ingredients, such as wheat germ, are used in only one or two recipes, many, such as flour and sugar, are used in most or all of the recipes in the book. Because these products are so important to the success of your cookies, let's take a few minutes to learn more about them so that you can choose the best ingredients possible for your baked goods. Organize your recipes and simplify meal planning...Download the Cook'n Recipe Organizer for FREE!
FLOUR TIP: If stored carelessly, flour can absorb moisture, affecting the outcome of your Mason jar cookies. To keep your flour at its freshest, store it in a clean airtight container, and place the container in a cool place. All of the recipes in this book call for all-purpose flour, which is a blend of refined hard and soft wheat flours. Choose either bleached or unbleached flour for your cookies, as either one will produce delicious results. The difference is only that the latter type has not undergone a bleaching process, and so contains more vitamin E than its bleached counterpart. Once opened, flour will stay fresh for up to six months. Simply keep it in a clean, airtight container that prevents the product from absorbing any moisture, and store it in a cool place. GRANULATED SUGAR Whenever the word "sugar" is used in this book, the recipe calls for granulated white sugar-although you may also use a super-granulated (superfine) sugar, which is a finer grind that is still coarse enough to have easily discernible crystals. White sugar is generally the sweetener of choice when a crisp cookie is desired or when you want to enhance sweetness without adding the molasses-like flavor of brown sugar. Store your sugar as you would store flour-in a clean, airtight container kept in a cool place. BROWN SUGAR TIP: If, despite all precautions, your brown sugar turns hard, don't panic-and don't toss it out. Just heat the sugar in a microwave oven for twenty to thirty seconds, and it will become soft enough to use with ease. Brown sugar is simply granulated white sugar that has been coated with a film of molasses, and so is more flavorful than its white counterpart. When making your Mason jar cookies, use either light or dark brown sugar--the choice is yours. Just be aware that in addition to being darker in color, dark brown sugar has a more pronounced flavor than light. Because brown sugar is moister than white sugar, the resulting cookies will tend to be delightfully chewy. Be aware, though, that the same moisture which makes brown sugar so irresistible also makes it prone to turn hard and lumpy. To keep your purchase from turning into a rock-hard mass, be sure to store it in an airtight container (doubled zip-lock plastic bags are great) and to keep it in a cool place. If the sugar should become hard, however, simply microwave it, uncovered, for twenty to thirty seconds, or until it becomes soft enough to use with ease. EGGS Eggs help provide the structural framework for cookies, allowing them to rise and puff. For best results when making the recipes in this book, use eggs marked "large" and buy the freshest ones you can find. Then refrigerate them and use them before the expiration date. To keep fat and cholesterol under control, many people now use egg substitutes when cooking and baking. However, while egg substitutes can be used in some baked goods, they will not work well in Mason jar cookies, as the dough they produce is crumbly and dry. For moist and delicious results, always choose the freshest whole eggs when following the recipes in this book. BUTTER TIP: For the best flavor and texture, use only the freshest, sweetest butter in your Mason jar cookies. For the best flavor and texture, I use only pure sweet (unsalted) butter in my recipes. If you prefer, you may substitute margarine for the butter, but don't use light butter, light margarine, or diet spreads, as all of these products contain added moisture that will adversely affect the finished cookies. You'll find that the recipes in this book usually express butter amounts in terms of cups (1/2 cup, 1/4 cup, etc.). These amounts are very easy to measure, as one stick of butter (1/4 pound) equals 1/2 cup, or eight tablespoons. Usually, the recipe's ingredients list specifies the use of softened butter. To soften the butter, simply allow it to sit at room temperature for about forty-five minutes or until it's soft enough to cream easily with a fork, but not runny. Don't leave it out of the refrigerator too long, as overly soft butter will result in excessive spreading during the baking process. In fact, butter that is either too warm or too cold can actually alter the temperature of the cookie dough, affecting baking times. Butter can be stored in either the refrigerator or the freezer. Kept in the refrigerator, butter remains fresh for up to two weeks; in the freezer, for up to six months. For the best flavor and texture, use only the freshest, sweetest butter in your Mason jar cookies. BAKING SODA AND BAKING POWDER The majority of the Mason jar cookie recipes contain one or both of two common forms of leavening--baking soda and baking powder. Also called bicarbonate of soda and sodium bicarbonate, baking soda is a naturally occurring substance. When used alone, baking soda has no leavening power. However, when used in a cookie batter that also contains an acidic ingredient such as molasses or buttermilk, the cookies rise, producing a tender crumb. Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and other ingredients, the most important of which is an acidic compound such as cream of tartar. When this product is mixed in a batter with wet ingredients, leavening occurs. No acidic ingredients are needed, as the acid is already in the powder. Why do the recipes in this book sometimes use one of these products and sometimes use both? Clearly, when no acidic ingredient is used in the batter, baking powder is the leavening of choice. But other factors also come into play. For instance, baking powder is most appropriate when lighter colored, puffier cookies are desired. And baking soda can be used to lend a somewhat salty flavor to baked products. Both baking soda and baking powder are inexpensive and readily available. Stored in covered containers, they will remain fresh and potent for up to six months. FLAVORED EXTRACTS TIP: Imitation extracts often leave a bitter aftertaste. Instead of saving a few cents by purchasing an artificial product, buy only pure extracts, and enjoy true vanilla, lemon, and almond flavor. Although the occasional recipe in this book uses almond or lemon extract, most of the cookies are flavored with vanilla extract. In preparing your Mason jar cookie recipes, try to use only those products labeled "pure." Imitation extracts are composed of artificial ingredients, and often have a bitter aftertaste. These products can be used, of course, but since a bottle of extract lasts a long time, it makes sense to spend a little more and buy the best. OATMEAL In THE MASON JAR COOKIE COOKBOOK, oatmeal is used in a variety of recipes to add a distinctive yet subtle flavor and a wonderfully chewy texture. I use quick-cooking oats in my cookie recipes, as I find that they produce the best results. This product will stay fresh for up to six months when stored in a clean airtight container. NUTS TIPS: Due to their oil content, nuts are a highly perishable ingredient. Unless you bake often, buy nuts in small amounts and store any leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer. The Mason jar cookie recipes use a variety of nuts--including walnuts, pecans, peanuts, macadamia nuts, and almonds--to add flavor and crunch to baked goods. Feel free to replace one type of nut with another, according to your preferences. However, whenever the recipe specifies almonds, it is suggested that you avoid substituting other nuts simply because almonds have such a special and distinctive flavor--one that cannot be replaced by any other nut. The flavor of nuts is carried by their essential oils, which is the same component that makes all nuts perishable. If you buy nuts in shells, they'll stay fresher, as the shells will protect them from air, moisture, heat, and light. In fact, unshelled nuts can be stored for about twice as long as shelled nuts. If the nuts are already shelled, though, place them in an airtight container and keep the container in a cool, dry, dark place for up to two months before using. To increase the nuts' shelf life, place the container in the refrigerator, where they'll stay fresh for up to four months, or in the freezer, where they can remain for up to six months. BAKING CHIPS TIP: Like imitation extracts, imitation chocolate chips do not deliver the best flavor. To insure that your Blondies, S'More Bars, and other treats taste as good as they look, use only pure chocolate chips. Baking chips add color, creaminess, and flavor to cookies. A variety of chips are used in this book, including butterscotch, peanut butter, vanilla, white chocolate (which contains no chocolate at all), and chocolate. In each of these cases, you will, of course, get the best results when you opt for the highest-quality product available, but this is especially true when selecting chocolate chips. I always use the purest chocolate chips-never chips that are labeled "imitation" chocolate. Although a bit more pricey, pure chocolate chips result in a truer chocolate flavor as well as a creamier texture. If you use only a portion of a bag of chocolate chips, be sure to wrap the remaining chips tightly and store them in a cool (60°F to 70°F), dry place. If kept in a warm environment, the chocolate may develop pale gray steaks and blotches as the cocoa butter rises to the surface. In damp conditions, the chocolate may even form tiny gray sugar crystals on the surface. In either case, the chocolate can still be used, but both the flavor and the texture will be slightly affected. Note that because of the milk solids found in both milk and white chocolate, these chips should be stored for no longer than nine months. Semisweet and bittersweet chocolate, though, can remain fresh for up to ten years when properly stored. From "The Mason Jar Cookie Cookbook." Copyright 2002 by Lonnette Parks. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sign up for our free monthly newsletter, with recipes, cooking tips and more! |
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