How to Make Picture-Perfect Cookies

Would you believe that these two cookies are from the same dough? It’s true!

We all want cookies that are tasty. That’s a given. But, wouldn’t it be nice to make beautiful, bakery-worthy cookies too? It’s easier than you think! I’ll show you a couple of tricks that will transform any cookie into a thing of beauty. (I used this cookie dough recipe)

1. Consider various colors/textures. 

You can add almost anything to a drop cookie base. I started with the same dough for these cookies and divided it into two, separate bowls:

In one bowl, I mixed in white chocolate chips:

Not too exciting, right? In the other, I added white chocolate chips AND chopped apricots and pecans:

Already, this cookie is going to be more colorful and interesting. Don’t be afraid to experiment!

2. Use a cookie scoop for uniform cookies

Cookie scoops are the bomb. Having uniformly shaped cookies not only makes them more attractive, it also ensures that they cook evenly.

For my “ugly” cookies, I used the ‘ol two spoon scoop method:

What a pain! And, it was difficult to make sure that my cookies were the correct size.

For the “pretty” cookies, I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup (the recipe called for 1/4 cup, and none of my cookie scoops are that big!)

Even if you don’t have a cookie scoop, a small measuring cup works too!

3. Use parchment paper/Silpat/etc. 

I’m a parchment paper addict. It helps your cookies cook more evenly. Use it!

4. Do not flatten! (unless the recipe says so)

For some reason, a lot of people flatten their cookies before baking. Maybe they’re worried that they will have a weird, towering cookie? That’s not going to happen. Flat cookies are not as pretty as tall cookies, so don’t flatten! (I flattened the “ugly” cookies before baking)

5. The jagged-dough ball method

It sounds a little scary, doesn’t it? Trust me – you’ll want to memorize this trick!

Start with a dough ball of the correct size according to your recipe:

Now, take the dough ball and begin to tear it into two separate balls:

This is mid-tear.

You will end up with two smaller pieces of dough with jagged edges on one side:

Now, gently smush them together, the jagged side up:

This adds wonderful texture and dimension to your cookies.

So, here are my cookies right before going into the oven:

Very different already! Tall and majestic on the left, sad and flat on the right. I put them in together for the same amount of time, and here’s the result:

Wowza! Look at the height difference too:

Now, go make some perfect looking cookies pronto!