582640 Wed Dec 24 12:24:26 -0800 2008 2 31 Home Cooking 0 4271691 I'm baking holiday cookies and noticed that sometimes recipes call for dough to be refrigerated or cooled for a an hour or two before actually baking the cookies. And yet sometimes ostensibly similar recipes don't ask for this cooling period. I'm looking to make an oatmeal gumdrop cookie (a simple drop cookie versus one that's frozen and cut)... does it really matter whether the dough gets refrigerated for an hour? I don't ever remember my maman doing the cook before baking thing?? Wed Dec 24 12:24:26 -0800 2008 60563 Rabbit 1 4271702 If the recipe calls for it, it's necessary. The chilling firms the fat up, which affects how the cookies spread. It distributes the moisture throughout the dough, which makes things cook more evenly. And most importantly, it loosens up the gluten, which can start to seize up during even relatively gentle mixing. I have a very simple sugar cookie recipe that is the essence of butter and sugar when you let it chill overnight. But bake it immediately and it takes on a weird, food-service-y quality that makes the cookies a definite "yuck." If you trust the recipe source, follow the directions. Baking is as much science as art. Wed Dec 24 12:29:14 -0800 2008 4271691 130151 dmd_kc 2 4271775 You are very correct and your description is quite through. You can make the cookies a week in advance if time is tight when you want to bake them. Wed Dec 24 13:13:50 -0800 2008 4271702 22220 Kelli2006