Conference turris::cooks

Thin batters containing oil, eggs, flour, etc. generally are mixed with
vigorous action which beats in a LOT of air.  If you want a thin, consistent
product, you want the air to settle out of the mix, and you want the flour
absorbtion to come up a little...hence, the suggestion that you let your
batter sit at least 30 minutes (at room temperature - warm up the batter
and make sure it cooks in the expected time) up to overnight(8 hours or so)
WELL CHILLED in order to avoid salmonella - warm up 30 minutes at room
temp before making your crepes or pizzelles.

Of course, the one flaw in the whole "scientific" plan is that flour
may absorb more or less liquid depending on the grind, the temperature
of the flour, liquids, and the way you look at it  8^}....the solution
to controlling that somewhat is to warm your flour in the oven before
using it (10 minutes at 150 degrees F) if you want it to absorb more
liquid and gain more elasticity and chill it for 30 minutes if you 
need the reverse effect....like in the summer when making pancakes
or crepes on a really hot day.

Now, a batter that is "ripening" to grow natural yeast (sourdough, etc)
is left at room temp to promote growth of the desirable beasties...but
it is NOT recommended to add eggs or fats until just before using the
batter - in order to avoid the problems of salmonella, rancidity, etc.

    We make pizzelles at least twice a year and we've never refrigerated
    the batter.  The only failure we had was one year when my dad forgot
    to take out the butter.  He melted it.  Yuck!!!!
    
    It wouldn't be Christmas at our house without these cookies.
    
    Linda

    RE: .2:  Ditto!  I've never refrigerated pizzelle batter, nor has my
    father, or his mother before him, nor any other relative.  We've never
    had a problem getting a thin, crisp cookie, even though we don't let
    the batter sit for 30 minutes as .1 suggests.  --Susan
    
    PS:  I've never let pancake batter sit for long, either.  I'd guess it
    depends on the type of pancake you're looking for.  I like them high,
    and "fluffy."       

    I know with Sugar Cookie dough, you couldn't roll out the freshly
    mixed dough, because it would be too soft. But after refrid-ing
    it for a while, its stiff enough to cut with cutters... maybe thats
    what of one of the reasons.
    
    b

	There was some discussion in here a while back about how
	to get those Original Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies
	to come out flat.  I made a batch over the weekend and
	they tasted pretty good but they didn't spread!  They just
	remained round lumps (ok, they spread a little).  When I
	was a kid, they used to come up really thin compared to 
	what I turned out this weekend.

	Unfortunately, I cannot find the note on this but I think
	it had something to do with either the temperature they
	are baked at or the shortening/butter used.  I used 2 sticks
	of Land of Lakes Morning Blend I think (margarine... reduced
	calorie maybe but I'm not sure).  

	So, anybody care to point that note out to me or tell me
	the answer here?  I searched under "cookie", "butter",
	"shorten" and couldn't find it!

	Karen

    I suspect its the margarine - I get very different results
    for the same cookie depending on whether I use margarine, 
    butter, "diet" versions of both, or shortening. 
    Do some experimenting with this.
    
    Monica

    Anyone interested in cookies should check out this months Consumer
    Reports.
    
    In addition to rating commercially available chocolate chip cookies,
    they also talked about some of the results of variations on the
    traditional Toll House cookies.  (like using butter vs marg vs
    shortening, halving the fat, halving the eggs etc.)
    
    I didn't read it carefully, not being a cookie person, but I vaguely
    remember that margarine made cookies thinner, crispier and greasier
    than butter.  Don't quote me on that.
    
    D!

    I tend to use more flour than "mom" when making toll house cookies
    and mine don't flatten out as much as hers do.  I like mine thicker,
    she likes the really thin ones.  
    
    \C