Q. What is the best type of flour for extra light cookies?
A. There are several tricks to light and fluffy cookies. The first is to make sure you’re using the right kind of leavener.
Ammonium Bicarbonate isn’t common, but it is used a lot in Christmas cookies such as gingerbread or Lebkuchen. It has one feature over all the other leaveners out there; it will make your cookies crisp.
Using fresh baking powder and/or soda will help a lot, as then they will be in correct proportion to your other ingredients.
In terms of types of flour, you probably want to go with a cake or pastry flour. These flours will feel more dense in your hands and weigh a little bit more per cup than other flours but they have the lowest protein content. A less protein rich flour will allow for less gluten development giving you a less dense cookie. That said, using the correct type of flour will only help if it is used correctly.
Don’t overwork your dough. Overworked dough is the most common cause of dense cookies. If you’ve done all this and your cookies are still little rocks, check the recipe to see what the ratio of fat to other ingredients is. It should be about 20-30% of the total weight. Much less than this and there’s not much chance of a light cookie. Much more than this and it will be too dense to leaven.
