It could mean the textural difference between brittle and chewy.

But, halfway through, the directions say tochill the doughfor anywhere from an hour to overnight.

Freshly made chocolate chip and peanut cookie dough with ingredients on kitchen worktop ready for baking

Photo:Ezza116/Getty Images

Chilling cookie dough achieves three main results:thicker, chewier, and more flavorful cookies.

But how does it work?

During this time, the flour continues to absorb moisture from the wet ingredients.

Can I Freeze Dough to Speed Up the Process?

Freezing the dough also forfeits much of the flavor that develops over an extended period of time.

Certain cookie types, likesnowballsandshortbread, are purposely unchilled to achieve their classic crumbly textures.

Other cookies that contain ingredients likemolassesorpeanut buttermay not require as much chill time since the doughs are thicker.

Or, go forbrowniesorblondiesto get your sweet treat fix without the wait time.

Be Prepared to Adjust Baking Times

Everyone’s oven is a little bit different.

Use a sealed container on the counter or store cookies in the freezer (not the fridge!)

to keep air out and prevent them from going stale.