The Sweet Storage Tip That Keeps Your Cookies Crisp

Storing bakes for later shouldn't relegate your favorite brown butter chocolate chip cookies to disappointingly limp bites the next time sugar cravings strike. A little extra sugar, in fact, is the simple secret you need to preserve that toothy edge of your perfectly made baker's dozen. Preemptively reaching for sugar — specifically in cube form — before you close the lid to your jar can keep your cookies fresher and crispier for longer.

The compact block of sweetness in a sugar cube will absorb any moisture from the air and attract the potentially cookie-altering particles like a magnet so that your cookies stay crisp and crunchy. While you can risk storing cookies in an airtight container without any extra sugar, you may find your sweet morsels a bit softer and chewier than you remembered. Simply place a few cubes at the bottom of your cookie jar to save yourself from future disappointment.

If you have a crisper cookie texture in mind once you've taken your first bite of the cookie or find that your cookies have turned too soft for your liking, crisp them up quickly in a preheated oven. Five minutes should do the trick, but check them to make sure you haven't pushed the cookies too far in the other direction. The goal is crispy and chewy, not charred.

Maybe you don't have sugar cubes packed away in your pantry. If that's the case, then consider making your own in silicon molds using simply sugar and water. Alternatively, reach for a piece of bread to store with your cookies. Just like the sugar cube, the bread will absorb excess moisture that has found its way into your cookie jar and keep your cookies fresher for longer. The next time you reach into the cookie jar, you will find that your cookies have maintained their texture and you can get to snacking without hesitation.