helps produce a moister, chewier texture Immediately after baking, many cookies are soft and malleable, a fact that allows the cook to shape thin wafer cookies into flower-like cups, rolled cylinders, and arched tiles that then stiffen as they cool Some Cookie Doughs and Batters: Ingredients and Typical Proportions With their low water content, cookies are especially prone to losing their texture during storage Crisp, dry cookies absorb moisture from the air and get soft; moist, chewy cookies lose moisture and become dry Cookies are therefore best stored in an airtight container With their low moisture and high sugar levels, they are not very hospitable to microbes, and keep well Pasta, Noodles, and Dumplings One of the simplest preparations of cereal flour gave us one of the most popular foods in the world: pasta The word is Italian for “paste” or “dough,” and pasta is nothing more than wheat flour and water combined to make a clay-like mass, formed into small pieces, and boiled in water until cooked through — not baked, as are nearly all other doughs Noodle comes from the German word for the same preparation, and generally refers to pasta-like preparations made outside the Italian tradition The keys to pasta’s appeal ... hospitable to microbes, and keep well Pasta, Noodles, and Dumplings One of the simplest preparations of cereal flour gave us one of the most popular foods in the world: pasta The word is Italian for...from the air and get soft; moist, chewy cookies lose moisture and become dry Cookies are therefore best stored in an airtight container With their low moisture and high sugar levels, they are... not baked, as are nearly all other doughs Noodle comes from the German word for the same preparation, and generally refers to pasta-like preparations made outside the Italian tradition The keys to pasta’s appeal