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batter and give it an elasticity that traps air and contributes to rising. The eggs should be at room temperature, which makes them more easily absorbed into the batter. The discrepancy in temperature between the creamed mixture and chilled eggs can cause curdling. And room-temperature eggs have the best elasticity and ability to expand when beaten.
    To quickly bring cold eggs to room temperature, place the uncracked eggs in a bowl, cover with hot tap water, and let stand for about 5 minutes. Eggs are easier to separate when they are chilled. For separated eggs, place the yolks and whites in separate bowls, place each bowl in a larger bowl of warm water, and let stand until the contents lose their chill, about 5 minutes.
    D RIED EGG WHITES are used to make royal icing, the slick and shiny coating that decorates sugar cookies. This icing was originally made with raw egg whites, which many bakers prefer to avoid because of the possibility of salmonella contamination. You’ll find dried egg whites at well-stocked supermarkets. M ERINGUE POWDER , which is dried egg whites with sugar and stabilizers added, is available at cake decorating suppliers and hobby shops and can be substituted for the dried egg whites. Both of these products need to be reconstituted with water. You can also make royal icing with liquid egg whites, sold in cartons from the refrigerated section of the market. Like the dried products, LIQUID EGG WHITES are pasteurized and safe to use for the uncooked icing.
    SUGAR
    Classic cookies use sugar as the main sweetener. Sugar can be processed from either sugar cane or sugar beets, but most bakers have a strong preference for cane sugar, as beet sugar doesn’t behave reliably in all applications (such as melting to make caramel). Look for the words “cane sugar” on the packaging. G RANULATED SUGAR , with medium-size crystals, is the sugar most often used for cookie dough.
    C ONFECTIONERS ’ SUGAR , also called powdered sugar, is finely ground sugar with a little cornstarch added to discourage clumping. Used for icings and frostings and for decorating, it is usually sifted first to remove lumps.
    B ROWN SUGAR used to be a by-product of the sugar-making process, but these days it is usually just crystallized sugar that has been sprayed with molasses for flavor and color. The amount of molasses creates light or dark sugar, which are interchangeable, depending on how much molasses flavor you like. M USCOVADO SUGAR is brown sugar made by the traditional methods, a factor that adds to its cost. Always store brown sugar in an airtight container to keep it from absorbing moisture from the air and clumping. Don’t use lumpy brown sugar in cookie dough, as the baked cookies will be dotted with undissolved brown sugar. To return lumpy brown sugar to its original state, rub it through a coarse-mesh wire sieve to break down the lumps.
    LEAVENING
    The two most common leavenings for cookies are baking powder and baking soda. (A third leavening, yeast, is not used in this book.) During mixing, tiny air bubbles are incorporated into the cookie dough. The leavenings create carbon dioxide to inflate the bubbles, making the dough rise.
    B AKING SODA (bicarbonate of soda) is an alkali. Mix it with an acidic ingredient (such as buttermilk, sour cream, vinegar, lemon juice, brown sugar, molasses, or natural cocoa powder), moisten it, and carbon dioxide forms.
    B AKING POWDER does not need an acidic ingredient to be activated. It is made of baking soda combined with a dry acidic ingredient (usually aluminum sodium sulfate). When moistened, the baking powder creates carbon dioxide to make the cookies rise. Commercial baking powder is almost always labeled “double-acting,” which means that the baking powder is initially activated when moistened, but the heat of the oven creates a second burst of leavening the batter. Some bakers, including me, find that since baking powders with aluminum by-products have a bitter flavor that can be