Try these nine handy tips and your next batch of cookies will be your best one yet.

If you're well-versed in the baking world, you know that even the tiniest addition (or subtraction!) of an ingredient can have a significant impact on the final product. But, there are plenty of other factors that can contribute to the outcome of your baked goodies. Below, nine little tweaks to make to your baking routine that will help you make the most delicious and picture-perfect cookies you've ever made.

1 Bring all ingredients to room temperature before starting.

2 Use a cookie scoop to make cookies the same size and shape for even baking and browning.

3 Use rimless baking sheets with slightly slanted lips so heat can circulate around the cookies. If rimmed sheets are all you have in your cupboard, turn them over and use the flat bottoms. Heavy, shiny sheets are best—they bake cookies evenly, prevent bottoms from browning too quickly and do not warp.

4 Be sure to line baking sheets with parchment paper, silicone baking liners, nonstick foil or prepare as directed in recipe.

5 Bake one sheet at a time on rack positioned in the centre of the oven. However, to bake more than one sheet of cookies at a time, position racks in top and bottom thirds of the oven and rotate sheets from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through baking time.

6 If you have only one or two baking sheets, let the sheets cool completely between baking the batches. Hot baking sheets will melt cookie dough, resulting in changes to the texture and the shape of cookies.

7 Always check cookies for doneness at the earliest time called for.

8 Let cookies cool completely on the rack to prevent soggy bottoms.

9 Store crisp and soft cookies separately in airtight containers.

Excerpted from Canadian Living The Complete Christmas Book by the editors of Canadian Living Magazine Copyright © 2007 by the editors of Canadian Living Magazine. Excerpted by permission of Transcontinental Books, a division of Random House of Canada Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.