Summer is nearly year-round in southeast Texas so it should be no surprise that the free stuff to see and do in the sprawling metropolitan area of the nation’s fourth-biggest city focuses on the outdoors.A few basic cookie maneuvers:
•A disher in the 2-ounce range is perfect for dipping out sticky dough like chocolate chip and oatmeal, which should go onto sheets of parchment paper so they can easily slide off and on the cookie sheets.
•To apportion small-diameter flat cookies, plop the dough down onto a piece of parchment paper and fold roughly into a log shape. Fold one side of the paper over and position the lip of a sheet pan against the dough. Hold the top paver while pushing the pan firmly away, which will force the dough into a smooth cylinder. Chill briefly and then cut into three pieces. Then cut into wafers with an old-fashioned butter-pat cutter.
•For cookies that require rolling on the counter, instead of using flour to prevent sticking, put the dough between two pieces of parchment paper and roll.
