Friday, July 24, 2009

Chocolate Friday - Chocolate Tip #1


Do your chocolate chip cookies turn out the same every single time? Mine don't. And I found out the reason why. Sometimes I would melt the butter because I was in a hurry and didn't want to wait for it to soften. Sometimes (ok all the time) I wouldn't bother to measure some ingredients and just say "that looks about right" and tossed it in.

Here are some tips to make your chocolate chip cookies just the way you want them, whether chewy or crispy.

Did you know that you shouldn't scoop out the flour with the cup you're measuring it in? You spoon it into the measuring cup and then level it with a butter knife.

Sugar makes a difference too. More brown sugar makes a cookie softer and chewier (I personally like mine this way and only use brown sugar). White sugar will make the cookie sandier and crisper overall.

Butter and eggs: it depends on the temperature. Cooler ingredients will keep the dough cooler and will make the cookie spread more slowly in the oven. The oven's heat "sets" the cookie while the dough is still thick thus making a thicker, chewier cookie.

And cool those cookie sheets between batches if you want the chewy cookies. Also, on humid days, if you are trying to keep a cookie crisp, wrap them well. The humidity will soften even the crunchiest of cookies.

I hope you enjoyed your tip for baking cookies. For more "treats" on chocolate go visit Lisa. She's got the greatest recipes.


Until next time...

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

What great tips! I always chill my dough after mixing them up... keeps them from getting too flat!

But you use ONLY brown sugar in your cookies?

Robyn said...

Great tips on cookies!

Unknown said...

Great tips Jen! Good to know! I am always impatient with the butter myself! :)

Kat said...

Good tips Jen. For years my dear friend made these great chocolate chip cookies. I thought they were so amazing they were the only ones I have ever had trouble resisting. You used to make me a batch for Christmas and for my birthday. One day I asked her what her recipe was. She said, "Kathleen it's the recipe you gave me!" No joke. It is all in the way you do it when it comes to baking! Good reminders.

JenT said...

In reply to knit1kids4: when I make chocolate chip cookies I only use brown sugar. When I'm trying a new cookie recipe, however, I follow it exactly.

Tania @ Larger Family Life said...

I'm going to try the scooping flour into the cup thing. Surely it can't make too much of a difference?!

Or can it?