What determines the softness of a cookie?!


Question: I love soft baked cookies, I don't know what determines their softness though. I want to make chocolate chip cookies but not crisp ones. Any ideas??


Answers: I love soft baked cookies, I don't know what determines their softness though. I want to make chocolate chip cookies but not crisp ones. Any ideas??
I also prefer softer cookies, this is the method and recipe I use:
Use the recipe on the back of the nestle toll house bag (single batch) but reduce the white sugar from 3/4 cup to 1/4 cup and use a package of instant pudding mix in it's place. Be sure you cream the butter (I use margarine but use butter if you prefer), sugars and pudding together until it's fluffy, add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Also, before you add the flour,salt and soda- mix them together in a seperate bowl so it's all combined. When you add it into the wet ingredients, mix as little as possible to get it incorperated.
Huge cookies tend to get crispy at the edges so try to keep them small. bake them until they just start browning a little bit, the center can still be a little smushy. Let them cool for a few minutes on the pan (which will finish cooking the center) then cool them on a rack or paper towels. It's good to store them in an airtight container or ziplock bag, but they don't stay soft and delicious for long. I'd suggest making only what you're going to eat in a day or 2 and baking a fresh pan later (you can refrigerate the cookie dough for up to a week and freeze it for several months.)
never over cook. You want to pull them out JUST when the edges look done, but not the center remove from the cookie sheet as soon as you can move them with tearing apart. Better yet, bake them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then you can get them off the sheet immediately and still let them cool a bit. Remember allowing them to cool on the pan will continue to cook them.
When manufacturers started making soft cookies in the 1980s, the primary change they made was switching from sugar to corn syrup.
don't leave them in as long.

take them out. let them set a few minutes.

care full remove them and let them cook on a paper plate or plastic.

not a wire rack.
I find brown sugar makes softer cookies than white. Also, here's a helpful trick - take the tray of cookies out halfway and thump it hard on the countertop and put back in for the remainder of the cook time. The result? The cookies fall and voila, soft centre.
I got this advice from allrecipes.com. To make your cookies soft and chewy, try using more brown sugar than granulated sugar. Like if a recipe calls for 3/4 cup brown sugar and 3/4 cup granulated sugar, use 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar. Also, instead of using the whole egg(the yolk and the whites) use only the egg yolk. This will make it softer. The sugar part also helps in making the cookie more soft and chewy. Oh, and it also said to take the cookies out of the oven before they are all the way done, and let it finish cooking on the pan. Hope this helps!
Don't use all butter. Use half butter and half shortening. Also don't overcook them.
Be careful not to overcook and let them cool on wax paper-they won't look done but they will be perfectly chewy on the inside.. and another AWESOME tip:

****if they do get overcooked and are hard-put them in an air tight tupperware with a piece of bread overnight. the bread will be rock hard in the morning and the cookies will be SOFT!
I know this sounds strange ...but trust me it works. Take a small baggie of potato chips and smash until fine and add it to your cookie dough, just add a little less salt to the recipe because the chips are salty. You can't taste the chips. They will taste like soft-batch cookies.




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