One of life’s greatest simple pleasures is enjoying a warm chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven. Add a glass of cold milk, and your taste buds are in heaven.
Have you ever tried to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookie? If so, you are like many others who have scoured the internet looking for the perfect recipe. But what is the ideal chocolate chip cookie? Is it soft and gooey or thin and crispy?
As with most things in life, people have varying opinions. What you consider the perfect cookie might differ from what another person finds perfect. Because of this, one perfect cookie recipe doesn’t exist. However, there may be the perfect one for you.
Whatever texture you prefer for chocolate chip cookies, keep reading for tips and tricks to create the perfect cookie outcome.
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Soft And Gooey
When thinking about chocolate chip cookies, most people picture a soft, gooey cookie. While we realize this isn’t everyone’s favorite cookie texture, it is loved by many. To create a soft and gooey texture, consider these tips.
1. Use Brown Sugar
If the recipe calls for granulated sugar, swap it out for brown sugar. Brown sugar has a higher moisture content, which will help to create a softer cookie; however, the sweetness will be the same. Substitute brown sugar for granulated sugar 1:1.
2. Don’t Overbake
To achieve a soft and gooey texture, you want to have your cookies in the oven for the least amount of time possible. Overbaking your cookies will cause them to dry out and harden rather than producing the soft and gooey texture you’ve been excited about.
Bake cookies until they are slightly brown and no longer have a glossy sheen. The centers should still be soft and not entirely set. Once out of the oven, only leave the cookies on the cookie sheet for one or two minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack.
3. Add Molasses Or Honey
To add moisture to your cookies and thereby create more gooeyness, add a tablespoon of molasses or honey. Any more than this will cause too much moisture and sweetness.
*Note: If making the swap for brown sugar, as mentioned above, don’t add any molasses or honey. Brown sugar already has molasses added to it.
4. Egg Yolks
For each egg in the recipe, use two egg yolks instead. Egg yolks don’t dry out as much as egg whites, and they contain more fat, which helps create a softer, chewier cookie.
5. Baking Powder
Because of the higher acidity in baking powder, your cookies won’t spread as much as they will with baking soda. So, swap out the baking soda for powder. Less spreading means thicker cookies which will help achieve the gooeyness you crave.
6. Add Pudding Mix
Adding a package of dry vanilla pudding mix to your cookie dough will help ensure your cookies come out soft and moist.
7. Size Of Chocolate
Swapping out regular chocolate chips for finely shredded chocolate or one large piece of chocolate in the center of the cookie can help create more moisture, resulting in a softer cookie.
8. Rest Your Dough
Allowing your dough to “rest” in the fridge for at least an hour will allow more moisture to saturate the dry ingredients. This will help the cookies bake more evenly and spread slower, creating a soft, chewy cookie. Plus, it will improve the flavor.
9. Mix Correctly
Never overmix your cookie dough; this will cause your dough to be dry and tough. Mix the wet ingredients separately from the dry ingredients. Then, incorporate them together, only mixing until combined.
Also, be sure to use wet measuring cups for wet ingredients and dry measuring cups for dry ingredients. This ensures that you have the correct amount of each ingredient.
Thin And Crispy
If a thin and crispy chocolate chip cookie is more your style, don’t worry; we have tips for those, too.
1. Replace The Brown Sugar
Because of added molasses, brown sugar has more moisture than granulated sugar. You’ll want less moisture for crispier cookies, so swap out brown sugar for regular white sugar. The swap is easy at a 1:1 ratio.
2. Bake At A Lower Temperature
Baking cookies for an extended amount of time at a lower temperature will allow them to spread before they start to rise. This will cause the entire cookie to be crispy rather than just the edges.
3. No Eggs
The moisture and fat in eggs add moisture to cookies and can help cookies to rise. So, eliminating the eggs in your recipe will help to create the thin and crispy cookies your heart desires.
4. Melted Butter
Cold butter does not spread or mix very well, which is why most cookie recipes call for softened butter. However, to help your cookies spread even more and create the perfect amount of crispiness, melt your butter before adding it to your dough.
5. Add Milk
While adding milk might seem like it would have the opposite effect, it will actually help create thinner, crispier cookies. This is because the milk will cause the dough to spread faster in the oven. So, add just a splash of milk to your dough.
6. Don’t Chill
Unlike other cookie recipes, you do NOT want to chill the dough for thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies. The room-temperature dough will spread much more than cold dough. So, after mixing the dough, get right to baking.
7. Rest On The Cookie Sheet
After baking, allow the cookies to remain on the cookie sheet for at least five to ten minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. The added time on the cookie sheet makes the cookies even crispier.
Whether you like your chocolate chip cookies soft and gooey or thin and crispy, these swaps will help you achieve your goal. But keep in mind that it might take a few times before you get your cookies exactly how you want them. Stick with it, and before long, gourmet chocolate chip cookies will be yours.
We love to bake, but we realize that it’s not everyone’s favorite pastime. So if all of this sounds too tricky, there’s another way. Just buy cookies online and have them delivered right to your door.
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Enjoying warm chocolate chip cookies varies per preference. For soft, gooey texture, use brown sugar, avoid overbaking, and incorporate moisture-rich ingredients. For thin, crispy cookies, use white sugar, bake at lower temperatures, and skip eggs. Adjustments ensure your perfect cookie. Whether baking or buying, customize your experience for delicious results.
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