Is there anything better than biting into a fresh, warm, chewy cookie? Not much, in our opinion. But, what if, despite your best efforts, you can never quite get your cookies to turn out just right?
Well, you may not be alone. Whether you aspire to be a professional baker or just want to know how to make cookies that won’t break any teeth, you’ll need to figure out the science behind cookie baking.
(ponce_photography / pixabay)
Yes, you read that right; baking is a science. You can find plenty of information and tips on the internet, but you don’t have to; we’ve done the work for you. There are three main steps to making cookies. We have some tips and tricks for each step to help ensure you end up with moist, chewy cookies.
1. Ingredients
The first step to chewy cookies is to have the right ingredients, which may mean substituting or adding specific ingredients to your recipe. Here are some tips on some of the base ingredients in most cookie recipes.
● Flour
A lot of people swear by self-rising flour for moister, chewier cookies. Self-rising flour contains a leavening agent so you may need to reduce the baking powder in your recipe a little. Although a lot of leavening may sound like a great idea, too much can lead to cookies that are either hard and flat or overly fluffy.
● Sugar
The sweetest part of your cookie is the sugar. You may not realize this, but the type of sugar you use will affect how chewy your cookie is and the flavor and color of your cookie. Since we are talking about achieving a chewy cookie, you’ll want to choose brown sugar. Brown sugar contains molasses, which attracts moisture. This will result in your cookies staying moist. You can substitute brown sugar for all or part of the white sugar that most cookie recipes call for.
● Vegetable shortening
To achieve a chewy cookie, you’ll want to substitute the butter for vegetable shortening. Vegetable shortening helps make your cookies chewier because it helps retain moisture during the baking process. You can opt for a butter-flavored shortening if you want more of that buttery flavoring.
● Eggs yolks
The whites of eggs can dry out cookies. Egg yolks contain more fat than egg whites, resulting in more moist and chewy cookies. You can take out the egg whites of one or all of the eggs called for in your recipe and replace them with an extra egg yolk. Additionally, eggs add volume to your cookies, so be sure to beat them well, one at a time.
● Baking soda vs. baking powder
You can swap out baking soda for baking powder in your cookie recipe. The more acidic nature of baking powder causes it to spread less than baking soda. Moist cookies tend to spread less during the baking process, making baking powder the better choice for your delicious chewy cookies.
● Molasses or honey
To create more moisture, you can add up to a tablespoon of molasses or honey into your cookie recipe.
2. Dough
There are many different techniques that you can use while making cookie dough and baking cookies. The methods you use will affect the outcome of your cookies. For moist, chewy cookies, you’ll want to consider the following techniques.
● Measuring cups and spoons
Despite what you might have thought, there truly is a difference between measuring utensils intended for wet ingredients and ones designed for dry ingredients. It is important to use the correct type of measuring utensil for each ingredient, or you may mess up your ingredient ratio, which will affect the result of your cookies.
● Chill out
Although this may not be stated in your cookie recipe, chilling the dough is integral to achieving chewy cookies. Chilling or resting the dough in the fridge for at least an hour will help develop the flavor of the cookies by increasing the sugar content and evaporating some of the water from the dough, which will result in chewier cookies.
● Cookie size
Once your dough is made and has been chilled, you are almost ready to bake. For moist, chewy cookies, you’ll want to use a large scoop, such as an ice cream scoop or large cookie scoop, to shape your cookies into balls. Larger dough balls will not spread as much, which helps keep moisture in the middle of the cookie. You can also choose to do this before chilling your dough by placing the dough balls on a cookie sheet and then, after chill time, putting them straight into the oven.
3. Baking
Finally, we get to the baking part. You are so close to enjoying the fruits (well, cookies) of your labors. But, not using the proper baking techniques can ruin all of your hard work and effort. Don’t let that happen to you. Consider the following methods to help ensure your cookie success.
● Cookie sheet
Not all cookie sheets are created equal. For best cookie results, you’ll want to choose a cookie sheet that is light in color with low or no sides.
● Parchment paper or silicone liner
Lining your cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat is also a good idea. This will help your cookies bake more evenly, and it will help keep the bottoms from browning too fast.
● Temperature
A good majority of cookie recipes call for an oven temperature of 350°F, but lowering the temperature to 325°F may help achieve your desired results. Baking cookies at a lower temperature obviously adds to the baking time, but it can also help keep more moisture in your cookies, which will yield chewier cookies.
● Bake time
Slightly underbaking your cookies keeps them nice and chewy, too. You don’t want them to be raw in the middle but pulling them out of the oven a minute or two early can make for that perfect texture.
Trying these various tips and tricks will be sure to help you create a deliciously chewy cookie to enjoy or to gift to others. And if you want to get professionally made, delectably chewy cookies to ship as a gift, try a gourmet cookie delivery service. Companies that specialize in deliverable cookies often have the oven technology to create a cookie that will stay fresh in mail transit so that your loved one can enjoy every delectably chewy bite upon arrival.