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I love sweets. But I must admit I do not love mediocre cookies. There are so few really, really great tasting cookies. Even when my friends or I bake them at home, they are not fantastic. Where can I buy the BEST cookies? What is the secret to baking awesome cookies?
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15 Comments:
there could be several factors as to why you are unimpressed with your home baking... quality of ingredients, tempermental oven, etc..can you describe a little more what's not so fantastic about your home baking experiments? i've always had luck with baking cookies. there's a couple of things that i do which (IMO) make them great. first, use good ingredients. if using chocolate, don't buy supermarket store brand, because you can truly taste the difference. i wouldnt splurge on valhrona unless you're really wanting to impress someone, but ghirardelli and hershey's (both available at my chain supermarkets) are pretty decent. and something that's made a world of difference in my cookies is to chill the dough for about a half hour before scooping onto cookie sheets and putting in the oven.
french tart at 10:54AM on 08/14/07
I agree with french tart. Even though my recipes for cookies are nearly all reworked for food sensitivities, I've been able to make some real winners (IMHO). If you like oatmeal cookies, please try my altered recipe, and let me know how it goes.
hereandthe at 11:30AM on 08/14/07
Always use real butter! I find that cookies made with butter are much tastier than cookies made with margarine. Quality ingredients are key.
Library Lady at 12:22PM on 08/14/07
I agree with french tart. I buy the Ghirardelli chips exclusively for chocolate-related cookies, use really good quality extracts, and unbleached AP flour. It does make a difference. Using parchment all the time helps, regardless of what the recipe says. It keeps your cookies from sticking and ensures even baking. I also use Oxo cookie scoops, which keeps cookies consistently sized. Remember, too, that the weather will also have an impact on your baking. And finally, like the old adage says, practice makes perfect. If you want some surefire recipes, please let me know!
PAWriter at 12:56PM on 08/14/07
i second the use of parchment. definitely.
and oh my god. .. are there really people out there who use margarine in cookie recipes?
blasphemy.
butter all the way!
french tart at 2:03PM on 08/14/07
Okay, this is going to sound utterly gross but my trick for making really chewy cookies is to add about 1/4 cup of karo syrup to my cookie dough (yeah...sounds nasty, I know)!
Also, bake your cookies about 5-10 degrees lower than the recipe calls for and take them out just as they are looking slightly underdone because the residual heat will cook them the rest of the way and you'll have a nice soft, gooshy, chewy cookie. BUT, if you prefer crispy cookies then by all means cook them for the remaining time and keep them a bit longer in the oven to crisp up even more. :)
cheffy at 2:20PM on 08/14/07
I can see how corn syrup would do that, and I'm not so sure it's gross. Sounds intriguing.
Baking with margarine, on the other hand, is definitely gross, in addition to blasphemous.
Heh-heh.
PAWriter at 5:59PM on 08/14/07
There is a good recipe on cookie madness that I think was a macadamia cranberry white choc chip cookie and the thing that took it up a notch was macadamia and cashew nut butter. I've also done a double peanut double choc cookie from epicurious and that has peanut butter in. So I think its the richness of nut butter that makes my favourite cookies...
jennywenny at 6:12PM on 08/14/07
If they seem done when they come out of the oven, then they'll be dry and overcooked by the time they cool.
The edges should just be set and the centers should be gooey. If you eat them (or remove them from the cookie tray) at this point, they'll fall apart. I use parchment paper and slide the whole batch off and let them cool. What was once underdone and fall-apart-gooey becomes chewy and perfect.
My recipe for chocolate-cherry-almond cookies is my favorite :-) They constantly get reviews like "you need to sell these" from anyone who eats them!
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 8:44PM on 08/14/07
I love baking cookies, and I especially love finding a great cookie recipe that is new to me. Cheryl & Co are about the only cookies I will pay dearly for. Their iced sugar cookies are unbeatable. I wish I could find a recipe that good!
amylou61 at 11:03PM on 08/14/07
I have just gotten back from a 2-day seminar on soy, and one of the things I learned was that if soy flour is subbed for some of the wheat flour, the baked goods retain their moisture longer and are generally softer than with an all-wheat item. Haven't tried it yet, but it might be worth an exploration.
lemons at 12:09PM on 08/15/07
Hi! I agree with everyone about butter (unsalted, of course), good-quality chocolate (I think Ghirardelli makes really good products), parchment and ice cream scoops. I would also add that in any recipe that calls for light brown sugar, I use dark -- it gives cookies a richer, deeper flavor, less cloyingly sweet. My favorite cookies are "Chocolate Rads," which I clipped out of Bon Appetit about a decade ago -- very rich chocolate cookies. I like to soak dried cherries in whiskey and add them to the batter.
CookiePie at 4:45PM on 08/15/07
When I make oatmeal cookies, molasses cookies, basically any cookie that calls for some spice, I almost always double it. I'm a big fan of flavor, and this can make all the difference if you feel a cookie recipe is bland. Another thing you can experiment with is reducing or increasing the amount of flour in a recipe by 1 to 3 tablespoons; if you want a cookie to spread or become crispier, decrease the flour. For a more cakelike cookie (if that's what you desire, but I wouldn't go this way), you could add a little extra. I've also found that baking 5-10 degrees above the recommendation in a recipe helps with cookies intended to be thin and crispy. Lastly, I love toasted pecans, and there are few cookie recipes that I wouldn't put them in.
I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, but INSULATED BAKING SHEETS will change your life, if you're not already using them, that is.
Oh, and also--sugar cookies benefit from about 1/8 tsp nutmeg (this is the only time I don't double). Gives them that "bakery" taste.
kmnola at 7:41PM on 08/15/07
Thanks everyone for your tips. I usually do use the best ingredients I can find, so I think some of the recipes I have are just fair. I will try some of yours', and just keep on experimenting.
Mich23 at 8:32PM on 08/15/07
Also, I've found that substituting in a little rice flour (no more than 20% of the total flour) makes a crisper cookie, if that's what you're aiming for. Also, the temperature of the butter is crucial to the texture of the cookie.
Rachel10481 at 1:05AM on 08/16/07