Chocolate chip cookies

[Virginia Plain]

I'm a master with flour and sugar but for the life of me cannot make a decent chocolate chip cookie.  How do I make cookies that aren't flat round disks with lumps of chocolate? 

Typically, I use the Toll House recipe.  A friend recently told me to use baking powder instead of soda and margarine instead of butter.

[monster2]

Hate to tell you this, but the key is crisco.

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[merigayle]

I would buy an oven thermometer and make sure your oven is the right temp.

[BonitaApplebum]

No, not margarine!!!!

You could try splitting the butter to half butter, half shortening.

[Virginia Plain]

Hate to tell you this, but the key is crisco.

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Yeah?  1 cup? 

[caribougrrl]

keep using butter and chill your cookies before putting them in the oven

[monster2]

Yes, I suggest the butter flavor.

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[witchypoo]

keep using butter and chill your cookies before putting them in the oven

1.

 and does your recipe call for using soda, powder, or a mix of both?

[redkitty]

Without going into all of the details, google "chemistry of baking cookies" and you will get lots of info about  how to make cookies and why they get flat or rise, crispy, chewy, etc.

A good way to make them not flatten out as much...do as caribougrrl suggested, or if you don't want to wait for the dough to get cold again...don't use room temperature butter. Make sure it is cold. I used to never take my butter out to let it sit (mainly because I often make cookies as an after thought and didn't want to wait for butter to soften.) They cookies turn out fine...a bit more work to mix the ingredients, but not that much harder. Though I am not necessarily against Crisco, real butter just tastes better...I would try this way before going Crisco route.

[merigayle]

dough chilling seems to be the key

[rocketgirl]

I would eat all of those cookies.

My most recent frustration is apparently they don't cook on the bottom with the air bake pan. (I am using pre-made, pre-cut grocery cookie dough because I usually only make 6 at a time).  I like my cookies crunchy on the bottom. 

Everyone recommends baking stones, but I may just learn to love soggy cookies.  The air bake pan is light and easy to deal with.

[onawhim]

Have to rest them.

http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1015819-chocolate-chip-cookies

[wombleatwimbledon]

Sugar types and ratios seems to help with the chewiness
Flour and fillers like nuts will help with bulk

A recipe my kids are loving right now are Afghan Biscuits ( long long time kiwi staple) ( not exactly or even close chock chip bikkies but really popular)

200g butter (softened)
½ cupCaster Sugar or Organic Raw Sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 ¼ cups of plain flour
¼ cup cocoa
1 ½ cups cornflakes (or crushed weetbix)

Topping ( which I often omit)
Chocolate icing plus 1/2 walnut

Method
Preheat your oven to 180°C. Grease or line a baking tray with baking paper.
In a large bowl beat butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Sift in the flour and cocoa, add the cornflakes then stir thoroughly until the mixture is combined.
Place heaped teaspoonfuls onto a baking tray, squeeze mixture together gently if necessary then press lightly with a fork.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before icing.

Ice biscuits and top each one with half a walnut.

[Virginia Plain]

1.

 and does your recipe call for using soda, powder, or a mix of both?

1 tsp of soda

[The Turtle Whisperer]

Nuts.

The missing ingredient to the perfect chocolate chip cookie is nuts. 

[Virginia Plain]

Nuts.

The missing ingredient to the perfect chocolate chip cookie is nuts. 

No. 

I don't nut my baked goods. 

[merigayle]

No. 

I don't nut my baked goods.

Me either, esp carrot cake, so much better, imo, nut free!!

[Virginia Plain]

Me either, esp carrot cake, so much better, imo, nut free!!

Esp carrot cake!!!

[JBM]

I swear when I came home yesterday my building smelled either like cookies or brownies, it was hard to tell, but someone baked something. I'm now thinking about making cookies this weekend.

I use the Toll house recipe as well and I have zero patience for chilling dough. I think a big part comes down to how cold the butter is. If I let it get way too soft, they flatten out more. I like a little crispiness to my cookie vs chewy.

[BonitaApplebum]

I used to be anti-nut in my baked goods -- big time.

My BFF is an amazing baker, however, and she's turned me to the dark side. Nuts in everything!!!

[caribougrrl]

I used to hate nuts in baking... until I realized the reason I hated them is that most people use nuts sparingly and they go stale/rancid and taste terrible... or they buy them from open-bin bulk food places and they start out stale or with other flavours absorbed from sharing air space with other food.  But good, fresh nuts are a joy in baked goods.  (I buy nuts at Costco... bulk food prices but high turnover means consistently new product... also, they are sealed in a bag.)

Except brownies should never ever ever have nuts.

[BonitaApplebum]

I used to hate nuts in baking... until I realized the reason I hated them is that most people use nuts sparingly and they go stale/rancid and taste terrible... or they buy them from open-bin bulk food places and they start out stale or with other flavours absorbed from sharing air space with other food.  But good, fresh nuts are a joy in baked goods.  (I buy nuts at Costco... bulk food prices but high turnover means consistently new product... also, they are sealed in a bag.)

Except brownies should never ever ever have nuts.

Yes!!! Quality nuts make ALL the difference.

[The Turtle Whisperer]

I used to be anti-nut in my baked goods -- big time.

My BFF is an amazing baker, however, and she's turned me to the dark side. Nuts in everything!!!

God damn right nuts in everything!  Anything else is pure heresy! 

[witchypoo]

1 tsp of soda

butter and soda should work just fine.  you could try powder only. 

this is the recipe i use: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/4737-perfect-chocolate-chip-cookies
and the texture is pretty perfect.

[Virginia Plain]

Update:  1/2 tsp soda, 1/2 tsp powder, 1/2 cup butter 1/2 butter Crisco.  Lots of refrigeration involved.  Refrigerated the dough and pans. Oh and I added more flour too.   

HUGE difference.  Got exactly what I looking for and the family loved them.

[merigayle]

Update:  1/2 tsp soda, 1/2 tsp powder, 1/2 cup butter 1/2 butter Crisco.  Lots of refrigeration involved.  Refrigerated the dough and pans. Oh and I added more flour too.   

HUGE difference.  Got exactly what I looking for and the family loved them.

yay!

[BonitaApplebum]

Now I want cookies.

[rocketgirl]

Now I want cookies.

I always want cookies.  I LOVE cookies.

[nadra24]

I used to make really awesome cookies, but I cannot for the life of me get them to turn out here. Part of it is my shitty rental oven that won't stay at 375, part of it is that high altitude directions are for 3500 feet and above but they aren't cutting it at 6800 feet. If my over were more reliable it might be worth experimenting, but for now I'll just eat the dough.

[Natasha]

Nuts make everything a health food. :heart:

[The Turtle Whisperer]

Nuts make everything a health food. :heart:

Sing it!!   

[JBM]

I made cookies this weekend. The butter was out 'softening' way longer than it should of. I got held up voting. Anyway, they came out flat, but have a crispiness to them which I like. I now have 4 dozen cookies to deal with. I gave away 6 to my date yesterday and I've been eating them like crazy. They go well with tea at 7am. 

[teetime]

Except brownies should never ever ever have nuts.

Never ever?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/peanut-butter-and-fudge-brownies-with-salted-peanuts-236893

(I need to try these with a gluten free flower mix not that I finally found confirmed gluten free peanuts.)

[caribougrrl]

Never ever?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/peanut-butter-and-fudge-brownies-with-salted-peanuts-236893

(I need to try these with a gluten free flower mix not that I finally found confirmed gluten free peanuts.)

those look like chocolate peanut butter squares, not brownies...


(I also don't believe in frosting on brownies)

[rocketgirl]

Never ever?

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/peanut-butter-and-fudge-brownies-with-salted-peanuts-236893

(I need to try these with a gluten free flower mix not that I finally found confirmed gluten free peanuts.)

Never ever.  The texture is weird baked in.  Although I've had brownies with crushed salted peanuts ON TOP and raspberry sauce of some sort that were good.  Honestly, brownies aren't even one of my favorite foods.  Usually they are either too dry or too much like cake.  Although I do like the espresso brownies at a local coffee shop.  I even like them as leftovers when they dry out a bit, but the texture is more like crunchy fudge when they get dry.

[caribougrrl]

I started a brownie thread for the continued debate on this... (also, we can clearly use a brownie recipe collection here)

http://chrunners.net/forum/index.php?topic=111725.0