What do I do wrong when Baking cookies?

Question

As a treat I sometimes bake with my little sisters however whenever we attempt to make Chocolate chip cookies they always come out wrong. They rise up and are very soft but not like crumbley soft, it's more like bread soft in the middle, we never use self raising flour so I dont think its that.I've tried many different recipes but they all end up the same, we end with a bread sort of biscute which tastes nice but its not like cookies. we normaly use; Flour, brown and white sugar, baking soda, eggs, un salted butter, vanilla extract, pinch of salt, and chocolate chips ofcourse. (I think thats all the stuff we use) Anyway can someone tell me if I am doing somthing wrong or give me a recipe which should work please :)

Answer 1

Sounds like too much baking powder and/or eggs too large. I can have too much rise when I use eggs from my own chickens as they are twice the size of store ones. Another problem is that American egg sizes are different to UK egg sizes (a UK large is an American extra-large) so it depends where the recipe comes from.

With baking powder, for cookies you need no more than 4 LEVEL teaspons per pound of flour. Use a proper measuring spoon, not one from the cutlery drawer as they are often oversized.  

Answer 2

try using margarine instead of butter, this can make a big difference in some recipies, that's what I use and mine turn out fine

Answer 3

Don't know what you're doing wrong, but try going to this site:

www.VeryBestBaking.com - this will get you to the site for recipes where you will find the original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Look through the recipe and see if there's something you're doing or not that you need to change.

If you like to bake, browse through the rest of this site, it's a great inspiration for people who do.

Answer 4

SOME PRACTICAL COOKIE MAKING TIPS

1. When making cookies, use as little flour as possible to make the proper consistency for the cookie type you're preparing.  For example, when making drop cookies, only add enough flour to make a dough which is sticky and is intended to be dropped from a spoon or ice-cream scoop.  If you're making rolled cookies, you will usually need to add more flour to make a stiff dough which is capable of being rolled out.  Keeping this in mind, you will want to add as little flour as you can manage, since the more flour you add, the less sweet, tender and light your cookies are likely to turn out.

  Knowing the variability factors concerning flour quantities, many older recipes and cookbooks did not stipulate how much flour to add to baking recipes, instead relying on the cook's experienced judgement.  Many factors dictate the appropriate flour quantity to add in any given recipe.  The quality, mill, protein content, humidity (weather), moisture content within the flour, and the age of the flour used are all important considerations.

2. Use the least amount of mixing required to combine ingredients once the flour has been added in order to prevent toughness in the finished product.

3. Make substitutions at your own risk!  You may sometimes substitute one shortening for another successfully, but in many cases, substituting butter for Crisco (for example) will cause your cookies to spread more quickly and you will need to adjust the baking temperature to a higher temperature in order to "set" your cookies before they spread too much.  Substituting non-caloric sweeteners such as Splenda for sugar is NOT recommended.

  Sugar provides structure, flavor, and browning to baked goods, and without it you may end up with burned cookie crumbs instead of cookies.

  In all cases, substitutions will alter the finished product.  In some cases, this will be an acceptable result, but not always.  Caveat emptor!

4. Use only light colored, shiny cookie sheets.  Dark colored pans will cause cookies to burn on the bottom.  When greasing cookie sheets, use oil or shortening in preference to butter.  An excessive amount of shortening will cause cookies to spread on pan.  If your recipe contains a high ratio of butter, bake cookies on ungreased sheets.  Choose cookie sheets that allow approximately 2 inches of space from the edges of the pan to the oven wall.  Bake only one cookie sheet at a time for best results.  Use a rack that is slightly below the center of the oven.

  Do not place cookie dough on warm cookie sheets to prevent spreading.

Answer 5

1) try using half butter and half Crisco

2) try putting your dough in the refrigerator for an hour before baking

3) bake at a bit of a higher temp for a shorter time

good luck  

Answer 6

it could be the oven- you should put them on the top rack for half the time, then for the other half put them on the bottom rack, (assuming u have a top and bottom rack) this is supposed to create a  more even cook. I hope this helps you with your problem.

Answer 7

Make sure your oven is properly preheated. The cookies should always be placed on a baking tray that is at room temperature. If you re-use the baking trays don't put cookie mixture on hot trays. Don't use trays that have high sides because the heat distribution during cooking will not be even. Also, it's best to bake the cookies in the centre of the oven. Temperature is very important so make sure you bake them at the temperature your recipe says.

Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Ingredients:

150g softened butter

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 3/4 cups plain flour

1/2 cup dark chocolate bits

1/2 cup milk chocolate bits

Method:

Preheat oven to 160°C. Line 2 baking trays with non-stick paper. Beat  softened butter, caster sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract for 1-2 minutes or until smooth and well combined. Beat in 1 egg.

Stir in 1 3/4 cups plain flour in two batches. Stir in 1/2 cup dark choc bits and 1/2 cup milk choc bits until evenly distributed. Spoon tablespoonfuls of the mixture into balls and place on the lined trays. Press down slightly.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until light golden and cooked. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

This recipe is a little different but tastes great and is very easy:

Ingredients:

180g butter

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups self-raising flour

250g dark or milk choc chips

1/2 cup white choc chips

method:

Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C for fan forced oven). Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in condensed milk, add flour, stir until combined. Add dark/milk and white choc chips, mix well. Roll heaped teaspoonfuls of mixture into small balls, place on greased oven trays, press gently with fork. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

Answer 8

I think its the eggs. They make the cookie dough spongy. try a half-batch without eggs (or with a reduced amt) and see if that works.

Answer 9

buy a bag of chocolate chips (baking ones) and on the back there should be a recipe