[rptilenin]

I have found two different recipes for Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookies online. There are but slight variations in each, the wild cards are that one recipe calls for instant espresso powder(http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/se..._recipe.jhtml), and the other calls for ground oatmeal (http://www.recipezaar.com/13325).

i just have a few questions: first of all, has anyone made either or both of these cookies and which recipe makes the better cookie? secondly, even if you haven't made either recipe, which would you theorize would be better? and finally, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of butter, i commonly use 1/2 cup of butter flavored shortening and a 1/2 cup of margerine. both neiman marcus recipes online call for butter. so do you think i should stick with real butter, or do you think my usual combination will work just as well?

[cookieguy]

Remember that going back and forth between butter and shortening or magarine affects the fat and moisture content; also the type of fat. Both butter and margarine are 80% fat; shortenings are 100% fat. Both margarine and shortening are hydrogenated which results in higher levels of trans fat. Butter is higher in saturated fat but, what the heck, you're making a high quality cookie..go with butter. By the way, these NM recipes have been around forever, supposedly bought by a customer. What's more important to know here are you trying to make a soft or crisp cookie?

[rptilenin]

i have been searching for the perfect chocolate chip cookie for years now, i can never stick with one recipe the way it for very long. for a while i was hooked on making choc chip cookies with instant pudding mix in them. those were good for a while, but not great. i think the ideal choc chip cookie, is a nice, buttery crisp around the edges, but soft and chewy, almost doughey on the inside. i have thought of maybe sudbstituting out like a tsp to a tblsp of corn syrup or molasses for the br or white sugar and i have tried hundreds of different combos of sugar proportions.

i want them to have that bakery fresh quality and longevity to them, and again with the buttery crisp edges and soft/chewy center to last at least 3-5 days in an air-tight container.

any suggestions?

[cookieguy]

The crisp edge - soft middle will only last 1 day. Moisture will migrate from the middle to the edges overnight. This short time frame is OK for the home baker or retail shop where the cookies are gone in a day. Otherwise you really have to choose - crisp or soft. Corn syrup and other liquid sugars are great for soft cookies. Just try to reduce moisture elsewhere in the recipe or the cookies may spread too much. Or use some cake flour to hold them back and leave all the moisture in. Commercial bakeries have many liquid sugars available that the home baker or even retail shops do not, so you may not be able to achieve what you have seen elsewhere. Don't use liquid sugars in crisp cookies. Soft cookies are baked hotter and faster and removed while still doughy. Crisp are baked cooler and longer. For a chocolate chip cookie the dough is a carrier for the chips. The dough should be clean tasting, sweet with hints of butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Leave all the weird crap out. Good luck.