[Dagger]

THis is a standard recipe that has been around for years but it can come out different ways every time you make it. Has anyone taken this recipe apart and found way of tweaking it to make different texture cookies from the same recipe by changing things around?

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 measuring tsp. baking soda
1 measuring tsp. salt
1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1 measuring tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 (12 oz.) pkg. (2 c.) Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In small bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In Large bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract; beat until creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in chocolate morsels and nuts. Drop by level measuring tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 9 to 11 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen 2 1/4" cookies.
Pan Cookie Variation: Prepare dough as directed. Spread in to greased 15 1/2" x 10 1/2" x 1" baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool; cut into 35 (2") squares.

Refrigerator Variation: Prepare dough as directed. Divide in half; wrap both halves separately in waxed paper. Chill 1 hour or until firm. On waxed paper, shape each dough half into 15" log. Roll up in waxed paper; chill 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut each log into 30 (1/2") slices. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Makes 5 dozen 2 1/4" cookies.

[panini]

haven't done for this recipe but I'm constantly doing it with other recipes. You can alter a recipe in many ways. formulas, method and proceedure, ingredients. If your altering for a specific effect then the first step is to take every measure to achieve consistancy in ingredients or other wise it's futile.
flours pretty much have to be chosen, not bought. Grocery APF may differ 3,4,5% in protiens. If you don't adjust your mixing to % of protien/gluten you will have a variation in each batch.
It's fun to play, but if you get that one batch that "flips your switch" and you haven't approached the tweak from a chemistry point of view, chances are you won't get it again.
pan
by chemistry I mean documentation, etc.

[AprilB]

My aunt would always use Crisco. Made them crispy (which I personally love) You could probably use the butter flavor Crisco that they have out now for a butter flavored crispy same effect.

I love my krispy kookies!

[Mangilao30]

I am not sure who did the tweeking, whether it was Alton Brown or Cook's Illustrated but I remeber them doing a bunch of experiments.

For a more crisp cookie, I think it was something like adding more baking soda etc..And adding milk for a softer cookie. I am going to try to find some links....

http://www.baking911.com/cookies/101_tips.htm

http://www.post-gazette.com/food/200...es1129fnp1.asp

Hope this helps.

[Mezzaluna]

Yes, Mangilao, and I think it also included changing the proportion of white sugar to brown. I think it was Cooks Illustrated. Maybe I'll dig it up.

[Suzanne]

For baked goods, the one way to (almost) ensure consistent results is to weigh ingredients instead of measuring by volume. There can be huge variations in the amount of flour in a cup depending on how "fluffed" it is before measuring, or how much it gets packed in the measuring cup, or how straight across the top of the cup it's wiped.

Another variable is the eggs: even eggs of the same "size" can differ. So again, if you use an identical weight of shelled eggs (already mixed together yolk and white), you're more likely to have the same results.