Help for flat cookies?

can anyone help me? I can't seem to make a puffy cookie! I've tried recipes from a number of sources, experimented with shortening & margarine vs. butter, bought new baking powder, played with my oven temp - all to no avail. This is a problem with choc chippers, oatmeal and plain ole sugar! Woe is me.

[Kimmie]

A rest in the fridge seems to do the trick. Try a batch with cold cookie dough...and welcome to Cheftalk, Cate.

You might also want to check a previous thread on
Chocolate chip cookies



[ September 07, 2001: Message edited by: Kimmie ]

[nancya]

I agree Kimmie. If the dough is cold the fat spreads more slowly and the cookie is puffier.

An extra 1/2 cup of flour in chocolate chip cookies also makes them a lot puffier.

[Svadhisthana]

Go to www.foodtv.com and do a search for "the puffy". It's a choc. chip cookie recipe from Alton Brown (Good Eats). Also check out the book "Cookwise" by Shirley Corriher. Good luck!

[Kimmie]

Cate,

We do expect some kind of follow-up on your quest for the perfect "puffy" cookie!! I'd be happy with a dozen of those...

[Isa]

Welcome to Chef Talk cate, good luck with you cookie quest.

thanks all for the welcome and responses - what a super forum, so glad I found it!

maybe I'll be brave and jump back into the cookie saddle this weekend with extra flour and cold dough!!

[W.DeBord]

Now that I have cable t.v. I did happen to see the show with Shirley Corriher and I'd most certainly agee with her results with chocolate chip cookies. Maybe FOODTV.com has the whole text where she talks about the differences in flour and fats and what her results where?.


First, I know from experience that adding more flour is absolutely not the right solution unless your recipe is flawed and needs the flour just to balance it out. (That mentioned...if your talking about the tollhouse recipe specificly??? If you use all butter it always turns out flat. The recipe on the chocolate chip bag does need a bit more flour, it won't ever turn out puffy.)

More flour only gives you a tougher/harder cookie not a fluffier cookie.

I think the the fat makes a tremendous difference. Butter spreads the most and gives you a crisp cookie, shortening spreads the least and gives you a softer cookie, then margarine is in between the two.

Although I haven't personally done this, Shirley talks about the type of flour you use and I think it makes sense. She recommends cake flour for puffier cookies. I'd guess a combination of 50/50 butter and shortening and using cake flour would give you the puffiest results (but that's only a guess at this moment).

I also know (from alot of experience)chilling doughs does effect only SOME dough, others aren't helped by cooling. Which ones are effected the most, I haven't really studied this enough to be sure???? I do know that you can shape your dough and freeze it for max. results from that technique (with-out defrosting before baking), if you want to try.


I really can't answer your question, the more I think about it....it's all in the proportions of the recipe. I certainly haven't found a puffy cookie that can also be described as moist. My puffest cookies have always been closer to shortbread in texture....(which I like, but...)?

[Kimmie]

All you have said so far makes sense to me, W. and I wanted to thank for that.

I don't know if you tried Alice Medrich's Chocolate Chip Cookies. I have and stopped looking for a better recipe. I will admit that I tweak it a little bit by substituting Callebaut chocolate "studs" for the chocolate chips called for and by roasting the pecans first. I follow the rest of the recipe "religiously" and the cookies come out puffy with crisp caramelized edges and a rich chewy center...sinfully delicious!

[momoreg]

I agree that butter creates spread, and that the type of flour can really change the texture. You may need to add a bit more baking powder. If the recipe calls for soda, add some powder along with it. Eggs can also give the dough some rise. If you want to post your recipes, cate, we can figure out the culprit.

[Isa]

Reading this thread made me wonder what's more important the chocolate or the dough?

I vote for a good balance between the two.

[nancya]

Actually, Wendy, you're right. I should have been specific. The extra half cup of flour is for the tollhouse recipe, not all recipes.

Adding more flour would turn some cookies into rocks, wouldn't it?

[isaac]

there are two things you can do. the first is to add a litte more flour. i would start off maybe going 1/4 to 1/2 more flour. my mom taught me this trick. she makes a darn good cookie.

the second thing you can do is not to cream your butter and sugar for so long. the more you cream the butter and sugar, the more it will spread. the less you cream your butter and sugar, the more it will hold its shape and not spread.

hope this helps.

[Kimmie]

For many cookie recipes, I prefer melting the butter rather than creaming it. It works well for chocolate chip cookies.

[isaac]

kimmie,


why does it work better? i am curious.