[benhuston89]

So I am trying to develope a chocolate chip cookie recipe . I need to have a soft chewy cookie first and formost , I do not want any browning if the cookie . The cookies are small 7 grams . I have been using sweetex high ratio shortening in the recipe . Does the type of shortening I use effect the spreading of the cookie ? I have been having a problem with the cookies deflating when they come out of the oven . I am using both baking soda and powder in eqUal amounts . Does anybody have any suggestions on how I can solve these problems ?

 

[chefpeon]

In order to achieve the results you want, you need to understand the function of each ingredient in your cookie. This web page is a good place to start:

http://www.handletheheat.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Here's another article of interest:

http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2013/12/the-food-lab-the-best-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

To answer your questions specifically:

1) The type of shortening (fat) you use does affect spread. Shortening (high ratio too) has no water content, so whatever you bake with it won't spread as much as if you'd used butter (assuming you haven't overcreamed the fat and sugars in the first place). On the subject of overcreaming, let me also add that your technique in mixing the dough affects your outcome as much as the type of ingredients you use.

When you use butter as your fat, you can expect a little more spread and somewhat crisper edges.

It's very possible your cookies are deflating not because of the high ratio shortening, but because you may have overcreamed or you may also have too much baking soda or sugar in your recipe. Too much soda causes spread and too much sugar also causes spread.

Have you tried using an already tested chocolate chip cookie recipe and making tweaks to it, rather than building a recipe from the ground up? That's an easier way to do it.

Last word: although shortening can create a higher and lighter cookie, you really lose a lot in flavor. To me, shortening is NOT worth it. I'd never use it in a chocolate chip cookie myself. You can create nice thick cookies with butter; it's not impossible.....I've done it for years.

Also, I must ask, why no browning? Pale cookies are kind of......unappetizing.

 

[benhuston89]

Hey Chef I appreciate the response . I have started with a basic chocolate chip recipe and have been working from that. I understand the creaming the technique in theory , but when u say overcreamed what would overcreamed look like ? Do you cream your fat for an exact amount of time or is it a visual thing for you? I decided to use shortening because I need a reliable shelf life , and my understanding was is that butter with a higher water content would go rancid . I would like to have at lest a 1 month shelf life . Do you ever use dough conditioner in your cookies ?
Thanks again

 

[chefpeon]

Hey Chef I appreciate the response . I have started with a basic chocolate chip recipe and have been working from that. I understand the creaming the technique in theory , but when u say overcreamed what would overcreamed look like ? Do you cream your fat for an exact amount of time or is it a visual thing for you? I decided to use shortening because I need a reliable shelf life , and my understanding was is that butter with a higher water content would go rancid . I would like to have at lest a 1 month shelf life . Do you ever use dough conditioner in your cookies ?
Thanks again

Well, first off, I must say, if you care at all about a quality product, the expectation of a 1 month shelf life is not even remotely realistic. At all. What kind of market are you shooting for? From what I can tell in the information provided so far, taste and quality are secondary to sales and shelf life. Correct me if I'm wrong. There are plenty in the "big food" market that provide chocolate chip cookies with an extended shelf life (Nabisco, etc) and I'm sure that's achieved with modern technology and yes, dough conditioners. Are you trying to compete with them? Trying to understand your purpose here.

A chocolate chip cookie made with butter or combination of butter/shortening will go stale before it goes rancid.

Regarding overcreaming: The basic rule is, the more you cream the butter or shortening and sugars at the beginning of the mixing process, the more air you are whipping into it. All that air deflates in the oven, showing first as a puffy rise, then settling into a flat spread. The more you cream, the flatter the cookie. But again, overcreaming is just ONE cause of an overly flat cookie. There are other causes too, like too much sugar or too much soda, or not enough flour, to name a few. When I make chocolate chip cookies, I don't want much spread, so despite what many recipes say (cream til light and fluffy), I only mix my fat and sugars together til well incorporated, then I start adding the rest of my ingredients. Hope that helps.

 

[sundriedfry]

Yumm, It sounds like you 2 are working out an especially tasty treat.

 

[flipflopgirl]

Most of my cookies start with butter.

Cold butter.

Not straight from the fridge but I don't wait long before chopping the block up and creaming with the sugars.

I start on slow and advance to medium (by that time I will be ready for the eggs and drys).

Friction plus the heat of the mixer warms the fat just enuf to incorporate with the sugars.

When done I stick the entire mixer bowl in the walk in to firm up.

Then I scoop up the portions and store in freezer in a tub.

Fresh cookies all the time!

mimi

If you insist on using shortening you could try freezing it and start from there I suppose.

mimi

Any add ins are incorporated with a silicone paddle by hand.