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Choc Chip Cookie Test

Annie Deighnaugh

11 years ago

I wanted to make choc chip cookies for a picnic and I said, let me check the GW....came across an old thread for Brave Tart so I tried her suggestions and was not impressed. I did add nutmeg, used 2 different kinds of choc, didn't cream the butter sugar too much, chilled the dough overnight and added salt and impressed some chips on top.

The results, even 1/4 tsp was too much nutmeg and I didn't find it enhancing the flavor at all. The chilling overnight didn't seem to help the dough much, I didn't notice any difference by less creaming or more. The only thing I did like was impressing the chips on top which made them chippier. Maybe I selected 2 chocs that were too similar, but didn't notice any significant difference in flavor. The few grains of salt I added were not helpful...when I did taste it, it was too salty. The net result was, like any choc chip cookie, they were nice, but nothing especially special.

Here is a link that might be useful: Brave Tart

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Comments (12)

sushipup1
11 years ago
Here's Kenji's article from Serious Eats, testing every possible permutation of CC cookies and some of the science behind it. And it's fun reading, too.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kenji's best Chocolate Chip cookies
Annie Deighnaugh
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, sushipup, I'll take a look.
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Choc chip cookies, oven temp?
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So if you used 2 eggs and 2 sticks of butter, then you should have used just a little more than 2 cups of flour. And approx 1 and 1/2 cups sugar. Heat is probably not the culprit. Usually 325-350 degree oven. Too much butter or too cool an oven and the cookies will just melt flat. Since you have the opposite problem, it was probably too much flour. Also, a lower temperature might help if they cooked too fast to spread out. But if there is too much flour, no matter how low the temp. is they won't spread. You can kinda tell when you spoon them out on to the cookie sheet. Also, if you check them after a couple minutes and they're too tall, you can push them down with a spoon. The opposite problem happens as well. People that use lots of sugar and butter sometimes refrigerate the batter to help keep it from running. I like to toss in some coconut and walnut bits as well. mmm
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A cold oven, not enough flour ( flour is a variable thing....some flour is denser that others) putting them on a hot cookie sheet. Some will tell you it's the butter, but I always use butter...it tastes a lot better than margerine or, heaven for bid, Crisco! My guess is the flour. Always bake a test tray of 3 or 4 cookies and add more flour if you need to. Linda C
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That was wonderful! I just love baking science... I'm going to have to see if any of the information will translate to improving gluten-free cookies - my next baking frontier. My one criticism is how large he makes his cookies, but that's common because of the influence of commercial "fresh-baked" cookies sold seemingly everywhere these days, which are the size of a saucer. It wouldn't surprise me if you made smaller cookies than what the recipe suggests, it would alter the texture some. I like to get 20 small cookies to a baking sheet while his recipe makes 6-8 per baking sheet. -Grainlady
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Comments (61)
I had forgotten about the tip to pull the ball apart and rotate the top. I did that several times when I first read about it and it worked great. Always1step, what kind of butter did you use? I was just reading on the King Arthur blog about which butters to use for baking. They recommend an 80% fat content butter, their preferred is Cabot. Land O'Lakes and Costco were brought up in the comments of the article as being comparable. King Arthur opinion is that European butters like Plugra and Kerrygold, with their higher fat content, may not produce the desired results. A light bulb went off in my head at that, as I recently made scones and they spread all over the place - and I had used Kerrygold. Usually I use Costco organic or Land O'Lakes for baking and have good results. King Arthur: Which Butter to Use for Baking
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arlocat
11 years ago
The salt thing is a mystery to me. Around here we really like salt on cookies using Sol's brown sugar choc chip recipe. It seems to enhance the flavor of the chocolate. However it doesn't necessarily help other choc chip recipes I've tried. Go figure.
grubby_AZ Tucson Z9
11 years ago
Just for the fun of it, substitute a large helping (say a tsp per stick of butter, of finely ground up coffee beans instead of the nutmeg. It surprises people, but not badly...
colleenoz
11 years ago
Last batch I made I added a bunch of chopped candied ginger to the mix- about the same volume as a bag of chocolate chips. DH really liked them (and so did I :-) won't be making them again too soon as I ate waaaaay too many of them :-) )
dees_1
11 years ago
I do what grubby me does; add instant espresso to the melted butter. I also add a bit of cinnamon and a little bit of extra vanilla. I always use dark brown sugar and when I melt the butter, I get it a little toasty. Adds nuttiness.

My standard recipe is CI's thick and chewy CC.
eibren
11 years ago
IMO the old Toll House recipe for chocolate chip cookies remains the best of all.
sally2_gw
11 years ago
Colleen, do you substitute the candied ginger for the chocolate chips, or use it in addition to the chocolate chips?

Sally
sushipup1
11 years ago
Eibren, did you know that the Toll House recipe was changed?
eandhl
11 years ago
Oh oh, I don't make cookies often what is different about the Toll House recipe?
Lars
11 years ago
I do not add salt to chocolate chip cookies at all - I can taste the salt, and it is very distracting. Chocolate tastes better without salt, and I check ingredients for anything I buy that has chocolate to make sure that salt has not been added. If I do think salt is needed, I always use less than half the amount of salt called for. I do not like nutmeg with chocolate, but coconut is good.

I used to make chocolate chip cookies by adding chocolate chips to oatmeal cookies, and then I started substituting granola for oatmeal (had to reduce sugar when doing this), and they were even better, if you like them crunchy. If you like them soft, oatmeal is better. The granola I use has coconut and almonds in it.

Lars
bbstx
11 years ago
OMG, it took me 2 days to read Kenji's Science of the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. Ok, that is a wee exaggeration, but it seemed like 2 days! Fascinating, nevertheless.

I make the Chocolate Chip Cookies using the Jacques Torres recipe. It is fiddly, but they are enough better that I'm willing to put up with all the fiddliness.. I have one problem. I cannot scoop the dough until it has set out for a couple of hours. Any tips for scooping cold cookie dough? Lift weights?

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