Unsalted is consistently the advice of the baking experts here. The recipe calls for salt and added to a salted butter, would be too much. Whatcha making?

Use unsalted. The amounts of salt in salted butter can be different between brands, so leaving out the salt in a recipe and using salted butter can still give you too salty cookies. Unsalted butter and added salt in the recipe will give you more consistent results.

Unsalted is prefered for nearly all baked goods, but you can use salted in nearly any cookie recipe if you already have salted butter on hand.

If you're like me, it's sometimes hard to find unsalted butter living out in the middle of nowhere, and/or the price is double from less expensive brands of salted butter. I just reduce the amount of salt in the recipe if using salted butter, but it also depends on how much butter and salt are called for. I usually reduce 1/4 t. salt per stick (1/4-pound, 8 T) of salted butter.

I'm just too frugal to overpay for unsalted butter, especially when baking for people who haven't a clue - in a world where everything that is commercially baked is loaded with the stuff. "Taste", including what's considered salty, is VERY subjective.

When I judge foods at the fair, a cookie would have to be VERY salty for me to judge down on it or to write in the critique they should use unsalted butter instead of salted. I think there's a "fresher" taste in cookies when you use unsalted butter, but not enough difference to worry about.

I made a huge batch of Whole Wheat and Spelt Sugar Cookies earlier this week and sent them out to work with hubby. I made them with salted butter and reduced the salt in the recipe. Hubby said they lasted about 5 minutes. But then, those people will eat ANYTHING homemade and be very glad for the opportunity to do so (hehehe).

-Grainlady

I'm with grainlady. I only buy salted butter and reduce the amount of salt. The cookies turn out good.

I recently made the brownie recipe on the back of the King Arthur flour bag. It calls for a cup of butter and 1/2 teaspoon of salt, with an asterisk to increase the salt to 1 teaspoon if using unsalted butter.

I think most recipes assume salted butter (or margarine) is going to be used. Unless it specifies unsalted butter, I wouldn't add more salt. Even then, I rarely add more.

In the last six months that I've noticed increased availability of unsalted butter in the grocery stores. Now I can find it all the time.

Thank you everyone.

Compumom, I'm making Coconut-Cranberry Chews, the Sunset magazine Grand Prize winning cookie in 2001. Link to the recipe is below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Coconut-Cranberry Chews

Let us know how they turn out!

Unsalted!

I use either. If it's got chocolate or chocolate chips in it..I will use salted butter and still add the recommened salt amount.

I use unsalted for things that only specify it.

I'm with momj -- recipes assume salted butter unless "unsalted" is specifically stated.

I worked for Sunset and that's what they assumed and wrote.

If salt is called for in the recipes, it assumes using salted butter as well so no reduction in salt is to be second guessed.

Joe

The cookies bombed! Why?

I followed the directions carefully.

The butter was unsalted Sweet Cream Butter.

They spread out flat as pancakes in one giant mess on the cookie sheet. I just scraped them into the garbage disposal. What a waste of time and $.

Was it the double layer cookie sheets?

According to Baking911.com:

Use shortening instead of butter. Butter melts faster than solid shortening, cookies will spread more if made with butter. Even half butter/half shortening will melt more slowly than butter-only, so cookies made that way still spread less than if made with all-butter.
Use cake flour instead of all-purpose, it has more moisture and will therefore puff more (cookies will be softer and paler, though). Additionally, add in 1 to 2 tablespoons flour can sometimes cause cookies to puff more.

Acidic doughs and batters (such as those made with baking powder, which has acids and does not neutralize other acids in the cookie dough recipe) set faster, but do not brown as well (cookies will be puffier).Use baking powder (1 teaspoon per cup of flour) instead of baking soda; the resulting dough will set faster, be puffier, but do not brown as well.

Use parchment paper to line your cookies sheets with for less cookie spread.

Make smaller cookies, theyÂll puff better.

Chill dough, form cookies and then chill on pans before baking.

Here is a link that might be useful: Baking 911

I keep unsalted butter in the freezer just for baking, that way I know how much salt is going into what ever I bake.

I have used salted butter when I'm out and don't feel like running to the store. It doesn't seem to change the texture or taste of the cooked item; but like a said I prefer the unsalted.

Linda P