Chocolate Chip Cookies

9 years ago

What makes one chocolate chip cookie better than another chocolate chip cookie? The chips? The flour? The oven? Such a basic cookie and yet so many different results. Some chewy. Some soft. Which recipe is over the top and why?

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

The recipe!! IMO, the original Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe is the best. I use butter and cut down on the amount of chips, as I like the cookie part better than the chocolate but that's just me :-)) Cookies are crisp yet still chewy - perfect!!

btw, I often substitute mini chips instead of the regular or Heath Bar pieces, as chocolate is often too much for me, so I use less. Others may prefer more or even use chocolate chunks but afaic, it is the cookie taste what makes it for me.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (13)

Olychick
9 years ago
I like the original Toll House recipe, too. I think what can make the difference is using real butter, real vanilla, flour that's fresh, etc. I also buy better quality chips than Nestle, because I believe the quality of their chips has deteriorated...more waxy, less chocolate flavor. But I use their recipe.
Related Discussions
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Q
Comments (4)
Martha, do you like your cookies chewy or crunchy? Your recipe is very similar to mine, but mine calls for melted butter and I don't flatten the dough at all. They're soft and chewy, the way I like them. Of course, crunchy is good too.... Annie
...See More
Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe?
Q
Comments (5)
This is what I used to make at the restaurant where I worked: 1 cup butter 3/4 cup sugar (1 cup if using oatmeal instead of granola) 1 cup brown sugar 2 eggs 2-1/2 cups sifted A/P flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 2 cups granola (plain or with coconut) 1 cup chocolate chips Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy; add eggs, and beat thoroughly. Sift flour with salt and soda. Stir into butter mixture, add granola and chocolate chips. Drop from a teaspoon about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375°F for 10 to 12 minutes, or until completely browned. Using granola instead instead of oats makes the cookies crunchy instead of soft, and so if you like crisp cookies, this is a good substitution. You can use oatmeal instead of granola, but you will have to use 1 cup of sugar instead of 3/4 cup. I would multiply this recipe by four or six when making it for the restaurant, and I mixed the dough in a Hobart machine. I also tended to add coconut if the granola did not have any. Granola with almonds is good in this also.
...See More
No wonder I’m craving chocolate chip cookies
Q
Comments (2)
Remember this meme? Maybe using the Suave lotion, which is apparently basically chocolate, on my skin is as bad for my weight as eating chocolate?
...See More
Looking for a good chocolate chip cookie recipe
Q
Comments (24)
Lulu, I don't know if this will help because the names of the qualities one wants aren't scientific or universal: I learned in a class from a baking scientist (a friend dragged me there but I learned some good stuff!) that a teaspoon of water in a regular batch of cookies (i.e., several dozen average size) makes the difference between chewy and hard, all other things being equal. So when Nestle took the spoon of water out of the Toll House recipe on the package, they were opting for crisper than chewier. Do be sure to use cane sugar. There are people who can successfully use beet sugar because they know how, but cookies are the most sensitive to different ingredients, and there's a 3% difference in the makeup between cane and beet sugar. Beet bakes up much drier. Also, regular cookie recipes assume granulated white sugar, not superfine (also called castor sugar or baking sugar) or raw or anything else. The brown sugar should be white cane sugar which has molasses added. Other kinds of sugar work differently. You can adapt recipes to them, but they're not likely to come out just right as written. Basic American recipes also assume bleached white AP flour. They'll usually work out fine with unbleached, but the texture may be affected. The process of bleaching affects how it absorbs water. The kind of butter you use makes a difference, too. Different butters have different water contents. High quality American style butters have a butterfat content of 82-83%, and the difference is reflected in the water content. European style butter has 85-86% butterfat, and American bargain butter has about 80% butterfat. Most American recipes are meant for the 82%. You can't tell from the per serving nutrition information, but even if your brand doesn't say what the percentage is on the package, they often will on their websites, or sometimes you can find it on baking or nutrition oriented websites. Usually, if it doesn't say, however, top brands are the 82% and discount brands are 80%. The Euro style ones will usually say that they are. Use the euro style for croissants and the American premium for cookies. Baking margarine (inc. "vegan butter") is only suitable for cookies if it's sticks with 100 Calories per tablespoon. The others have too much water and/or other weirdness that might work fine on your baked potato but won't bake right. Margarine has a different sized fat globule and a much higher melting point. This greatly affects the texture of the cookies. Use butter if you want a melt in your mouth kind of cookie, and/or a crispier one. Also, if you're doing dough balls that are supposed to spread in the heat of the oven. Use margarine for drop cookies that spread less and hold the shape you make them better because of the higher melting point. This also lets you skip the chill before baking step that helps when you use butter. (The proportions of flour to fat, etc., in cut out cookies are generally such that they hold their shape even with butter.) When I make flat chewy Toll House, I use The Expert's method: Make a quenelle of cookie dough, place it on the sheet, then flatten with the back of the spoon. The Expert, who is famed amongst those who know for his Toll House cookies, is also the one who contributed the instruction to pull the pre-flattened cookies out of the oven before the centers are set. If you wait for them to completely firm up they won't be particularly chewy. The edges should be firm, with the faintest hint of brown, when you take them out, and they finish up on the warm cookie sheet. Finally, do make sure your oven is well calibrated. If it's too accurate, it might also affect older recipes and need to be adjusted down a little. If it's an older or less precise oven with a greater variation of actual temperature, the setting and/or time may be affected. Even so, each oven is different. Don't just follow the recipe on that. Get to know your own oven, and what timings and temperatures give you your desired results. An extra minute can also be the difference between chewy and hard. I don't know if this addresses your problem, but most often with cookie issues it's because of the ingredients being different or the bake time/heat not being watched.. Good luck!
...See More
donna_loomis
9 years ago
I believe it's a combination of the recipe AND some basic baking technique. I mean, even a very good recipe will come out awful if you over or under bake them, right?

I originally posted this on a very old discussion of cookies from this forum:

I cannot imagine making any other chocolate chip cookie than the one I m posting below. It is my family's absolute favorite and a given when we do our Christmas baking. It is a soft CC cookie. I got the recipe from a Woman's Day magazine sometime in the 70's. There is also a recipe for Oatmeal Pudding cookies from the same magazine that I sometimes make. But these CCC's are by far the most requested cookie when the subject comes up.

CHOCOLATE CHIP PUDDING COOKIES

2-1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (4 serving size) pkg. vanilla* instant pudding
2 eggs
1 (12 oz.) pkg. chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecan (optional)

*Can use other flavored instant pudding for variation.

Mix flour with baking soda. Combine butter, sugar, vanilla and pudding; mix in large mixer bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture, then stir in chips and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonful about 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Makes 7 dozen.
donna_loomis
9 years ago
I forgot to mention one other thing. The ingredients really do make a difference. Use the very best quality EVERYTHING! I made the mistake of using cheaper brands of items a few times and taste was noticeably different in the finished product. And it was not my imagination. Others commented on a couple of the items. Noticeably, I will never buy anything other than Nestle chocolate chips, C&H powdered sugar, or Jello brand pudding mix.
plllog
9 years ago
I've seen different bakers have wildly different results using the same recipe, and following exactly. I've seen the same baker get very similar results using good margarine or good butter. I think the most important part, given cane sugar (beet sugar is not good for baking) and proper fat (100 Calories per TBSP for either--no oil, no spreadable, just solid sticks with 100 C per TBSP), is knowing your oven and adjusting the temperature and time for how it bakes.
powermuffin
9 years ago
I use the Toll House recipe too (I think), except brown sugar (1 c) and white sugar (1/2 c) and only a little over half of the 12 oz. package of Ghirardelli 60% cacao chips. Like Gardengal, the cookie is pretty dang good by itself! Never use margarine in anything. This recipe has evolved over time and is the family favorite.
sushipup1
9 years ago
Here is a link to Kenji's exhaustive experiments (I'd volunteer to take the rejects!) on chocolate chip cookies and why every singlle ingredient makes a differnce in soe way.
User
9 years ago
I make the pudding chocolate chip cookie recipe and it is my favorite as well. I sometimes do and sometimes don't put nuts in mine.
annie1992
9 years ago
I've tried a lot of different recipes and always come back to the Tollhouse recipe too.

I use butter, not margarine, and dark brown sugar. I always bake with cane sugar, because of the GMOs in beet sugar. And I like the semi-sweet Nestle chips.

Because taste is subjective, not objective, you're going to get a bunch of different opinions on chocolate, on butter, on cookies in general. It's all good, I've seldom had a really bad cookie!

Annie
PRO
Anglophilia
9 years ago
I like Toll House as well and pretty much follow the recipe. I use dark brown sugar as that's what I always keep in the house. I do slightly undertake mine as I like a very soft cookie.

One can use the same recipe without the choc chips and substitute small chunks of candied ginger instead. Heaven!
WalnutCreek Zone 7b/8a
9 years ago
@donna_loomis: Would you mind posting your recipe for the Oatmeal Pudding Cookies, please.
donna_loomis
9 years ago
Per WalnutCreek's request:

OATMEAL PUDDING COOKIES

1 and 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup softened butter

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 4oz. Serving size vanilla instant pudding

2 eggs

1 cup raisins

3 and 1/2 cups quick cooking rolled oats

Mix flour with baking soda. Combine butter, the sugars and pudding mix in large mixing bowl; beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture. Stir in oats and raisins. Batter will be stiff. Drop by rounded measuring teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375° for 10 to 12 minutes. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.
WalnutCreek Zone 7b/8a
9 years ago
Thanks so much, donna. I love oatmeal cookies so much and this sounds so good.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

Comments (13)

Olychick

Related Discussions

donna_loomis

donna_loomis

plllog

powermuffin

sushipup1

User

annie1992

Anglophilia

WalnutCreek Zone 7b/8a

donna_loomis

WalnutCreek Zone 7b/8a

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US