I made the standard Quaker Oats chocolate chip cookie (from the lid) once with ricotta cheese instead of butter and they were amazing.

Ummmm, you use melted what? Melted butter? Melted chocolate? For me, I find that I get the most consistent results by following a recipe--my attempts at "winging it" have resulted in less than stellar cookies. Perhaps your cookies come out differently because you are creative with the recipe ingredients and the instructions?

Are you using the same recipe each time? No...I haven't used melted chocolate (or butter) for them. I still love the Nestle's Toll House recipe for chocolate chip cookies. As with most drop cookie recipes, I make the dough in advance...sometimes the day before...in order to chill it for several hours. For me, using all butter results in tastier cookies, and chilling the dough keeps them from spreading too much. I form the chilled dough into balls, then place them on parchment-lined baking sheets. Just bake as instructed in the recipe.

If you want a flatter cookie, don't chill the dough. Some people prefer them that way. I sometimes do it if I'm using the cookies for ice cream sandwiches.

Make sure your oven is preheated to the right temp. Sometimes you have to preheat the oven longer than you think, even though it signals it's ready.

I'm not sure I understand your question. If you are asking if the chocolate chips melt, the answer is yes. But only if you buy pure chocolate. All chocolate chips are not created equal. Some are not made from real chocolate. Make sure you are getting pure or real chocolate. Not fake chocolate chips.

I only use the Toll House recipe - IMO, that's the only valid chocolate chip recipe there is :-) And only with butter, never Crisco or any other vegetable shortening. Chocolate chips do not melt the same way as does baking chocolate. They contain less cocoa butter and that helps them retain their shape. So they will be gooey in a fresh baked cookie but will harden as the cookie cools.

There are some very good quality chocolate chips...Ghirardelli, Guittard, Callebaut, Valrhona, etc. Everyone has their preference. I tend to switch back and forth.

My family likes a soft chocolate chip cookie. I use the Toll House recipe. I use margarine and chill the dough before baking. Yes, butter tastes better, but it makes for a flatter cookie that isn't soft and chewy. I store them in a container with a slice of white bread. The bread keeps them soft.

Thank you cholebud, gardendal48, ann_t, sooz, fawnridge, amylou321, for all your advice.. I left out the word butter, as in melted butter for the cc cookie recipe. I tend to get distracted and sometimes leave out ingredients as well..LOL

Seriously I read that melted butter makes for a better cookie. I know this is the place to find out the truth!!

Thank you all for you comments.

..

FWIW freeze your choc chips and add right before you bake, they melt less … slightly.

Turn them halfway thru …

Don't put dough on a hot pan, let it cool.

Inhale

Functionthenlook, one of the best,softest,chewiest cookie I ever had:

www.seededatthetable.com/2012/03/09/perfectly-puffy-butterscotch-chocolate-chip-cookies/

In this recipe,i use all butterscotch chips. You can also use vanilla pudding mix and all chocolate chips if you prefer.( Which i do. Unfortunately, im low carbing and cant have them. Fortunately, SO is not and prefers the butterscotch)

"I tend to get distracted and sometimes leave out ingredients as well."

cran, I think most of us have done that! ;-)

Using all butter does provide the best taste...no question. If you chill the dough well as I mentioned, the cookies won't be flat. And, yes, they'll be soft and chewy, too.

The best pans for cookie baking are heavy guage aluminum. Nothing fancy and very affordable. Those "insulated" cookie sheets heat more slowly giving the dough more time to s...p...r...e...a...d. That can be fine with certain cookies that are more delicate and/or you don't want to risk over browning.

Glenda's Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie is fast to prepare and great for a quick dessert or snack. I cut it into serving sizes with a pizza cutter.

I thought that the reason you freeze the chocolate chips and only take them out of the freezer at the last minute was to keep you from nibbling them all away.

Nonsense...I love frozen chocolate!!

One of my friends makes THE world's best chocolate chip cookies and her secret is to use the Toll House Nestle's recipe, melt the butter and I think she uses maybe 1-2 extra tablespoons of butter. So, yes, try with melted butter.

I think there are better chips than Nestle's these days - they taste waxy to me. I buy some organic semi sweet ones at the food coop that taste like Nestle's used to taste. I like Guittard better than Ghirardelli, if I have to buy some other brand. Oh, Trader Joe's semi sweet chocolate chips are also great.

Thank you Amylou. I am going to try these for my family. Sound delish.

We are a major chocolate chip cookie family here. I have tried only a few recipes but vary some things within the same recipe on the back of the Toll House bag or Tate’s cookies recipes.

I used to cream the butter and sugar and hold it over my gas burner a little to melt the butter slightly but not all the way. It made for a flatter, crisper cookie.

My one trick that seems to get the highest marks from people is to take the cookies out of the oven around the 8 min mark and bang them on the counter. Then continue cooking for another min or two. This makes for a chewy yet flat cookie

The Tate’s recipe uses dark brown sugar, dark choc chips and salted butter and slightly less flour than Toll House. They are very good as well. I like the dark or bittersweet chocolate.

Also cooking on parchment paper is super easy and quick as well and makes for a crisper cookie bottom as well I get the next batches ready while the first batch is cooking. Then slide the cooked batch off the sheet pan and slide the new one on. I made 18 dozen cookies once in less than 90 mins.

Oh, parchment paper is the next best thing to sliced bread. I don't bake anything without it.

When I use a baking stone, the cookies are consistent and crisp. When I use cookie sheets, the outcome varies.

I'm just the opposite when it comes to chocolate chip cookies. I like them big and round, not crispy, not buttery.

Oh...wow...if I could only grab one!!! I've added a touch of sea salt on top, too. Love it!

cran, those look delicious and just the way I like them. I don't melt the butter, and I always use butter for the flavor, but I like them crispy on the outside edges and chewy in the middle, just like yours are. It definitely looks like you hit that "sweet spot".

I don't flatten the dough, I just scoop it out on the sheet pan covered with parchment paper. I do like Ghiradelli chips but my girls like good old Nestle's. I also make dough and scoop it onto sheets and then freeze the scoops of dough for baking later, that way I can bake a dozen now and a dozen next Saturday or whenever I want, and my cookies are always fresh.

I did try a "browned butter" version once, and they were good but I got lots of complaints that they weren't "right". Didn't stop anyone from eating them, though.

Sushipup, funny, I thought that was why chips were frozen too. (grin) Not that it works for me, I just let them melt in my mouth.....

Annie

I can't bake often anymore, but the Kirkland, Guittard, Ghiradelli or Trader Joe's chips trump Nestle's in my book. I only buy them when they're in the mini version for a specific recipe. Otherwise, I buy one of the above.