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"
How
can I get my cookies to turn out the way I want them
to?
"
In
your book, you discuss soft and crisp cookies, but I
like my chocolate chip cookies mounded (with lots of
chips) and hard, like little mountains. What would I
increase or decrease in the traditional chocolate chip
cookie recipe to attain this result?
Thank you,
Sally W.
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Hi Sally,
If you want your cookies hard, you need to cut down on
the ingredients that tenderize the dough. The primary
tenderizing ingredients are sugar (which draws water away
from the flour, so less gluten can form) and fat (which
interferes with gluten development).
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Start by reducing the quantity of sugar and fat by
25 percent. Try a batch and see what you think. If you
want to make those cookies even harder next time, reduce
the fat by 50 percent. These reductions should make
your cookies sufficiently hard. If not, you can increase
the baking time slightly, which will allow more time
for moisture to evaporate as the cookie bakes and yield
a firmer cookie. For the "little mountain" effect, these
steps will help reduce the spread of your cookies.
-
Reduce
the amount of fat and sugar (as above).
-
Use
margarine or shortening instead of butter. Shortening
has a higher melting point so it spreads more slowly
than butter.
-
Chill
the dough before baking. Chilled dough holds its shape
longer than room-temperature dough.
-
Use
an egg as part of the liquid.
-
Use
an ungreased cookie sheet; greasing encourages spreading.
-
If
the above steps don't produce rounded cookies, try
reducing the liquid again. With less liquid, cookies
are less likely to spread.
To make sure your cookies stay hard, keep them in an airtight
container. If they're exposed to air, they'll absorb the
moisture stored in air and get soft. We hope your experimenting
leads to your version of the perfect chocolate chip cookie.
Anne & Sue
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