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"
How
do different fats affect the texture of cookies when
I bake them?
"
Dear
Anne and Sue,
I've tried using different kinds of fats in my chocolate
chip cookies to learn which kind makes the cookies firmer
and which kind makes them softer. I cannot detect any
differences. Yet on pages 92-93 in The Inquisitive Cook,
you detail information related to my inquiry, except
for the "fat" problem I have. You may say, "Why fret
about the fats if pages 92-93 resolve your concern?"
to which I must counter, "I am inquisitive."
—From Tony Muscente
An Inquisitive mind that wants to know.
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Dear Tony,
Margarine and vegetable shortening have a higher melting
point than butter. So cookie dough made with margarine
must reach a higher temperature in the oven before it
begins to spread on the cookie sheet. This gives the cookie
a little more time to set before the fat in the dough
melts, which means it will more likely stay mounded and
soft. Butter, on the other hand, melts quickly, so the
same recipe made with butter spreads faster and farther.
Because cookies made with butter tend to spread more,
the cookies are often thin and crisper.
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All
types of fat—margarine, shortening, and butter—are
tenderizers. If you want a less fragile, firmer cookie,
reduce the amount of fat in your cookie recipe. Start
by reducing it by 25 percent. If you want a cookie that's
firmer still, reduce the fat by 50 percent.
Tailoring a cookie recipe to suit your taste is rather
fun. Wishing you success as you explore more about baking.
And thanks for being inquisitive.
Cheers,
Anne & Sue
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