Recipe Talk

I need help with chocolate chip cookies. I've tried a number of recipes, but it happens with most of them. My cookies retain the same shape as they did when they first went in the oven. Any ideas why this happens and how I can fix it?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Tips: I have found that a lot of these tips seem to parallel those necessary when making a flaky pie crust, where all ingredients and the dough needs to stay chilled.
TIP #1: BUTTER & CREAMING: The Nestle's recipe calls for creaming the room temperature butter and sugar.
The goal is to end up with mixture where the butter is just light and fluffy, and stays cold. In general, if you cream sugar with soft butter or do it too long, the butter can't form or hold air bubbles, resulting in a flat cookie. If at any time you get distracted or the dough is becoming too warm, place in refrigerator as is until chilled.

Start with CHILLED butter right from the refrigerator versus room temperature. Cut the butter into 1-inch cubes and chill again. Do not soften the butter to room temperature.

Take from fridge and toss it in with the sugar.

Start creaming the ingredients together with a hand-held electric mixer, which is easier to control when making these cookies, rather than a stand one. Run the mixer over the butter lumps to break them up.

The butter lumps will not break up easily, occasionally stop the mixer and rub the butter and sugar together with your fingertips or a pastry blender until they do. Do so quickly and deftly to prevent the butter from melting.

Resume creaming only until the butter and sugar mixture has just turned light in color and is still slightly grainy. Do not cream past this point.

Refrigerate the mixture right after creaming for about 10 minutes before adding the eggs in the next step. I have found that this really helps.

Or, use HALF BUTTER & HALF SHORTENING: The Nestle's recipe uses 100 % butter, which I prefer because of its taste. But, you can substitute it, 1 for 1 with shortening.

Shortening produces a softer, thicker, chewier cookie. Butter's melting point is lower, at 92 - 98 degrees F. It melts in the oven before the starches in the flour have gelatinized allowing the cookies ample time to spread. Shortening on the other hand, has a higher melting point of 98 - 110 F degrees, allowing for the flour's starches to set before the butter melts, resulting in a puffier one.

To get the best of both worlds, you can substitute half of the butter with (butter-flavored) shortening, both on the cool side of room temperature.

TIP #2: EGGS: The Nestle's recipe contains 2 large eggs. Mix them in THOROUGHLY, one at a time right from the refrigerator. Their slight chill helps to keep the butter as firm as possible through the final mixing stage. If you use room temperature ones, it will soften the texture of the dough.
TIP #3: The Nestle's recipe uses ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR, but add in 1 to 2 tablespoons or 1/4 to 1/2 cup more than the flour called for in the recipe, making sure not to add too much; extra flour will make the cookies puffier. Use bread flour for a chewy cookie: since bread flour can absorb much more liquid than all purpose flour, more moisture will stay in the cookie. Bleached or chlorinated flours also reduce spread, but I don't use them. I recommend you always mix in the flour by hand with a large spoon to as not to overmix and toughen the cookies.
TIP #4: CHOCOLATE CHIPS: Use 2/3 of the amount (SOB!!) of regular chocolate chips or use the full amount in mini ones, instead; it's helps to reduce cookie spread. There are way too many chocolate chips in the recipe which also causes the cookies to spread. (But, of course because Nestle's is in the business of selling chocolate chips, hence the large amount) .
TIP #5: Again, the Nestle's cookie-spread is also controlled through the TEMPERATURE of the dough. Keep the dough chilled at all times. It allows the butter to reharden so that the dough is firm and the cookies will spread less. After forming and before baking, if the room is warm, also chill the formed cookie dough on the baking sheet.
TIP #6: When baking the Nestle's cookies, the RIGHT PANS are essential. NON -insulated, non-stick and light colored cookie sheets, without rims are the best to use. The cookies bake the best on them.
TIP #7: DO NOT GREASE the cookie sheets; it will cause the Nestle's cookie to spread. Line them with parchment paper as it works best for preventing it.
TIP #8: PREHEAT THE OVEN and use an oven thermometer to measure accuracy. If the oven is too hot, the cookies will spread too much when put in the oven. Position rack in the center and preheat the oven. Place cookie sheets in the center of the rack. If using more than one, position a rack just above the center and one just below. Stagger the cookie sheets between the two. Rotate half-way through baking and switch the sheets on the racks.
TIP #9: Place the RECOMMENDED AND CONSISTENT SIZE of dough on the baking sheet for even baking. You don't want some cookies to over bake if larger than the others. Don't make the cookies too large because if you are trying to make them chewy and puffy, you won't be able to get them from the cookie sheet after baking. If you make them small, watch them carefully because cookies burn quickly. Some bakers use small ice cream scoops (#20 disher, to be exact) to help them keep a consistent cookie dough size. If you don't have one, use the tablespoon from your measuring spoon set.
TIP #10: It is better to SLIGHTLY UNDERBAKE the Nestle's dough for chewier cookies. Remove the cookies from the oven a few minutes before they are done, while their centers are still soft and not quite cooked through. The edges should be slightly golden but the middle will look even paler. Let them sit on the cookie sheet for 5 - 10 minutes to harden a bit and remove to a wire cake rack to cool. If using parchment paper, simply remove the cookies on them to a cooling rack. Remove from paper when cooled.
TIP # 11: As with all cookies, make sure the baking pan has COMPLETELY COOLED before placing a new batch of dough on them. The fat in the recipe melts when placed on a warm sheet, causing an immediate spread.
TIP #12: And, always ENJOY YOUR HOMEMADE COOKIES, no matter how they turn out !!


Cori's Solutions to Flat Chocolate Chip Cookies (edited): Cori, a visitor to baking911.com, wrote me a note on Ask Sarah (2/5/03) about her great findings:

Hi Sarah - Back in November we were discussing the flattening problem with my Nestle Toll House Cookies. At last posting, I was going to experiment using your suggestions. Well...I am happy to report the problem appears solved. I've made these cookies now without any problems, so am pretty confident with my results. Yes, I use the recipe on the back of the Nestle bag. Also, my cookies are rather large. Each one uses 3.25 oz of dough, weighed on a digital kitchen scale.

I found the following makes a difference:

I use 1/2 shortening & 1/2 unsalted butter instead of 100% butter.

Use COLD ingredients -- butter, eggs, etc.

After stirring in the dry ingredients, I mix them on medium speed for about 30 seconds.

Use the dough immediately before the dough has warmed while sitting! Refrigerate before using if it does.

Drop cookies are the easiest and most basic cookies you can make. Their dough is generally made from old-fashioned, simple and homey recipes. Some of the most popular ones are chocolate chip, cowboy, or orange drops. It's the type of cookie that I made when I first learned to bake, and is still my favorite today.

Drop cookies are made from a free-form piece of dough, generally about 1 tablespoon's worth, that is dropped from a spoon or two or a small scoop onto a prepared cookie sheet. Other drop cookies come from a small piece of dough that is rolled into a ball first. They are then flattened with the bottom of a flour dusted glass into wafers before baking. Usually drop cookie dough is spaced between 1 to 2-inches apart. After baking and cooling, drop cookies are ready to eat, as is. Most drop cookies are sturdy, freeze well and are great for mailing.

Discard cookie dough that has been unrefrigerated for more than two hours.

Drop cookie dough varies in texture. Some fall easily from the spoon and are baked as is. Stiffer doughs need a push with a finger or the use of a second spoon to release them. Others, such as a shaped, tuile-type (French for roof tile) cookie, are formed after baking by draping around a rolling pin to make them curve.

Some drop cookie dough is best refrigerated for up to two days: place cookies close together on a baking tray and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Before baking, transfer cookies to the baking sheet.

You can freeze drop cookie dough. My favorite way is to make a large batch, form into balls and freeze on a cookie sheet. When frozen, put dough balls into zip lock bags and store in freezer. Later, just remove amount needed from freezer, place on cookie sheets and bake while still frozen. This way you will always have a variety of cookies on hand. My teenaged kids love to make cookie snacks this way.

Although drop cookies come from some of the easiest and most basic recipes, chocolate chip can be problematic. I am repeatedly asked questions about them, and I have a special tips section to address those concerns

DO NOT over cream the fat and sugar when making a drop cookie dough recipe because it aerates the cookie dough too much. This causes them to puff up in the oven and then fall into a flat, greasy pancake-like cookie. When creaming, it's important to use room temperature butter. Also, do not overmix the dough, as well, especially if the recipe begins by the creaming step. I believe that this is the most problematic area in cookie baking.

2. Drop the dough size specified in the recipe from two spoons "How To Double Spoon Cookie Dough" or a cookie scoop. Cookie dough can be sticky, so first spray each implement used with vegetable oil. Some use spring-action scoops manufactured in the United States with a standardized scale of sizes. A #40 scoop is the most common one used and holds 1 tablespoon or so of dough.

3. Leave enough space in between cookies. Unless the recipe specifies, a good rule of thumb is to place them an inch or two apart.

4. After baking, place cookie sheet on a wire cake rack for 10 minutes, and then remove cookies to the rack for complete cooling, unless otherwise specified.

Many of us have had problems with the Nestle's Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. We can't seem to bake puffy and chewy cookies, but we all love the recipe. I know because I get asked about it frequently. If you like flat and crispy cookies, bake the recipe as is. If you don't, you can make it BETTER by following these tips.