What gives cookies chewy texture?

Well, the long and short answer to chewy cookies is it's all about the moisture content. Cookies that are dense and chewy incorporate more moisture into the batter. This can be achieved by making substitutions with ingredients, or even just changing the way you incorporate certain ingredients.

What makes cookies more chewy?

Cookie chemistry: We're taking a 180° turn from our crunchy cookies, substituting higher-moisture brown sugar and butter for their lower-moisture counterparts: granulated sugar and vegetable shortening. That, plus a shortened baking time, yields a cookie that's soft and chewy all the way through.

What makes cookies chewy or crispy?

Eggs: Cookies without eggs are usually flatter and crispier since eggs act as leavening agents. However, it's the yolks that make cookies chewy, while the whites lead to crunchier cookies.

What makes cookies chewy vs cakey?

For softer, chewier cookies, you will want to add much less granulated sugar, slightly more brown sugar, and a fair bit less butter. For cakey cookies, you will often be including even less butter and sugar.

How do you make cookies stay chewy?

Putting a slice of fresh white bread in the container with the cookies will help the cookies stay soft: fresh bread is moist, and that slice will give up its moisture for the greater good: keeping the cookies from drying out. We recommend white bread so that no flavor is transferred to the cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookie 101 | Chewy, Crispy and Cakey

What makes cookies soft?

Adding more moisture to your dough in the form of extra butter, egg yolks, or brown sugar will make your cookies even softer.

What does adding cornstarch to cookies do?

It is a terrific ingredient for thickening puddings, soups and pie fillings, and is also used in many baked good recipes. When added to cake, cookie and shortbread recipes, cornstarch helps create a crumbly and tender dessert-like texture. Commercially, cornstarch is often used as an anti-caking agent.

What does egg yolk do in cookies?

Eggs are super important in baking, and the whites and yolks play different roles. Egg yolks are high in fat in relation to the egg white which is high in protein so often acts as a binder. Adding egg yolks to the cookies yields a super tender, chewy cookie.

Why do you put vinegar in cookies?

Vinegar is a surprisingly common ingredient in baked goods, considering that it has such a sharp flavor. But as an acid, vinegar is often included in cake and cookie batters to react with baking soda and start the chemical reaction needed to produce carbon dioxide and give those batters a lift as they bake.

What does Brown butter do for cookies?

Browning the butter gives the cookies a more intensely nutty, butterscotch flavor. Chopping the chocolate by hand creates large and small pieces for more textural and flavor contrast.

Does baking soda make cookies chewy?

When baking soda is mixed with an acid, the baking soda produces bubbles and a carbon dioxide gas, which cause the raw dough or batter to rise as a result. When baking soda is used in cookies, it gives the cookies a chewy, coarse texture.

Does butter make cookies soft or crispy?

Butter also contains protein, which aids in browning and crisping. For flat and brown cookies, butter is the best choice. Sugar: Using white sugar or corn syrup in a cookie produces a crisp end product.

Does brown sugar make cookies softer?

Sugars, like fats liquefy in the oven. White sugar will make your cookies crispier while brown sugar contains more moisture and will result in a softer and more chewy cookie. Most chocolate chip cookie recipes call for both sugars.

What does the baking soda do in cookies?

Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate or bicarbonate of soda, is a popular baking ingredient. It gives foods like bread, cakes, muffins, and cookies a light, fluffy texture.

What does brown sugar do for a cookie?

When we use only brown sugar in a cookie recipe, the cookies will have more moisture and typically be chewier. Since the molasses in brown sugar also is acidic, it reacts with baking soda to help leavening; it will be puffier.

What factors impact the texture of cookies?

Just like in the laboratory, even the seemingly smallest changes can affect the outcome — oven temperature variations, moisture and even the order in which you add the ingredients are just a few of the factors that can affect texture and taste. And while some may love a soft cookie, others prefer a crispier variation.

Why does melted butter make cookies chewy?

O'Brady is specific that the butter be melted slowly, over low heat to prevent any evaporation. In its liquid state, butter mixes readily with both the sugar and flour, making for a softer dough that actually develops more gluten (thanks to the butter's moisture hydrating the flour).

What happens if you add an extra egg to cookies?

Yolks, where all of the fat is in an egg, increase richness, tenderness and flavor. Therefore, if you put an extra egg, you will get a chewier cookie. I do it all the time. If you put less, you will get a more crumbly cookie.

Is it better to use softened or melted butter for cookies?

Chocolate chip cookies made with softened butter vs melted butter. In terms of flavor and texture, there's no difference. The cookies made with melted butter spread a tad more, but this difference is even less after the dough has been chilled (for a minimum of 1 hour).

What does vanilla extract do to cookies?

The role of vanilla in sweet baked goods is like the role of salt on the savory side: it enhances all the other flavors in the recipe. Without it, cookies and cakes tend to taste flat and bland. Forget to add the vanilla once, and you'll probably never do it again!

What does milk do to cookies?

Milk performs many functions in your baked goods. It serves as a source of liquid to hydrate the dry ingredients, adds flavor, supports browning and softens texture.

What does cream of tartar do in cookies?

Cream of tartar helps stabilize whipped egg whites, prevents sugar from crystallizing and acts as a leavening agent for baked goods.

Should I use baking powder or baking soda for cookies?

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

Should you chill cookie dough before baking?

Why You Need to Chill Your Cookie Dough. For starters, chilling prevents cookies from spreading out too quickly once they're in the oven. If you use a higher fat butter (like Kerrygold), chilling your dough is absolutely essential. Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool.

What does bread flour do to cookies?

So by swapping in bread flour for all-purpose flour in cookies, we're raising the protein to enable more gluten formation and higher liquid retention in the dough. This translates into more chewiness.