I was baking cookies for a friend today and figured I should write a blog post on the perfect cookie. I am not going to give you a recipe, but I am going to share some tips and tricks for baking the perfect cookie. If you give a man a fish he will eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish he will eat for a lifetime. When I was a kid my dad and I went fishing. I caught a fish and he made me give it to some men who were also fishing. I was really mad as I wanted to keep it in my bathtub as a pet. I think I was going to name it Gary. I wish I had known that proverb then. I could have been as awesome as this guy… http://www.shoppedornot.com/?p=672
1. Can I use butter instead of shortening or vice versa?
Shortening is something I never had on hand until I started baking. I hate shortening. I hate sticking my hand into the can to measure it and getting it all over my hands and then trying to wash them and getting that horrible layer of fat all over them. Yuck. I hate washing things that have been in contact with shortening. I just hate it. Sadly it has it’s uses.
So the answer to this question is, it’s up to you. Shortening doesn’t have any water in it while butter does so a cookie with shortening instead of butter will have a fluffier and lighter texture (it’ll be poofier). This is because of those air bubbles that we talked about last time (remember, the ones that form while creaming) as well as butter’s lower melting point. One thing you will notice lacking if you use shortening instead of butter is the buttery flavor. Which is desirable in some recipes
So, here is my humble suggestion, if you must substitute for whatever reason why not use both. Go half and half. This way you’ll get the best of both worlds. If you are completely out of butter then try this ratio, one and ½ tsp. water for every ¼ cup shortening. That will give you more of a butter effect, but you will still be lacking that butter flavor. Which come on, is delicious.
Just remember that your fat has a lot of impact on the structure of your finished product.
2. Baking soda, baking powder, what’s the difference?
Find out what's happening in Yorkvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Most people know that baking soda and baking powder do some sort of leavening thing but not much else. They look a lot alike so people assume that they’re pretty much the same. Not the case.
Baking powder (do you ever use a word so many times that it loses meaning?) actually has baking soda in it. It also has some acid salts (things like cream of tartar) and cornstarch. The cornstarch sucks up the moisture so all of the chemical reactions that are supposed to take place don’t until it is added to the batter. Baking powder’s chemical reactions happen in two parts. The first is when the dry is added to the liquid. At this point carbon dioxide is formed by the acid salt making air bubbles as well as enlarging the bubbles you already made when you creamed – wait, you did cream right?. Once the cookies are placed in the oven these bubbles expand causing a leavening affect.
If you add too much baking powder your end product will probably taste bitter and it may rise and then collapse because the bubble expand too much and then pop. The thought of this makes me frown.
Baking soda is much stronger than baking powder and even has a fancy scientific name (sodium bicarbonate). You’ll probably use baking soda if you’re using a recipe that contains ingredients that are acidic (yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, etc.) because it is excellent at neutralizing acids. Baking soda starts leavening as soon as it is added to the liquid so you have to use it quick or all of its magical properties will be wasted. This thought also makes me frown.
3. Why are my cookies so flat?
Find out what's happening in Yorkvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
First, check the expiration dates on all of your ingredients. If your leavening agent (baking powder or soda) is expired it will obviously decrease effectiveness. If all that is in order, let’s troubleshoot the next issue.
Make sure you cream your butter and sugar. There should be no lumps of butter, but you should still have a somewhat grainy texture. This traps air bubbles into the fat which will expand and act as a leavening agent when baking. Do not over mix. This may cause friction which will heat up the batter. Heat is the enemy of poofy cookies.
Mix your dry ingredients with a whisk before adding to the wet. This ensures even distribution preventing holes to form. Again I am frowning. I am thinking of the saddest cookies in the world.
TOUCH YOUR DOUGH. Before you bake feel your dough. Remember how it felt. If you bake your cookies and they fall flat you know that was wrong. I suggest trying more flour. When flour mixes with your liquid ingredients it forms gluten which will help give your cookie structure. When you make that perfect cookie you will have felt your dough and will be able to replicate it next time.
Cool your cookies before baking. Warm cookie dough can be the cause of flat and sad cookies.
Cool your cookie sheets before putting another round on. Run them under cold water until they cool completely and then plop more on.
You can replace half the butter with shortening. I would do this as a last resort because I hate shortening. Shortening has a higher melting point that butter so it will spread less on the sheet.
Most importantly, follow your gut. If something doesn’t feel eight, look right, or taste right figure out how to fix it. If you make a good batter you will make a good cookie. Make sure you taste and touch your batter before you bake. That way it is easy to replicate.
If there are any questions I missed please ask them in the comments. I will try my best to answer and if I fail I will totally google them for you and then pretend like I knew the answer all along. <3
