What IS the Perfect Cookie? Soft Cookie Edition
What is the perfect cookie and how do you bake it?
Now, there is A LOT and I mean A LOT of debate when it comes to the topic of what makes a cookie perfect. And in my humble opinion, I think it's because people have different definitions of a perfect cookie.
Through all my time on this Earth (not very long, I must admit) I have narrowed down on the three most popular ‘perfect’ cookies. This blog will be focusing on soft cookies, stay in the loop for the next posts that reveal the other two perfect cookie types.
The first cookie that some consider ‘perfect’ are soft cookies.
Soft cookies are traditionally smaller in size as they are easier to keep soft and eat on the go. They also tend to be chewier and they melt in your mouth if you have perfected your soft cookie recipe.
Now, some would say that those people are psychopaths for liking only soft cookies (not me, no judgement here…), but what is the allure of soft cookies? And how do you get the soft and chewy effect that you so desperately want?
Well, there is more than answer to the question and there is some trial and error to making the perfect soft and chewy cookie for YOU.
I know, I know, I felt your eye roll all the way from my keyboard, but it's the truth! Everyone’s ovens work slightly different, people’s kitchens are different temperatures and the type of ingredients you have available can greatly impact your cookies.
Nonetheless, these are a list of methods that I complied, that you can use to achieve the perfect soft and chewy cookies.
Add an extra egg yolk in your recipe
Because egg yolks have a higher percentage of fat than egg whites, they help with keeping the cookie light and chewy. Some recipes call for adding one egg yolk for every egg in your typical cookie recipe, some recipes say to only add one extra egg yolk per the whole recipe. It is tricky, because if you have too much, then your cookie will be too chewy and won’t hold any shape.
My recommendation:
If you are doing a small batch that only yields up to 24 cookies, stick adding only one extra egg yolk on top of the eggs you already have in your recipe and see the difference it makes. If you want it to be softer and chewier, add another egg yolk for next time.
Replace white sugar with brown sugar
If you're getting my gist so far then you’ve figured out that adding moisture helps the cookie to be softer and chewier so a no brainer is incorporating brown sugar in your cookie recipe. Brown sugar holds more moisture than white sugar so it helps the cookie from drying out from the inside while it bakes.
My recommendation:
Try making the majority of the sugar a recipe calls for with brown sugar. For example, make sure that ¾ of the sugar you use is brown sugar and ¼ is white sugar. This helps look in the moisture on the inside of your cookie and BONUS, it adds a richer flavor than white sugar does.
Slightly underbake your cookies
Now, I know this seems glaringly obvious, BUT it can really be the component that makes or breaks the success of your soft and chewy cookies. That’s why I think it's really important to keep your cookies small. If they are big and bulky cookies, they need more time to bake fully and it makes it much harder to achieve the soft cookie effect since the outside of the cookie will brown by the time the center of the cookie gets baked.
Our recommendation:
Slightly increase the temperature you typically bake your cookies with and slightly decrease the time. For example, if you typically bake them at 350 F for 20 minutes, try baking them at 375 F for 12-15 minutes.
Hopefully you have a better idea on how to make the perfect soft cookie! Stay tuned to find out how to make the prefect hard cookie.