What's the secret to a good chocolate chip cookie recipe?

[4-H chicken mom]

I love chocolate chip cookies but I quit making them because they always come out the same FLAT!

I follow the Toll house recipe on the back of the bag. Ladies have asked me to bring chocolate chip cookies for a bake sale or something and I always bring something else or buy them because I'm too embarrassed for the way they look. Any tips on how to make a nice fat cookie?

 

[NurseNettie]

Make sure your baking soda is fresh. Don't leave out the salt. Whip up the sugar and butter very well. Add a bit more flour than called for. Make sure oven is preheated so they rise quickly instead of flattening out as the dough "warms" instead of puffing and cooking.

 

[lisahaschickens]

I agree with NurseHettie 100%. Here are my other thoughts as well:

do you like chewy or cakey cookies? I prefer chewy myself, and those will always be on the flat-ish side because you want to go a bit light on the flour and leavening. For cakier cookies that will be plumper, add an extra egg and extra flour. Sugar acts as a liquid in baking and will make the cookies spread out and flatten... and higher flour and egg (leavener) ratio will make for puffier cookies, but I personally don't like the falvor as much.

If you are looking for just a LITTLE lift, I suggest refrigeration the dough for a while (overnight is best) before baking. This will allow the flour to absorb some of the moisture and also it will stop the dough from completely "melting" before it cooks and sets and they should be a tad puffier. I have tried a zillion chocolate chip cookie recipes, and my good good friend owns one of the top bakeries in London and we both agree that Tollhouse got it right (same recipe is on the back of Ghirardelli chocolate chip bags). I also suggest making smaller cookies. I just discovered this one myself. If you really only use one tablespoon of dough per cookie (as recommended in the recipe), they will have the best texture when baked.

Happy baking!

 

[horsejody]

Fat cake cookies

1 cake mix (any flavor)
3 ounces of cream cheese
1/2 stick of butter (real butter works best)
1 egg

Soften cream cheese and butter (I soften them in the microwave) and stir them together
stir in the egg
stir in the cake mix

the cookies can be dropped by the spoonful or rolled and cut with a cookie cutter
bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes

variations:
yellow cake mix with chocolate chips
chocolate cake mix with choclate chips
white cake mix makes awesome Christmas cutout cookies
any flavor cake mix with frosting

My family's favorite variation is the chocolate cake mix with chips. It makes an awesomedouble chocolate chip cookie

 

[toletiquesbysam]

I agree, follow the tollhouse recipe. A co-worker of mine makes the best cc cookies and I asked her for the recipe and that's the one she uses, they are Wonderful! I've always heard to let your butter/eggs be at room temperature when baking as well.

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
It must be a location problem, too- because when I use the recipe directly from the bag, they are FLAT. Not chewy, not crispy, just flat. I am a chewy cookie fan, so ya'll have inspired me to try again, with the modifications!

 

[miss_jayne]

also make sure your baking powder and baking soda are less than 6 months old. these two ingredients need to be measured exactly.

use the correct size egg(s). add them one at a time.

the sugar makes a huge difference in the texture.

brown sugar = soft, chewy cookie
white sugar = crisper cookie

melted butter = chewy

make sure to use the correct butter for the recipe. salted or sweet cream.


don't be embarrassed.

here is a recipe our family absolutely loves. the taste is fantastic and it is a big recipe, perfect for church, school or other events.

Dollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookies (edited to add, no, i didn't spell Toll House wrong. Dollhouse is our farm name)
(this makes about 4-8 dozen depending on size of cookie)

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs (or two duck eggs)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups milk chocolate chips (or M&M's)



1. preheat oven to 350* F. sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. in a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. blend in the flour mixture. finally, stir in the chocolate chips a/o M&M's. drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto cookie sheets.
3. bake for minutes in the preheated oven. edges should be golden brown.

 

[toletiquesbysam]

This sounds like a good one too....
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Big-Fat-Chewy-Chocolate-Chip-Cookie/Detail.aspx

 

[miss_jayne]

Quote:
this will definitely give you a great chewy cookie!

 

[lisahaschickens]

location is certainly a factor.

When I lived in Colorado, I had to relearn baking from scratch. Elevation was a big issue, but i'll skip that here since Ohio and South Carolina don't have elevation issues.

The difference in those locations is humidity. In Colorado, it is so dry (like a high desert) that the flour starts out drier and you have to add extra liquid/moisture to compensate. Conversely, in Ohio and SC, you could have too much humidity and your flour could be moist and heavy by comparison. In that situation, a little extra flour and a little less moisture might help. I would suggest going slightly eay on the sugar. Really, it's all about experimentation in your area. The Toll House recipe is perfect, but environmental conditions should be taken into consideration. Good luck to everyone!