Posted March 7, 2011 at 11:42 PM
This past weekend I spent a good portion of my time baking cookies and brownies for a bake sale, and as I was baking things, I noticed a trend among the things that I baked. The final product, the cookie, always seemed to be much larger in size than the dough that I put into the oven. So that got me to thinking. What makes a cookie a cookie? And how does a gooey blob turn into a delicious, chewy confection?
This past weekend I spent a good portion of my time baking cookies and brownies for a bake sale, and as I was baking things, I noticed a trend among the things that I baked. The final product, the cookie, always seemed to be much larger in size than the dough that I put into the oven. So that got me to thinking. What makes a cookie a cookie? And how does a gooey blob turn into a delicious, chewy confection?
There are certain leavening agents found in any cookie recipe out there. Most of the time it is either baking soda, or baking powder, and in some cases both. So what do these ingredients do? They form carbon dioxide gas once they are placed in the batter. And as the cookie cooks, the creation of this gas forms air bubbles in the dough, causing it to rise and spread, and giving it its characteristic cookie look.
The spreading of the cookie is also helped along by the melting of the fats, such as butter, margarine, or shortening. As the dough heats up in the oven, the fats melt and cause the dough to spread. And as the dough heats up, the water found in these fats evaporates, which causes the dough to stop spreading once all the moisture from the fats have evaporated.
And what makes a cookie chewy as opposed to crispy? It’s a combination of many of the ingredients. The type of sugar used is one such example. Brown sugar has more moisture than regular granulated sugar, so more brown sugar in the dough will make softer cookies. Another tip is to bake the cookies on light colored cookie sheets, or on parchment paper.
I tend to bake my cookies for a little bit shorter time than what the recipe calls for, and I sometimes turn down the heat in the oven by about 25 degrees too, depending on the oven that I use. One of the tricks that I have learned over the years to deal with crisp cookies is to put a piece of bread in with them. Doing so will make crispy cookies soft again in much the same way that a piece of bread will make hard brown sugar soft again.
No matter whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy, they will undoubtedly taste delicious just the same. And just remember, one minute makes all the difference between a perfect cookie and an over-done cookie.
Recipe of the Day
Dark Chocolate Cool Whip Cookies
Ingredients
1 German chocolate cake mix
1 egg
1 8-ounce tub of Cool Whip
powdered sugar
Directions
Put several cups of powdered sugar in a bowl and set aside. Mix cake mix, egg, and Cool Whip as well as possible. Spoon batter into bowl of powdered sugar and roll into ball. Place balls 2 inches apart on cookie sheet and bake at 350°F for 7 minutes.
This is one of my favorite cookie recipes.
A great example of your ability to combine sci comm with a folksy application.
You may want to think about using some of your culinary science to explain larger scientific concepts some time, so that your blog isn't only about understanding cooking, but helping us to understand science concepts in the larger world. Let's talk if I'm not explaining myself clearly.
Does baking soda or powder affect the taste?