ISO help/tips/advice making cookies

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Ohioman1972

Assistant Cook
Joined
Nov 11, 2014
Messages
28
Location
Cincinnati OH
Ok. I am really not a good baker. I have made many batches of cookies and I never do it right. Same recipes. Followed the best I could to the letter. And they don't turn out right.
Last batch of sugar cookies... I looked for a recipe that showed the kind I like. Flat, buttery, and chewy. I followed the recipe. They turned out puffy and dry. They tasted ok, but they weren't what I saw in the picture. It was like bread. Same thing when I follow my family's chocolate chip cookie recipe. The texture is all off, and the taste is different. They taste ok, but just not how they make em.
Can anyone break it down to me on what I may be doing wrong? Especially for the sugar cookies. I have a craving for them again and I wanna bake a batch tonight.
 
Did you get your recipe(s) from reputable sources?
Did you make ANY substitutions or changes in quantities?
Have you verified your oven temperature?
Are your ingredients all fresh?

Please post the sugar cookie recipe.
 
Did you get your recipe(s) from reputable sources?
Did you make ANY substitutions or changes in quantities?
Have you verified your oven temperature?
Are your ingredients all fresh?

Please post the sugar cookie recipe.

No substitutions, except I used country crock instead of butter.
I have not verified the oven temp. I should probably get a thermometer.
All ingredients were fresh. I have a pint of buttermilk that probably won't be because... uhh... I dont like buttermilk. :sick:

Chewy Sugar Cookies Recipe : Food Network
 
One of the mistakes a lot of new bakers make is substituting margarine for butter.

Do show us your recipes that you are using. That way we can tell you what may be wrong.

And welcome to DC. Someone here will have an answer. They always do. :angel:
 
One of the mistakes a lot of new bakers make is substituting margarine for butter.

Do show us your recipes that you are using. That way we can tell you what may be wrong.

And welcome to DC. Someone here will have an answer. They always do. :angel:

Thank you!
I included a link to the recipe in my last reply. So Country Crock, while it is yummy on sammiches, is bad for baking?
 
Oh dear. Yes, whatever fat is specified in the recipe, use that. Country Crock is watered down margarine, usually not suitable for baking.

Your recipe specifies butter, bet your cookies will turn out just fine with that!
 
Last edited:
Also your elevation
follow the recipe that your family has used
TO THE LETTER!
the exact same ingredients, such as,
what brand of flour
the type of chocolate chips
that extra bit of love that your Aunt put into her ...
... and then sometimes I have found that recreating that
memory is very illusive in deed ...
 
Why thank you. Learned something new today.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Discuss Cooking mobile app

Someone always has a solution here at DC. And welcome.

So many new bakers make the same mistake that you did. When a recipe calls for butter, you just can't substitute anything else. It has to be butter. The butter melts differently and gives the final product that taste and feel that you are looking for.

Very rarely will you see a recipe that calls for margarine. It simply does not hold up when baking. I can't remember the last time I bought margarine. :angel:
 
Someone always has a solution here at DC. And welcome.

So many new bakers make the same mistake that you did. When a recipe calls for butter, you just can't substitute anything else. It has to be butter. The butter melts differently and gives the final product that taste and feel that you are looking for.

Very rarely will you see a recipe that calls for margarine. It simply does not hold up when baking. I can't remember the last time I bought margarine. :angel:

I buy country crock because I'm ok with the taste, and it spreads on bread so much easier. But I know my family just sits a stick of butter out and covers it with plastic wrap until it's gone. Then they get another stick from the fridge. I'll start doing that.
 
Your cookie recipe calls for softened butter, so it's fine to leave the butter on the counter for awhile. If you don't use butter for anything other than baking, you don't need to keep it out all the time, and continue to use your Country Crock for your bread spread.
 
Last edited:
BTW, when Gale was flattening her cookies, she used her hand. I use the bottom of a small glass dipped very lightly in a liquid (milk) and then in the sugar. Then I flatten the cookies. The sugar will stick to the cookie dough as you are pushing it into the dough when you flattening them. If you feel that there is not enough sugar on them, you can always sprinkle more by hand. :angel:
 
What I usually do too. Though the organic unsalted butter I got from Costco says to keep it refrigerated.
 
Back
Top Bottom