Hi everyone! New here and hoping some advice would help me become a better cook and baker!
I bake as often as I can. I still live at home and my mother does all the cooking, so trying to find a time to have the kitchen all to myself is scarce! And sometimes with work i get too busy or tired to do anything. I don't have any formal training and nor have i taken a class, though I'd love to someday.
I like baking more than cooking. I enjoy making cookies as well. Here is my problem with them - they end up getting hard too fast after they are baked. Can someone tell me why? I follow the recipe as it is in front of me. I remember only one time have i made them soft and moist, but don't remember how that happened.
The recipe is a basic one, as I remember it: 2.5 cups of flour - i used unbleached because it just said 'flour,' 2 eggs, 3/4 cups brown sugar & white granular sugar, 1 tspn vanilla, 1 cup butter, 1 cup ch. chips, salt and baking powder. I believe that's all.
The only thing i did wrong was, the eggs, although they were room temp, one however smelled when i had cracked it in a separate cup, it tainted the other egg so i threw them both out and used 2 others from the fridge. I should have removed back up eggs but did not. I always crack my eggs in a separate bowl before entering them. The recipe did not say room temp eggs, but i know when baking, that what we do.
The other thing is, I did not sift the flour, baking powder, salt - the recipe did not call for it. But is that what needs to be done?
Also, the recipe did not call for convection baking of 375 degrees, but I did anyway. Was i wrong?
And the baking time said 10 - 12 min, which I kept, however, they came out a little over done, and more brown. Would it be wise to take them out before 10 minutes? I do remember the ones I made that were soft and moist, that i might have cooked them under 10 minutes and they were very fragile and soft, the way I like them, because i tend to toast them for a minute each time I eat them so I prefer them soft. But was I wrong to convection bake them? And is under ten minutes too little baking time?
Any advice or corrections are appreciated
I bake as often as I can. I still live at home and my mother does all the cooking, so trying to find a time to have the kitchen all to myself is scarce! And sometimes with work i get too busy or tired to do anything. I don't have any formal training and nor have i taken a class, though I'd love to someday.
I like baking more than cooking. I enjoy making cookies as well. Here is my problem with them - they end up getting hard too fast after they are baked. Can someone tell me why? I follow the recipe as it is in front of me. I remember only one time have i made them soft and moist, but don't remember how that happened.
The recipe is a basic one, as I remember it: 2.5 cups of flour - i used unbleached because it just said 'flour,' 2 eggs, 3/4 cups brown sugar & white granular sugar, 1 tspn vanilla, 1 cup butter, 1 cup ch. chips, salt and baking powder. I believe that's all.
The only thing i did wrong was, the eggs, although they were room temp, one however smelled when i had cracked it in a separate cup, it tainted the other egg so i threw them both out and used 2 others from the fridge. I should have removed back up eggs but did not. I always crack my eggs in a separate bowl before entering them. The recipe did not say room temp eggs, but i know when baking, that what we do.
The other thing is, I did not sift the flour, baking powder, salt - the recipe did not call for it. But is that what needs to be done?
Also, the recipe did not call for convection baking of 375 degrees, but I did anyway. Was i wrong?
And the baking time said 10 - 12 min, which I kept, however, they came out a little over done, and more brown. Would it be wise to take them out before 10 minutes? I do remember the ones I made that were soft and moist, that i might have cooked them under 10 minutes and they were very fragile and soft, the way I like them, because i tend to toast them for a minute each time I eat them so I prefer them soft. But was I wrong to convection bake them? And is under ten minutes too little baking time?
Any advice or corrections are appreciated