This Side-By-Side Comparison Guide Will Help You Make The Best Cookies Ever
You're welcome.
Nothing beats a good chocolate chip cookie, but with so many Pinterest recipes out there, what exactly makes a "good" cookie?
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Thanks to the self-proclaimed "Cookie Queen" and Handle the Heat blogger, we now have a comparative guide on just about every chocolate chip cookie variation out there.
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She used one control recipe and altered each variation slightly to show the (sometimes drastic) differences in final cookie product.
1. Added Flour
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This recipe uses almost double the amount of flour which makes for a denser, crumblier cookie.
2. Only Granulated Sugar
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A recipe using only granulated sugar will make flatter, slightly chewy cookies that are crispier on the outer edges.
3. Only Brown Sugar
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A recipe using only brown sugar which makes for a thick, soft, butterscotch-flavored cookie.
4. Melted Butter
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Using melted (and cooled) butter in your cookie recipe will result in a relatively flat cookie with a shinier, crackled top, not unlike most brownie recipes.
5. Only Baking Soda
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This recipe is actually the control, using only baking soda and produces a "standard" cookie.
6. Only Baking Powder
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Replacing baking soda for baking powder will result in a cakier cookie.
7. Baking Soda and Baking Powder
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Using both baking powder and soda makes a crisp cookie that is soft in the middle.
8. 24-hour Chilled Dough
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This cookie used the control recipe, but also chilled the dough itself for 24 hours before baking which made a thicker and chewier cookie.
And because 8 variations isn't enough, here are six more!
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9. Added Cornstarch
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Despite the natural thickening properties of cornstarch, these cookies still have crisp edges with soft and slightly gooey centers.
10. Dark, Non-stick Pan
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On a dark pan the cookies tend to spread less and brown more quickly than on parchment paper or a baking mat.
11. Shortening
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Despite its bad rep, shortening doesn't add as fake a flavor as many expect, but instead it produces a soft and thick textured cookie.
12. Cake Flour
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While these cookies look fairly crispy, the added cake flour kept them soft and with the spread were almost too soft.
13. Bread Flour
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Bread flour adds an extra thick and chewy texture to cookies, perfect for a tall glass of milk.
14. Extra Egg Yolk
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The extra yolk in this recipe makes for an extra soft cookie with a decent spread and plenty of chewiness.
These variations focus on substitution for dietary restrictions because, cookies for all!
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15. Whole Wheat
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Substituting whole wheat flour make for a firmer cookie with a bonus nutty flavor.
16. Gluten Free
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The gluten-free flour in these cookies made for a thinner, crispier cookie with surprisingly few differences otherwise.
17. Coconut Oil (Non-Dairy)
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Substituting coconut oil makes for a greasier cookie but extremely chewy and soft ones, at that.
19. Flax Egg (Vegan)
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The flax egg (flax meal and water) makes for a very thin and somewhat grainy cookie, but a vegan cookie nonetheless!
18. Maple Syrup
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Using maple syrup rather than sugar (for those who cannot eat processed sugar) makes for a wet dough, but the sticky nature keeps the cookies from spreading and instead made a fairly dense cookie.
And finally, this comparison shows differences in technique that influence the final cookie from oven temperature to baking sheet material.
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For all the details and descriptions, check out the full blog post.
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