When cookies aren’t spreading, it means that there’s too much dry ingredient (flour) soaking up all the liquid. … If you’re in the middle of baking a batch and the cookies still aren’t spreading, remove them from the oven, and use a spoon to slightly flatten them out before returning them to the oven.
How long does it take to bake cookies at 350? Place one baking sheet at a time onto center rack of preheated 350 degree F oven. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, still have pale tops, and are soft in the center, about 8 to 10 minutes. ( Do not overbake!
Secrets to Thick, Soft, & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Underbaked cookies are the secret to softness.
- Using cornstarch in the dough is another secret to softness, as well as the secret to thickness.
- Using more brown sugar than white sugar results in a moister, softer cookie.
- Adding an extra egg yolk increases chewiness.
The cookies will spread and expand as they bake. When the dough balls are placed too close together on the baking sheet, you run the risk of creating a big cookie cake instead of the individual cookies you were hoping for. … Place the uncooked dough balls about 2 inches apart. If necessary, bake your cookies in batches.
Popping your dough in the fridge allows the fats to cool. As a result, the cookies will expand more slowly, holding onto their texture. If you skip the chilling step, you’re more likely to wind up with flat, sad disks instead of lovely, chewy cookies. Cookies made from chilled dough are also much more flavorful.
“When your dough is refrigerated, the butter hardens. So when you bake them, they spread less and hold their shape better,” adds Epperson. “Which means a better likelihood of a soft, chewy cookie in the center.” So chilling the dough before baking means fluffier cookies with better consistency.
Chilling cookie dough before baking solidifies the fat in the cookies. As the cookies bake, the fat in the chilled cookie dough takes longer to melt than room-temperature fat. And the longer the fat remains solid, the less cookies spread.
One common trick to hardening soft cookies is to simply stick them back in the oven for a little bit longer. … You will also want to make sure that you are using an aluminum tray to bake your cookies on. The insulated baking sheet usually creates softer cookies that may not be baked evenly, and this is not what you want.
What we learned: Leavening agents determine the spread, rise, and cakiness of cookies. … Unless you want cakey cookies, avoid using baking powder: The cookies made with both the single- and double-acting baking powders were just too darn cakey. 2. Baking soda helps cookies spread more than baking powder.
Solutions:
- That fluffy texture you want in a cake results from beating a lot of air into the room temperature butter and sugar, and it does the same for cookies. …
- Use melted butter for a denser, chewier cookie.
- Play with the liquid ratio in your recipe. …
- Use all-purpose or bread flour.
- Increase the sugar content slightly.