Cookie issues - with sad little pictures.

[Kaissa]

Ok, I can't make chocolate chip cookies to save my life. They always turn out looking like the mess below. The pics are kind of dark - the cookies aren't actually that dark - but my issue is - why are they always flat?
I have tried about 10 different recipes; some with butter, some with shortening, different sugar combinations, high altitude directions (I'm about 5000 feet), etc... but I still end up with this:





why why why?   

Any good bakers have tips for me?

Thank you so much in advance!!
 

[Ms Jameson]

I have the same issue with every cookie I make.

Did you check your sodas and powders to make sure they are fresh?

If all your ingredients are good, chances are it is your oven.  Go buy a three or four dollar oven thermometer and make sure you're baking at the correct temp.  That seems to help.

In my case I live in an apartment and we just have a cruddy oven so there isn't a whole lot I can do about it.

[emmsie-poo]

i'm not entirely sure of this, but i think it might be your oven.  i used to have an oven whose temperature was slightly off, and it always wound up getting too hot, and my cookies would turn out like that or worse.  you could try fiddling around with temperatures and baking times and see what works with your oven.

[clrowi]

I used to BOMB choc chip cookies too (and my DH still makes a FAR superior batch than I do)!!

Are you using an old container of leavener? Because they can loose it's "power" if left for too long, just like yeast. Have you also tried increasing the amount you use? And turning the temp of your oven down, because it looks like the outer edges are cooking much faster, and it may not be giving the leavener enough time to "react" before the cookie is done.

Good luck with the next batch!

[polutechnos]

Hmm, looks like my kind of cookie I'd say your problem lies in your sugar...A bit too much sugar will make them flatten and become crispier.

Here's my recipe:

Preheat oven to 375'F

3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 cup stick butter or margerine softened (Land O Lakes or Betty Crocker work good)
2 cups all purpose flour (and another 1/4 cup for kneading in)
1tsp baking soda
1/2tsp salt
12oz pack of chocolate chips

Put both sugars, egg, and softened butter into bowl. Blend with mixer. Blend in 2c. flour, salt, and baking soda. Don't over blend or you'll end up with some puffy cookies!
Knead in 1/4 cup all purpose flour. Add (stir or knead in) the chocolate chips.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. I usually bake at 9 or 10 minutes, but it depends on what kind of cookie you like and how accurate your oven is.

I'm not sure where you are from, so if you need the measurements converted to metric system, let me know

[edelC]

Ok I have to say that your cookies look delicious, I personally prefer them flattish like this as they are more chewy, My friend is the chocolate chip cookie maven and I watched her make them tonight, she never flattens them out at all, just rolls biggish balls of the dough and puts it on the sheets and cooks them fairly fast.

But I always get her to flatten them out for me as I like them like yours..


mouth watering now

[edelC]

polutechnos I'd love your measurements converted to metric, its the stick of butter that is a problem for me, we dont have sticks here in ireland, and a cup measurement of butter is a pain in the ass, either metric or imperial is good, One or the other.

Thanks in advance

[Kaissa]

Thank you all!!
I used a brand new package of leavener, because I suspected that may be the problem - but nope  .  Tomorrow I'm going to pick up one of the inside the oven thermometers. My range is a hand-me-down from my mom, and she had it for as long as I can remember so there's a good chance it's temp is off.

polutechnos - thak you so much for that recipe. I am going to give it a try for sure!!

Ok I have to say that your cookies look delicious, I personally prefer them flattish like this as they are more chewy, My friend is the chocolate chip cookie maven and I watched her make them tonight, she never flattens them out at all, just rolls biggish balls of the dough and puts it on the sheets and cooks them fairly fast.

But I always get her to flatten them out for me as I like them like yours..


mouth watering now

thank you . They taste yummy - in fact my neighbor just stopped by and he ate 5...  but I just want them to look pretty and fluffy! 

[Avian Flight]

I actually think it's the amount of butter you put in. The more butter, the flatter they get. But I don't know the science behind it and I may be wrong. You can try less butter and refrigerating the dough before baking so it spreads out less?

[polutechnos]

edel, these are rough measurements, but they should be ok! I didn't take the time to do the math; just used an online conversion thingy.

Preheat oven to 190'C

170g light brown sugar
170g white sugar (caster sugar or a less fine white sugar)
1 egg
225g of butter or margerine (there's a product in England called Pure margerine that works ok)
550g of all purpose flour (an additional 56g for kneading in)
1tsp baking soda (bicarbonate soda for the non USers )
1/2tsp salt
12oz pack of chocolate chips
340g of chocolate chips (how much you add is up to you though)

Put both sugars, egg, and softened butter into bowl. Blend with mixer. Blend in 550g flour, salt, and baking soda. Don't over blend or you'll end up with some puffy cookies!
Knead in the rest of the flour. Add (stir or knead in) the chocolate chips.
Bake for 8-10 minutes. I usually bake at 9 or 10 minutes, but it depends on what kind of cookie you like and how accurate your oven is.

Avian Flight, you're kind of right. I narrowed it down to a couple things. The oven, butter, and/or sugar. Butter is one of the moisture ingredients, so is brown sugar (because it has mollases). Basically, the amount of moisture (butter, egg, brown sugar) is a problem when the moisture evaporates too quickly or too slowly, making the cookies cake like or crispier. The dry ingredients (flour, sugar) kinda regulate how quickly all of this happens. I think more sugar (just don't overkill) slows down the moisture release, making them fluffier. Like you said, less butter works too.

[Eapa]

As opposed to the amount of butter, as Avian Flight mentions, it might actually be the temperature of the butter (or the shortening, or whatever) when the cookies go into the oven that makes the difference.  I remember seeing on one of those cooking shows on the Food Network (I think it was Good Eats?) a discussion of the perfect cookie, and one of the tips was to make sure your butter wasn't too soft.  I think I somewhat proved this fact to myself once when I over-microwaved a stick of butter to soften it, ended up with completely melted butter, and my cookies came out of the oven much thinner than usual.

Since you kind of need to soften the butter so you can mix it in, you could try chilling the dough for maybe ten minutes before popping it into the oven.  This will give the cookie dough enough time to solidify in the baking process before the heat of the oven causes the butter to become runny.  Don't over-chill, though, or you'll end up with the opposite problem:  tall cookie mounds that don't bake all the way through in the center.

[Retromiad]

Just fyi, you can NOT translate baking soda from the US directly to Europe.  I learned this from experience.  In Europe and the UK the baking soda is weaker so you have to use about 1 and 1/2 times as much.  So instead of 1 tsp, it would be 1 1/2 tsp.

that is all. 

[timarie]

As opposed to the amount of butter, as Avian Flight mentions, it might actually be the temperature of the butter (or the shortening, or whatever) when the cookies go into the oven that makes the difference.  I remember seeing on one of those cooking shows on the Food Network (I think it was Good Eats?) a discussion of the perfect cookie, and one of the tips was to make sure your butter wasn't too soft.  I think I somewhat proved this fact to myself once when I over-microwaved a stick of butter to soften it, ended up with completely melted butter, and my cookies came out of the oven much thinner than usual.

Since you kind of need to soften the butter so you can mix it in, you could try chilling the dough for maybe ten minutes before popping it into the oven.  This will give the cookie dough enough time to solidify in the baking process before the heat of the oven causes the butter to become runny.  Don't over-chill, though, or you'll end up with the opposite problem:  tall cookie mounds that don't bake all the way through in the center.

I was going to say the same thing! I have made the same mistake of microwaving my butter and the cookies came out completely flat.

[xx_Kellybean]

my mom has two chocolate chip cookie recipes. one comes out flat like that, and the other comes out puffy like none other. i'll try and get the puffy one from her if you'd like....but my favorite seem to be the flat ones.

[opiniongirl]

I live at 6500 ft, and I think the altitude affects chocolate chip cookies ALOT.  I never had any trouble at sea level... They say for high altitude, you should reduce the amount of leavening and add a little extra flour.  The altitude causes the leavening to react more quickly and vigorously before the other ingredients have had a chance to set, so they poof up real quick and then collapse... I'm not clever enough to figure out how to modify existing recipes, but I have a great cookie that does great up here on the mountain.

I got this recipe from a friend, and it makes the most delicious, tall, fluffy looking cookies ever.  You may have to play around with the amt of flour- I usually go for a 1/4 less than the recipe calls for (you can always add it in the end if the dough seems too gooey), and my oven bakes hot, so I only bake 8-10 minute- other than that its very forgiving.  I am lazy and never cream my butter and sugar, but the cookies always turn out good.

3/4 c. Shortening (butter flavored is good)
1 c. Brown Sugar
1/4 c. White Sugar
1 Egg
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1 3/4 c. Flour
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 c. chocolate chips

Mix shortening & sugar, add other wet ingredients.  Sift dry ingredients together, add to wet ingredients.  Drop onto cookie sheet, bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes (or less- keep an eye on them).

Hope this works for you- its my new favorite recipe and its great for high altitude.

[frogeyesalad]

As opposed to the amount of butter, as Avian Flight mentions, it might actually be the temperature of the butter (or the shortening, or whatever) when the cookies go into the oven that makes the difference.  I remember seeing on one of those cooking shows on the Food Network (I think it was Good Eats?) a discussion of the perfect cookie, and one of the tips was to make sure your butter wasn't too soft.  I think I somewhat proved this fact to myself once when I over-microwaved a stick of butter to soften it, ended up with completely melted butter, and my cookies came out of the oven much thinner than usual.

That's interesting, I found that mine come out way fluffier when I DO melt the butter! But I let it cool before I mix it with any ingredients. I now melt my butter for every kind of cookies I make, interesting how different it works for everyone:)

[Muria]

One of the things that definitely influences cookies is what kind of fat you use. Do not EVER use low fat margarine to make cookies. They don't turn out (I think it's the high water content, and the fact that they melt faster).

An interesting resource on cookies is: http://www.8legged.com/Kitchen/FSL05.html
I don't actually like his cookie recipe, but the scientific explanation is interesting.

Good luck!

[bekahzzz]

I would say chilling the dough would help. Using a scoop that mounds it up nice and then chilling it already scooped has always helped me. Its worth a try anyway.

They still look good to me. 

[Wildfyre]

Parchment paper helps

I have a recipe I've used for years.. they always turn out excellent.. but I always bake with parchment paper. Well I ran out of it and had to bake a bunch of cookies and they almost all turned out like that. Nothing else changed - all the ingredients were exactly the same, same oven, same temps..

Just an idea 

[ymer]

Normally my cookies turn out just dandy, but I've had a batch turn out just like this!  The only thing I could think of was that I beat them too long (we have an electric mixer) to where the batter became more 'whipped' than just... stirred.  If that makes sense.  Hahaha, anyway it screwed my cookies up =/  I know the ingredients were right when I did it.  The batter was tasty! 

tl;dr:  don't whip your cookies   

pee ess:  Apparently this results in 'puffy' cookies?  It wasn't the case here, who knows.  Could be an altitude thing. 

[starspinner]

tips!

- chill your pans before and between use - limits spreading
- chill dough before baking - same
- fresh ingredients - amply stated already
- DO NOT overcream your butter!!! or overmix it after adding other ingredients. fold in chips/nuts
- use butter at a temperature that is just soft - no liquid parts


as for recipe, i'm a diehard tollhouse recipe girl, but with better quality chips.
look inside the land o lakes butter boxes and there's a recipe that comes out super awesome. my mom uses that on and they always come out thick and plump.

[Kaissa]

wow, tons of awesome tips! I am going to try them all. Someday I shall conquer baking a decent cookie! 

My butter was probably a bit too soft - I got impatient and microwaved it and a little bit was totally melted.

opiniongirl - thanks for that recipe too. I will try it!

[shastaw2006]

tips!

- chill your pans before and between use - limits spreading
- chill dough before baking - same

Agreed! Everything must be super cold- don't freeze the dough balls or anything, but chill the dough in the fridge for at least an hour. If you can wait 2-3 days that would be best, the flavors meld and you get a much deeper, more complex flavor. Use 2 - 3 cookie sheets and scoop out your cold dough, and put it in the freezer. Make another pan, and put the one from the freezer into the oven, and the new pan in the freezer. While the cookies are baking, make another pan, and switch everything out until you run out of dough. This always works best for me. I also will sometimes lower the oven temp 25 degrees, and I always under cook them so they come out chewy.

I use the basic Tollhouse recipe with the following exceptions:
3 tsp of vanilla instead of 1
Use half baking powder and half baking soda- instead of the full amount of powder

Good luck!

[shastaw2006]

Oh- I also use 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white and I always microwave the butter to liquid form, and let it cool a bit- just so that it won't cook the eggs!

[lime9211]

Your pictures look like the issue could be (a bit) too much sugar. That or the cookie dough is too warm when you put it in the oven. The original toll house recipe is still the best for me, and sometimes I'll put the dough on the sheets and put them inthe fridge til they're cooler.

[klum78]

I agree with some of the above posters that it could be your butter.

I had this exact problem about a month ago.  I made 2 separate batches of cookies and the first were perfect, all fluffy and pretty.  The second were totally flat, even more so than yours, the chips were popping out of them!  Same recipes, same ingredients.  After discussing with some friends we figured it was because I microwaved the butter of the second batch.  (I was in a hurry the second time!)  So I had all liquid butter and no solid.  They were still tasty but I felt like they looked so horrible!  So now I place the stick of butter on the stove top when I am preheating the oven for about 10 min and that makes it soft enough.  Good luck let us know if you figure out what was wrong. 

(Now I want cookies...)

[missgabbielynn]

I think your oven might be a tad too hot.  Turn it down 25 degrees and see if that helps.  Our oven is super hot and we have to turn it down as well.

But I do agree with some of the other comments about trying butter in different stages of melted or cooled.  Some recipes call for chilling the dough before baking and it does work well!!!  I always use slightly melted butter in mine and they turn out great though!

Also, cookies are one of those things you DO NOT want to let cool on the cookie sheet.  Either take them out of the oven shortly before done and let them "cook" on the cookie sheets while cooling, or take them off the cookie sheets to a cooling rack, or even straight onto a clean counter immediately when taking them out of the oven.  A good cookie shouldn't be quite as browned around all the edges as yours are.

Another good hint on cookies is, never bake cookies on a dark cookie sheet.  You should always use a nice silver one!!!  It doesn't sound like it would make a difference, but it does!!!  Make sure you have a silver sheet and not one of those black ones!

Hope this helps!!!  I love baking cookies and learned this after years of trial and error! 

missgabbielynn

[edelC]

wow you guys are serious experts,  I am very impressed, especially with the differences between how baking powder works in this part of the world! (thanks Retromiad )

polutechnos  thanks for the conversion, sadly I am out of chocolate chips. And since I am a chocolate snob and only use really good belgian chocolate, I have to wait before I try them~!

Actually compared to the amazing expertise on this board, I can only add that I reckon all this work should only be done with the best ingredients, really good chocolate, butter not margarine, and pure vanilla extract. It does make a difference to the taste. but I love the idea of leaving the dough for a few days to allow the flavours to meld a bit.

[spicytaco]

Err...uhh....every chocolate chip cookie I've made in my life has looked like that. Tasted great, but are always flat. I've never thought anything of it. I't how my mum's always looked too. And my boyfriends look like that too. And my I say that they always taste fabulous. Until this post I never considered there might be something wrong......   

[kleinsch]

I think everyone's put in some great comments that I totally agree with.  When I've had similar problems with my cookies, it has always been due to overmelting (nuking) the butter in an effort to soften it, and working with an oven that didn't have the right temp. 

I always use an oven thermometer now, rather than relying on the knob dial, because in the past two houses I've lived in, the ovens have been off by 25 degrees.  Having a properly calibrated oven makes everything so much better!

[Kaissa]

Another good hint on cookies is, never bake cookies on a dark cookie sheet.  You should always use a nice silver one!!!  It doesn't sound like it would make a difference, but it does!!!  Make sure you have a silver sheet and not one of those black ones!

Hope this helps!!!  I love baking cookies and learned this after years of trial and error! 

missgabbielynn

Oh, I have never heard this! All my cookie sheets are black! I know what I'll be asking for for Christmas! 

Err...uhh....every chocolate chip cookie I've made in my life has looked like that. Tasted great, but are always flat. I've never thought anything of it. I't how my mum's always looked too. And my boyfriends look like that too. And my I say that they always taste fabulous. Until this post I never considered there might be something wrong......   

spicy taco - mine have always looks like this too - and so did my mom's the whole time I was growing up. Not too long ago I went into a local restaurant and saw the cookies they had just made - and got totally jealous of their beauty! lol 

[craftewoman]

Wow! Apparently cookie making is it's own science. Any recipe I've looked at has had you cream the sugars with the butter, and then add the already mixed dried ingredients and mix and then fold in the chocolate chips. I've always been lazy, and dumped everything in all at once and mixed it only until it comes together and the folded in the chocolate chips. I usually use my butter on the harder side. Not quite room temp and not refrigerated.
Two things I've learned recently.
1. Double acting baking powder is called that because it works first when you add the wet ingredients, and second in the oven. That's why you want to bake something quickly after adding it. Because of this I use baking soda instead.

2. You should never try to soften your butter in the microwave for making cookies. Martha suggests putting it into a bowl and then floating that bowl in a bigger one filled with warm water. I usually just set it in a glass bowl on top of the stove on the burner that has the oven vent in it. By the time I've gathered my other supplies and the oven is warmed enough, it's soft enough.

I never bake them as long as the recipe says. when I moved into a new house (new oven) I would check on them and when they were done, take them out. In this house that's 9 minutes.

Also, I like to switch up the flavors a bit.
try adding:
Craisins and 1 tsp orange extract and white chocolate instead of milk chocolate
or
1/4 tsp mint extract
or
1/2 tsp almond extract

[shastaw2006]

this website http://www.well.com/~vard/cookies.html is where I got all my tips from. They've got some good pointers.

[Muria]

Use half baking powder and half baking soda- instead of the full amount of powder

??  Isn't the tollhouse recipe the one that's all baking SODA?  Maybe it's different in different countries?

Just wondering, not trying to be nitpicky. 

[shastaw2006]

Those are my changes to the tollhouse recipe.

[doyouloveanapple]

As opposed to the amount of butter, as Avian Flight mentions, it might actually be the temperature of the butter (or the shortening, or whatever) when the cookies go into the oven that makes the difference. 

I second that. It has to do with how quickly the dough warms in the oven... so I always chill my cookie dough for a few hours before baking. It gives the butter a chance to harden. Then when they hit the oven the outside layer can cook without giving the whole thing a chance to get flat.

Also, using margarine can do this becuase it's esentially oil that science has tricked into being solid and that doens't stand up to heat.

Hope that helps.

[shastaw2006]

Use half baking powder and half baking soda- instead of the full amount of powder

??  Isn't the tollhouse recipe the one that's all baking SODA?  Maybe it's different in different countries?

Just wondering, not trying to be nitpicky. 

ahh... just caught that. soda, not powder. Idk which one is usually is, just that I use half and half. One is supposed to have it rise right away, and the other makes it rise in the oven. Or something like that. Idk the science, but it works for me!

[scarygurrl]

I am hugely confused.

My cookies always turn out rubbishy, more like cakes than cookies.
I think it is maybe to do with baking powder/baking soda.

I use US recipes, and am in the UK, so I'm guessing I need to make some sort of adjustment.
I also am unsure if there is a difference between using butter, and stork margarine.

Does anyone have a fool-proof (maybe idiot proof is better!) recipe, that will work with UK baking powder/soda?

[MacesMeMe]

scarygurrl

Just fyi, you can NOT translate baking soda from the US directly to Europe.  I learned this from experience.  In Europe and the UK the baking soda is weaker so you have to use about 1 and 1/2 times as much.  So instead of 1 tsp, it would be 1 1/2 tsp.

that is all. 

I don't think I've had a problem with cookies being flat-or maybe I never noticed b/c I always eat them hot off the baking sheet. But one thing my grandmother always said is to never use margarine in cookies b/c it changes it's flavor and texture.
And I too always nuke my butter a bit.

Good luck with your cookies! Post some pics when you get good ones!!

[pfirsch]

Ok, I can't make chocolate chip cookies to save my life. They always turn out looking like the mess below. The pics are kind of dark - the cookies aren't actually that dark - but my issue is - why are they always flat?

I actually prefer flat cookies.  If you ever end up having another "mess" on your hands, I can volunteer for disaster relief.

[psycholupine]

I live at 5000 feet and this is what I've learned about any baking, especially cookies and cakes:

Use 1/3 less sugar. This is the most important tip. Really, no one believes me but do it!
Do NOT use more flour.
Use 1/4 less leavening (baking powder or soda).
Either use a dark pan or lower the temp 25 degrees.
If the batter is really thick, add more liquid.

Also, crisco works better for me in tollhouse cookies.

[Kelhenna]

I'm new to this board but wanted to add my two cents in.  I love a good puffy chocolate chip cookie and found this recipe in the America's Test Kitchen cookbook.  It makes the best cookies ever.  In fact my husband took some to work today and none are coming home.

1 cup of butter (not margarine) melted and cooled
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1 TBS. vanilla
3 1/2 c. flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 pkg. chocolate chips
1/2 pkg. toffee chips

Heat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix flour, baking soda, salt in bowl.  Set aside.
Cream together melted butter and sugars.  Add in eggs, egg yolks and vanilla.  Mix until cominbed (2 minutes).  Add flour mixture to butter/sugar/egg mixture.  Mix in chocolate chips and toffee chips.
Measure out 1/4 c. of dough.  Roll into ball.  (I found I could place about 6 cookies on a sheet at this size.)  Bake in oven 17-20 minutes.  Remove from oven but leave on sheet for additional 10 minutes.
Eat!

Notes:  I use shiny aluminum baking sheets.  I have a stainless steel one but it gets to hot.  The solution to this is to buy a Silpat baking mat (http://www.amazon.com/Silpat-2-Inch-Nonstick-Silicone-Baking/dp/B00008T960).  This reduces the amout of heat the cookie sheet gives off.  I found that when my cookies did come out flat it was because of using the stainless steel sheet without the baking mat. 

[Sunray]

...is that not right for cookies? I've never had particularly puffy cookies...I made about a hundred-a hundred fifty last year for my friends and all of them ADORED them...