Cookie issues - with sad little pictures.

[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!