Tips to making chocolate chip cookies like a pro!
Desserts come in all shapes and sizes around the globe, each cherished for different reasons. Chocolate chip cookies, in particular, have a special place in many hearts, and there’s no single way to enjoy them. Some folks love their cookies thick and chewy, while others lean towards a thinner, crunchier texture. And hey, if you’re a fan of crispy cookies, we totally respect that! In this article, we’re taking a different approach. Instead of giving you a typical chocolate chip cookie recipe, we’ll explore some tweaks you can make to any recipe to craft your ideal cookie!
Adjust your butter!
Love perfectly round chunky cookies? Or would you rather enjoy thin, crispy ones? Whichever way you like your cookies, this first recipe tip is not to use a cookie cutter or another tool. Instead, the trick is to adjust the temperature of your butter. You can create one of the above options by simply changing your butter's temperature. You'll want to use chilled butter if you prefer round, evenly baked cookies. However, for thin, crispy cookies, make sure to melt your butter before adding it to the batter. And if you like your cookies somewhere in the middle, then simply use room-temperature butter.
Cue the flour!
If you love cookies that are chewy and thick with a slightly undercooked centre, you can create your favourite kind of cookie by adding more flour to your recipe. And, if you’re unsure how they will turn out with that much flour, increase the flour each time you make them to see the results as you go up on the flour measurement. You may even want to include your kids in this recipe as it can be like a mini-science experiment each time.
Play with your sugar, please!
You'll love this tip if you can’t get over a rich butterscotch tasting chocolate chip cookie. If you typically use white sugar in your recipe, opt for brown sugar to create cookies with a caramel, sweet flavour. And, while the brown sugar will leave you with sweet butterscotch cookies, they will also be soft and chewy. On the flip side, white sugar creates a lighter-tasting, thin, crispy cookie.
Chill out!
The next tip is a baking hack you may have seen in other recipes, which is to chill your dough before forming and baking the cookies. By chilling the dough before baking, you will produce a firmer cookie. While you can opt to chill your dough for only a couple of hours, allowing the dough to sit in the fridge for 24-48 hours will also allow all of the flavors to mingle, creating a more flavorful cookie.
DIY chocolate!
Chop your own chocolate chips! This tip may sound silly because chocolate is chocolate. But, by chopping up the chocolate chips, you’re creating chips of different sizes and shapes, which means they will spread around the cookie more evenly. You can also choose to level up your cookie by mixing in peanut butter chips or even little chunks of peppermint candy if you want a more festive cookie. Either way, you won’t regret using this tip when you bite into a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie.
Make it fancy!
This last tip allows you to customise your cookies the way you want. Whether you choose to stick with the traditional ingredients or add something special, this is your chance to claim the spot as the next chocolate chip cookie king or queen! Some ideas include adding almond extract to add a slightly different flavour profile. Or, you can add mint chocolate syrup to your recipe for mint chocolate chip cookies. Lastly, you can top your cookies with a bit of sea salt to make them a sweet and savoury treat.
In conclusion, chocolate chip cookies are a classic treat enjoyed by many people worldwide. Some people prefer a crunchy thin cookie, while others like a cakey, dense cookie. Whatever variation you choose, chocolate chip cookies are a classic treat that you can enjoy year-round. So, which tip are you going to try on your next batch of chocolate chip cookies?