Cookies coming out different

amother

Salmon

Sun, Feb 28 2016, 4:08 pm

Im following recipes to a T but still getting different results than a few of my friends
(eg: mine dried quicker even tho they were stored the same)
also, cookies that are not flat in recipe pics are coming out flat?

tested my baking powder in vinegar and it bubbled fine so it shouldn't be that...

so frustrated. what could it be?

esther11

Sun, Feb 28 2016, 8:29 pm

The way u measure flour can have a lot to do with it (scoop and shake down, scoop and wipe off the top, pour in, etc). Also if it's a recipe with margarine, cookies come out dif if the margarine is room temp or from the fridge or melted

esther11

Sun, Feb 28 2016, 10:35 pm

I think officially it's best to pour is the flour with a scoop or other cup and then wipe off the excess with a knife or something else. I find that the only way that really messes up my cookies is when I shake it to smooth the top, because then u get the flour to settle and u add more

spikta

Mon, Feb 29 2016, 1:09 am

I don't know what's up with that particular recipe, but chilling the dough before baking helps cookies come out thicker.
You can either stick the batter in the fridge for half an hour, or for even better, thick chewy cookies, shape them and then chill them on the pan before baking.

Why does this work you ask?

When the dough heats up in the oven the fat in the dough (margarine/butter/oil etc.) melts, which makes the dough soft and liquidy so it spreads.
When the dough gets beyond a certain temperature the eggs start solidifying and a crust starts forming on the outside of the cookie (the part that's most exposed to the heat), and then the spreading stops because the crisp outside "locks" the still soft dough on the inside into place.
When you chill the dough, the cookies melt less before the outside crisps (because the dough on the inside is colder and more solid). So you have thicker, less flat cookies.

Ms.MaryMack(inblack)

Mon, Feb 29 2016, 3:01 am

You need to make sure that your oven is pre-heated to the correct temp. The temp. makes all the dif. it does matter if its a few degrees higher or a few degrees lower. It took me a while to figure it out, but now that I figured it out, my cookies come out perfect Smile

etky

Mon, Feb 29 2016, 4:10 am

I think Spikta and teawithlemon are correct.
This sounds more like a temperature problem than an ingredient problem.
Also, make sure your cookie sheet is not hot when you put the cookies on it.

mille

Mon, Feb 29 2016, 7:43 am

And, because it wasn't mentioned - get an actual oven thermometer. Just because you set the oven to, say, 350, doesn't mean it's holding that temperature. Get an oven thermometer for a better idea of how hot/cold/normal your oven runs and adjust based on that.

greenfire

Mon, Feb 29 2016, 9:09 am

I love to bake. But when I bake at my sister's house who has an electric oven vs the gas I am used to - things came out different ... and in my mother's house because the thermostat has a different read than the actual temperature the very same thing happened. So another vote for the oven

Also, my cookies come out quite different if I use oil vs crisco.

etky

Mon, Feb 29 2016, 9:14 am

greenfire wrote:

OT, but would you mind elaborating on that?
Growing up in the States my mom had a gas oven.
Here in Israel (where I've lived my entire adult life) I've only had electric ovens and though I use my mom's recipes I find that my baked goods come out different to what I remember.
I've often wondered if that was the reason.....

kollel wife

Mon, Feb 29 2016, 2:37 pm

Another thing is the pan - and which shelf in the oven you're putting it on.

I think a darker oven will bake faster (less spreading of the batter) and also a lower shelf will bake faster.

You have to experiment to get the cookie how you like it - add a bit more flour also if it's too high, not flat enough.

Once you have "your oven" and pan and the number of minutes you like - then record that for the future.

etky

Mon, Feb 29 2016, 2:55 pm

Also, I find that baked goods come out differently when I bake them on turbo with the fan or on the regular setting (w/o the fan). Cookies set up much quicker when I bake them with the fan.

Smile1234

Mon, Feb 29 2016, 5:43 pm

I have an additional mystery.

I and my dh have made my mother's chocolate chip cookie recipe numerous times. It never tastes good.
I thought maybe it was my margarine or my brown sugar or my mixer or my oven...... till my mother came to my house and made them AND THEY CAME OUT DELICIOUS!
we could not identify anything that she did differently!

rgr

Mon, Feb 29 2016, 5:49 pm

Make sure to cream the margarine and the sugar well, so that the cookie becomes light and airy
See link for more infohttp://www.seriouseats.com/2015/12/cookie-science-creaming-butter-sugar.html

amother

Salmon

Mon, Feb 29 2016, 10:18 pm

Smile1234 wrote:

Op here.
I feel like that's what's happening by me...