Here's a tip for soft chewy cookies
By 66jerseygirl
@66jerseygirl (3877)
United States
March 18, 2007 7:41pm CST
I have gotten so much help from cooking fans so I thought i would give back a little knowledge I picked up on a cooking show. Some people complain about their cookies coming out a little too crunchy and the reason for that is this:even though you take them out of the oven,they still continue to bake a couple of minutes .If you wait til they are done,they willstill continue to bake a coupleof minutes once taken out and may be crunchy.The tip I got off the tv is this: don't wait til the cookies are done.Take them out while they are still a LITTLE doughy.Leave them on the baking pan for a minute or two before taking them off and you will find they are nice and chewy and not as brown on the bottom.The trick is not to take them out when they are too doughy or they won't get done. I hope this will help someone out .
3 people like this
8 responses
@LivingADream (48)
• United States
19 Mar 07
Mmmm soft chewy cookies!! Yumm! :):)
3 people like this
@villageanne (8553)
• United States
19 Mar 07
I learned this trick years ago and it works. You know how well older people can cook. Well my husbands Grandmoter was known for her wonderful cooking ablities and she ask me one day, how I kept my cookies so moist and soft. That was one of the best compiments that I ever got. When a wonderful cook asks you how you do something and brags, it is a real compliment.
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
19 Mar 07
Isn't it though? I have been asked how i make them so moist by pretty good cooks themselves and it made me feel real proud.In the beginning though,I kept taking them out too soon and had to end up putting them back in.
1 person likes this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
20 Mar 07
Thank you for sharing that. I didn't realalize they were still cooking when out of the oven, and after all these years, I should have known better. Thank you for that tip, and I am giving you a + rating for your post. Keep it up.
2 people like this
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
20 Mar 07
I didn't know it either. I was very surprised when I found out about it.The first couple of times i did it,i had taken them out when they were TOO doughy but they have been great since and thanks for the + rating. Quite appreciated
1 person likes this
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
19 Mar 07
I think anything to do with baking, especially pasteries and cookies is an art. You have to have a nack for it. Although I know my way around a stove and kitchen quite well I have never really mastered a pie crust or some types of cookies. My staple is peanut butter cookies and yes as you say they are never quite right and always come out differantly. I will give your suggestion a try as I tend to leave them in the oven for the duration as suggested in the recipe
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
19 Mar 07
Let me know how they come out,okay? About the pies,you said you can't master the pie crust. Are you making sure that when you add the shortening,you are making them into fine crumbs? I'm asking because I used to have trouble making pie crusts then i found out that when I added the shortening,I was'nt mixing the shortening and flour and ice water into fine enough crumbs.When I started doing that,my pie crusts started turning out real flakey.
1 person likes this
@sherrir101 (3670)
• Malinta, Ohio
19 Mar 07
If you do find that your cookies are too crunchy...put a slice of bread in the cookie jar with them. In just a few hours the bread will soften them up. I do this all of the time. I have passed this tip to many of my friends. They swear by it, also.
@bucksbunny (45)
• United States
21 Mar 07
Try a piece of apple in the bag of brown sugar. I have hard of this but have never tried it since every time I have hard brown sugar, I never have an apple. Other people swear by it though.
2 people like this
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
21 Mar 07
thanks for the tip.I will try that.
1 person likes this
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
19 Mar 07
I have heard of that. I was also told to put a slice of bread in a container with hard brown sugar and It will soften the sugar but it didn't work
1 person likes this
@crimsonblues (1191)
• United States
19 Mar 07
Ive made cookies this way for years.. Some people prefer hard cookies and some people like them chewy. It depends on the audience how I bake.. I love to cook.
3 people like this
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
19 Mar 07
I thought I was seeing things when I first saw this on tv! It was like you could see them baking right in front of my eyes!It was so neat.
1 person likes this
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
19 Jun 07
That is very helpful Jersey girl. Thank you. Also, if you put them in a container as soon as they are cool, it will help. The longer they sit out on the rack, the harder they will get. I like chocolate chip cookies almost raw, so I would not mind if they were under cooked. :)
1 person likes this
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
19 Jun 07
i know about leaving them on a rack,lol. there have been times i have put cookies out to cool and have left them too long,I hate it when i do that ,I like them nice and soft
@vokey9472 (1486)
• United States
11 Apr 07
Here is something I learned from one of those baking shows on PBS. If you use all butter in your cookie recipes you will get a harder, crunchier cookie even if you take them out a minute or so before they are done. If you use all margarine, you get a softer, chewier cookie. But for those that like a crunchy outside with a chewy center, use half butter and half margarine. Use a cookie sheet with sides and take the cookies out 2 minutes before they are supposed to be done. Let them sit for 1 minute on the sheet and then transfer to cooling racks. Allow to cool 5 minutes and them layer them with wax paper between layers in an airtight container. Place half an apple in the container. Your cookies will stay moist for up to 5 days.
1 person likes this
@66jerseygirl (3877)
• United States
11 Apr 07
Hey,I never knew that! thanks for the 411! I certainly will try that i/2 and 1/2 thing.Isn't that something. ya learn soemthing knew everyday!
1 person likes this
