Secret to the Perfect Cookies
Cookies are the unviersal weakness of all time.
There are countless varieties of cookies but no one can resist their favorite cookie.
The most important element of cookies are the temperature of the ingredients and the ratios of flour, fat, and sugar. That’s it! The whole science of the cookie are in those three items.
The next time you look at a recipe be aware of how much flour there is in comparison to the butter. What types of sugar is used and how much. All these create unique qualities in the cookies we love.
FLOUR FAT AND SUGAR
FLOUR
All purpose flour is the base of 95% of my cookies. All purpose (AP) has a specific protein level that is versatile in most baking and is the most common for most people to purchase. Therefore, I find it is the best for most of my cookies and baking in general. The protein level of AP is around 10-15% which creates gluten in our cookies and gives us the structure and the chew we love to enjoy. Using alternative flours such as almond or gluten free varieties will alter the structure and the chew. This is not a bad thing but an element to keep in mind as we change recipes to our liking.
FAT
Whether you use butter, shortening or oil, these fats are important in three ways. Number one, the structure it creates with the flour, two, the moisture it yields and lastly the overall taste. Butter is universally the favorite choice due to its taste, however it does have a lower melting point and can therefore result in your cookie having more spread and browning when baked. Shortening or oil will have less of a full body taste due to its fat content but will provide less cookie spread and less browning. For example, a chocolate chip cookie will have the caramel butter taste that has crispy edges and a soft chewy center. The caramel taste and the crisp edges are from the butter. If you complete remove the butter the cookie will not brown the same nor provide the same caramel notes.
SUGAR
Basically there are two types of sugar: white refined sugar, such as granulated or powder sugar, and brown or raw sugar. To achieve these types, sugar syrup is extracted from sugar cane. This brown molasses syrup is further refined into white granulated sugar. Therefore, the molasses is removed, and white sugar is then packaged. The Brown sugar we find at our local store is that same white sugar however the molasses previously removed is added back to the granulated sugar to achieve the brown color and the properties of brown sugar. The molasses in brown sugar helps cookies retain moisture and provide a depth of taste. White sugar gives cookies a bit more crunch and spread. As for taste, white sugar tends to have a stronger sweet flavor and brown a more complex depth.
Summary
Using these elements in different ratios can help you achieve your perfect cookie. Whether it is a chocolate chip cookie, a delicate lemon cookie or even cheese type cookies like my cinnamon cream cheese cookie. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out as I am always available for cookie chat.
