Cookie SOS

By Alissa -
For the love of all things cookie... I need some help. I can't bake cookies to save my life. This is more than a little unfortunate because a) I like cookies, b) Todd LOVES cookies, and c) I was thinking about having a cookie bar for dessert at our wedding reception, and I have grand plans to bake all these cookies ahead of time, freeze them, and then serve zillions of cookies in big glass jars at the end of the reception.

And I can't bake myself one damn cookie. Please tell me what I am doing wrong. My cookies don't rise, and they stay gooey, but in a bad way -they won't come off the cookie sheet in the form of a cookie - they smoosh all up when I try to life them off the cookie sheet, and then they fall apart when I try to unsmoosh them onto the drying rack. It's a big disaster. So, here are the details:

I'm using the air-bake dual-layer cookie sheets with the layer of air in between so the bottoms don't burn. For what it's worth, the bottoms of my cookies never burn.

I put the bowl of dough back in the fridge between batches to keep it cold.

Tonight I started with eggs that had been sitting out for about an hour, because room temperature eggs are supposed to help the cookies rise.

I let the cookies sit on the tray for a few minutes when they come out of the oven before I move them to the drying rack. How long is this step supposed to take? I usually only leave them on the tray for a few minutes (3 minutes maybe? Should I leave them there longer?)

I don't know what's wrong. They just melt all over the cookie sheet, every time, whether it's the recipe on the back of the yellow bag, or some fancy recipe I found online with a hundred comments from other people who have tried the recipe and had fantastic results. My cookies TASTE good, but they're not something I could serve to others, unless it was crumbled on top of an ice cream sundae. They don't hold their own as cookies... they just end up in a big falling apart, ugly mess.

Any suggestions? I get really frustrated every time this happens. I just want to be able to make a good cookie, dmn it. Sigh.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Start with new boxes of baking powder and baking soda. Make sure you measure very accurately the amount of salt that goes into the cookies -- it reacts with the baking powder to make them rise properly.
It sounds like you may be over-working the dough when you make the cookie dough. What kind of mixer are you using?
I'd start out easy and get some practice, then work your way up to more difficult cookies. Search our archives for the peanut butter cookie recipe I posted (I think I posted it) that my grandmother gave me. Super easy, and good practice. I can make these cookies in my sleep. Also, make the chocolate chip cookies on the back of the bag until they're exactly the way you want them.

Want help baking all the cookies for your cookie bar? I LOVE to bake cookies, I'd be happy to help.

Also, you're welcome to come down one weekend and we'll bake cookies and I'll see if I can figure out what's not going right. Or I'll come up there so I can see you doing it in your own environment. :)
6:52 AM
Alissa said…
lol. Yes, those things would be awesome (baking cookies, and baking cookies together). I thought of the baking soda thing last night -that was the only thing I could come up with, actually. I really don't know how old the baking soda is... which probably isn't a good sign.

I did measure the salt carefully. However, I also used salted butter. Is that bad?

Someone on one of the cooking blogs suggested using baking powder in cookies instead of baking soda if the recipe only calls for baking soda. I could try that, too.

Do you use one of those silicon baking mats or parchment paper when you bake? I didn't use either but people have been baking cookies without those things for a zillion years, so I don't see why that should make a difference.

I think we'll have to get around to plugging in the extra fridge/freezer we have sitting in our garage to store all the cookies I hope to make. Once I figure out my cookie-baking problems, that is. :)
9:38 AM
Anonymous said…
I don't know about just subbing out powder for soda...I've never done that, and I'm afraid it'd mess with the molecular makeup (look at me, sounding all knowledgable) of the dough.

I use unsalted butter when I bake, because all recipes that need a chemical reaction call for salt. I wonder if that's part of the problem.

I don't use either parchment or a silicon mat, unless the recipe specifically calls for it. And I let the cookies sit on my pan about 3 minutes before I pull them off and put them on the cooling rack.

We should talk schedules, and figure out when we can get together to bake. Also, e-mail me about what you need baked, and I'd be more than happy to help. Seriously.
1:12 PM
Anonymous said…
Ditto -- I like baking, and baking cookies, and it would be fun to do it with you at your house or on your behalf at my own house.

I don't have any good secrets, but I second what Shannon said: Ditch the salted butter for sure and get new boxes of baking soda and powder.

The mixer also caught my attention. You also might try just hand-stirring for a few batches instead at the beginning. Most cookie recipes don't need all that much stirring, I don't think -- it's more like combining. The one on the back of the Nestle Toll House package makes cookie dough of an unmistakeably perfect texture, just you and a bowl and a wooden spoon. Maybe overmixing is making the dough too smooth, and that's why it's spreading out everywhere instead of rising?

(And when you get good at that recipe, I have a great trick from Cr**g involving substituting dark unsweetened cocoa powder for some of the flour in that recipe -- yum.)

All my great cookie failures have come from trying to alter recipes to make them healthier -- especially substituting anything for actual real butter. That often doesn't work the way it does with other recipes, so I'd definitely stick closely to the recipe and measure everything. Although it sounds like you're already doing that, so that's just for future reference.
6:12 PM
Alissa said…
I'll post the recipe I tried, because it looks really good, and it actually tastes awesome... it just looks like crud. The recipe says to use a hand mixer, which I used. It didn't specify unsalted butter, and for some reason, all they had at the grocery store was salted butter. I will try this recipe again, because I think it's a good one... it had a ton of positive comments and reviews on Simply Recipes, and so far everything else I've tried from there has been good.

I'll get back to you on the baking schedule. :) It's really not urgent... the wedding isn't until July! I don't even know where we're going to store these things, because our freezer is always full. I think we'll have to set up the spare freezer before we start this project. How long do you think cookies will stay good in the freezer? I'm thinking it's too early to start stockpiling, but I'm not sure.

At any rate... I'm open to cookie suggestions, too. These cookies I made have pecans, Heath bar bits and dark chocolate chips... Mm. They're very tasty. I want to have a bunch of different kinds of cookies in big glass jars. I thought I would try out recipes during the holidays to find ones that are good, and then start the baking and freezing process after the holidays are over. How does that sound? I'm so excited to have help! I was originally going to buy cookies, but then I realized that was silly, when it's so easy to bake and freeze ahead of time.
11:43 PM
Anonymous said…
Are you talking about the ones on Simply Recipes? I'm making them this weekend, actually, to freeze for Gaby's birthday party next week. I'll let you know how mine turn out.
As for how far in advance to make cookies, I think you'd only want to make them 2-3 months in advance. You don't want them to get freezer burned. For our wedding, I made a ridiculous amount of peanut butter cookies to put in the hospitality bags in the hotel rooms. Our whole freezer was filled with peanut butter cookies. I think I started 2 months before the wedding.
11:49 AM
Alissa said…
yes! They were the Monster Cookies from Simply Recipes. I used the adult version. :) They taste great...
9:15 AM
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