Do you prefer soft and light biscuits to crunchy ones? Then you can customize various recipes to achieve the desired consistency. Just make small changes to different cookie recipes to have a good result. For example, you can use muscovado sugar, edible fat, cake flour and an extra egg yolk. Increasing the moisture level of the cookies also helps maintain their shape and texture better. There are also tricks to keep them at their best, in order to always keep them fresh and tasty. In this article you will also find the classic recipe for chocolate chip cookies, which will explain in detail how to make them soft and light.
Ingrediants
Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
- 8 tablespoons (110 g) of salted butter
- ½ cup (100 g) of sugar
- 50 g of light muscovado sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups (190 g) of flour
- ½ teaspoon (2 g) of baking soda
- 1, 5 g of salt
- 130 g of chocolate chips or pieces
Makes 1 dozen
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Adapting a Recipe
Step 1. Use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour
Cake flour contains less protein than normal, so it allows the cookies to stay soft and light. The flour for bread or multipurpose makes them more flat and crunchy. You can replace all the all-purpose flour with cake flour.
Step 2. Try using edible fat or margarine instead of butter
Replacing butter with edible fat or margarine is one of the most effective methods of making soft and light biscuits. In fact, these are stable fats that keep their shape intact during cooking, thus allowing to obtain soft biscuits.
Step 3. Pour some vanilla pudding mix into the dough
Open a package of instant vanilla pudding mix and pour it into the batter. Add it together with the other dry ingredients, then mix them according to the recipe. The vanilla pudding mix makes cookies moister, so they stay soft and last longer.
Try using a cocoa pudding mix if you want to make some chocolate chip cookies
Step 4. Replace granulated sugar with muscovado sugar
Since muscovado sugar contains molasses, it keeps the cookies soft and moist. You can use it to completely replace granulated sugar or try mixing both types of sugar.
For example, if your recipe calls for 2 cups (400 g) of granulated sugar, use 1 1/2 cups (300 g) of muscovado sugar and ½ cup (100 g) of granulated sugar
Step 5. Add another egg yolk
Eggs are included in most cookie recipes because they bind the ingredients and make the dough more moist. By incorporating another egg yolk, you will increase the humidity level and favor the generation of steam during cooking. The steam will help the cookies swell and stay soft.
Adding more egg whites can dry out the cookies, unless more sugar is incorporated to compensate
Step 6. Beat the dough until just blended
Add the dry ingredients to the dough and beat until just incorporated. Avoid banging it too long, or it will get hard. When the dough is hard, the cookies acquire greater density and become chewy.
Step 7. Bake the cookies at a higher temperature
Avoid cooking them at a temperature below 160 ° C. When you let them cook for a long time at a lower temperature, the fat inside the cookies can spread out, making them thin and crunchy. To make them soft and fluffy, bake them at a temperature of at least 180 ° C. The high temperatures allow the cookies to maintain the desired shape.
Method 2 of 3: Store Soft Cookies
Step 1. Place the cookies in an airtight container
Let them cool well and transfer them to an airtight container. Make sure you close the lid tightly to prevent them from becoming hard and stale.
Cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to a week
Step 2. Insert a damp paper towel into the container
Lightly dampen a paper towel and wring it out to get rid of excess water. Unroll it and spread it out on a sheet of wax paper. Place the wax paper and napkin over the cookies, then close the lid of the container.
The moistened napkin can be removed and replaced should it become dry
Step 3. Insert a piece of bread into the container
The moistened paper towel can be replaced with a piece of bread to increase the humidity level inside the container. All you have to do is place a piece of bread on the wax paper, and then spread it over the biscuits. Close the container and keep it.
The bread can be substituted for a corn tortilla in case you want to ship or give away the cookies. Tortilla keeps them moist too, but takes up less space than bread
Method 3 of 3: Make Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 180 ° C and prepare 1 or 2 trays
Set them aside while mixing the dough.
Step 2. Put the butter in the microwave
Pour 8 tablespoons (110 g) of salted butter into a microwave-safe bowl. Let it heat until it just melts, but it shouldn't get hot. Calculate about 40 seconds.
Step 3. Add sugar to melted butter
Measure and pour ½ cup (100g) of sugar and 50g of light muscovado sugar into the bowl of melted butter.
You can use dark muscovado sugar, but keep in mind that in this case the cookies will have a more intense molasses flavor
Step 4. Beat the butter and sugar for 1 minute
Beat the melted butter and sugar on medium speed using a planetary mixer or electric hand mixer. Beat them until you get a creamy consistency. This should take 1 minute.
Step 5. Incorporate the vanilla and egg
Turn the mixer speed to low, then add 1 egg and 1 teaspoon (5 ml) of vanilla. Beat the mixture until the egg is incorporated. This should take 10-15 seconds.
Step 6. Stir in the dry ingredients to form a paste
Turn off the mixer, then add 1 ½ cups (190 g) of flour, ½ teaspoon (2 g) of baking soda and 1.5 g of salt. Set the mixer to low and beat the dough until the dry ingredients are just combined. Remove the whips and combine the small pieces of dough with your hands.
Avoid kneading more than necessary, otherwise the cookies may harden
Step 7. Incorporate the chocolate chips
Pour 130 g of chocolate chips or pieces into the dough, then mix with your hands or a rubber spatula. The drops should be evenly distributed throughout the dough.
Step 8. Roll out the dough and shape into balls, then spread them on the baking sheet
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll out each piece and knead it into a sphere, then place it on the baking sheet. Distribute the balls so that they are placed at least 5 cm apart from each other.
Step 9. Bake the cookies for 9-11 minutes
Place the pan in the preheated oven. Let the cookies bake until they are swollen and lightly browned. They will appear dry on the edges and freshly cooked in the center. Avoid letting them darken, as cooking will continue and come to an end as they cool down.
Step 10. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 30 minutes
Remove the pan and place it on a cooling rack. Allow the cookies to cool completely before moving them. They should deflate slightly.
