dissecting the cookie

now that exams are over and done with, i've been able to spend more time indulging myself in the sweet world of baking. making birthday cupcakes and brownies for special occasions have become insufficient in satiating my desire to bake. i am literally baking something every other day now. 

anyway, the recipes that i've found online tend to be sweeter and unhealthier than i'd like (of course..sigh) so i usually cut down on the sugar and substitute the oil with applesauce but then sometimes it ends up having a strange texture. so that got me thinking about the effects of changing up the amount of ingredients so of course i googled it and this is what it found for me..

fats

margarine and shortening helps keep the cookies' pre-baked shape

since butter melts at body temperature, addition of butter causes the cookies to become flatter

sugar

sugar generates flatter cookies because it liquefies under high temperatures

white sugar creates crispier cookies

brown sugar absorbs moisture from the air after baking, allowing the cookies to remain chewy

flour

flour gives the cookie more substance but allows it to spread more in the oven

 the more flour is added, the more the cookie crumbles

baking powder/soda

both baking powder and baking soda help leaven the cookie by producing carbon dioxide

baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, which produces bubbles of carbon dioxide when mixed with an acidic substance, causing the dough to rise and expand in the oven. baking soda promotes the browning of cookies.

baking powder includes sodium bicarbonate, cream of tartar, and starch. since there is already an acidic agent in the powder (cream of tartar), it will not neutralize the dough and the cookie will be puffier and the color will be lighter.

eggs

addition of eggs will create a puffier cookie. 

egg yolks bind the dough and produce crisper and richer cookies

egg whites produce puffier and drier cookies

• Flat If you want your cookies on the flat side, you can do some or all of the following things: Use all butter, use all-purpose flour or bread flour, increase the sugar content slightly, add a bit of liquid to your dough, and bring the dough to room temperature before baking.
• Puffy For light, puffy cookies, use shortening or margarine and cut back on the amount of fat; add an egg, cut back on the sugar, use cake flour or pastry flour, use baking powder instead of baking soda and refrigerate your dough before baking.
• Chewy Try melting the butter before adding it to the sugars when mixing. Remove cookies from the oven a few minutes before they are done, while their centers are still soft but are just cooked through. The edges should be golden. Use brown sugar, honey or molasses as a sweetener. Let cookies cool on the pan for several minutes after baking before transferring to cooling rack.
• Crispy For crisp, crunchy cookies, use all butter and a proportion of white sugar. Use egg yolks in place of a whole egg. Cookies should be baked completely. Let cool on the baking sheet for one minute before transferring to a cooling rack.
[allrecipes, eater's digest, about]

next mission: make the perfect cookie