ARTICLE

The Science of Baking Cookies

By Fine Cooking Editors

By David Joachim and Andrew Schloss

from Fine Cooking #126, pp. 28-29
When it comes to sautéing a chicken breast or making a pasta dish,
many cooks can wing it. But when baking, it’s a completely different
story, since ingredient amounts truly matter. That’s because the
structure of a baked good like a cookie has to be built from the ground
up, and every ingredient flour, sugar, fat, eggs, leaven, and salt-plays a
key role. Here, we’ll explain the science behind the way these
ingredients work to create both flavor and structure.

Once you’ve got the science down, use the Cookie Recipe Maker to create
your own holiday cookie recipes.

Flour
Depending on its ratio to other ingredients in the dough, flour makes
cookies chewy or crisp or crumbly. In dry cookie dough, like shortbread,
a high proportion of flour to the small amount of liquid in the butter
produces a tender, crumbly texture. Cookies that need to hold their
shape during baking, like biscotti or pinwheel cookies, also have a high
ratio of flour. In fluid-batter cookies like brownies, a lower proportion of
flour to the amount of liquid or egg results in a cakey or chewy texture.
Drop cookies tend to fall in the middle, with the exact ratio depending on
whether the cookie is to be thick or thin, chewy or crumbly, or soft or
crisp.

Bleached and unbleached flours are basically interchangeable in cookie

recipes, but the bleaching process alters protein structures, resulting in
less gluten formation in doughs and batters made with bleached flour.
For this reason, unbleached flour is a better choice where a slightly
chewier texture is desired, as in drop cookies and nut bars.

Another option for baking is whole-grain flour, such as whole wheat.

Substituting no more than 30 percent of the flour in the recipe with
whole-grain flour imparts a nuttier, heartier flavor. At higher ratios,
whole-grain flours will make cookies denser, less chewy, and slightly
gritty.
Sugar
Aside from adding sweetness, granulated white sugar makes cookies
browner (by caramelizing) and crisper (by absorbing moisture in the
dough). It also encourages spreading as the sugar melts. The proportion
of sugar in most cookie dough recipes is so high that only about half of
the sugar dissolves during mixing. During baking more of the sugar
dissolves, which causes the dough to soften and spread. For the best
results, use pure cane sugar because products that contain both beet
and cane sugars tend to be less consistent in quality.

Brown sugar makes cookies moister and chewier than does white sugar.
That’s because it contains molasses (about 10 percent molasses for
light brown sugar and 20 percent for dark brown sugar). The molasses
adds moisture and, because it’s slightly acidic, causes the proteins in
cookie dough to firm up faster, creating a chewier texture.

Fat
Shortening and butter make cookies tender. When mixed into flour, fat
coats some of the flour and protects it from the liquid in some recipes.
This prevents gluten from developing, making the cookies more tender
and less chewy.

Butter contributes significant flavor, so substituting shortening or

margarine for butter (or vice versa) changes the taste. It can also affect
the texture of a cookie. Butter has a lower melting point than shortening
or margarine, causing it to spread more during baking, so a cookie
made with butter will be thinner and crisper than the same cookie made
with shortening or margarine.

Changing the type of butter can also make a difference. Premium

European-style butter is higher in butter fat and lower in moisture than
regular butter, making cookies a little thinner, crumblier, crisper, and
more butterytasting. As for salted vs. unsalted butter, the amount of salt
added to salted butter varies widely, so it’s best to bake with unsalted
butter to better control the amount of salt.

Eggs
These are a major source of moisture and protein in cookie dough. The
liquid in eggs gives a cookie structure by bonding with the starch and
protein in the flour, and their protein helps to make cookies chewy. Most
cookie recipes call for large eggs. If you want to substitute a different
size, note that the weight difference between each size is only about 1/4
ounce per egg. This isn’t enough to make a big difference unless you’re
using more than six eggs in a recipe, so for most recipes you can use
egg sizes interchangeably.

Leavens
In most baked goods, baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) acts as a rising
agent, but in cookies it’s much more important for encouraging
browning. It does so by neutralizing acidic ingredients in dough, such as
brown sugar, honey, vanilla, and butter, which would normally inhibit
browning. Sometimes baking powder, which is a mixture of baking soda
and an acidic ingredient, most commonly calcium phosphate, is added
instead of baking soda to give cookies a light, cakey texture. When
moistened and heated, the alkali and acid in baking powder react,
neutralizing each another and giving off carbon dioxide gas, which
aerates the dough, making the finished cookie puffier.

Salt
Without this flavor enhancer, the secondary flavors in a cookie fall flat as
the sweetness takes over. Salt also strengthens the protein in a dough,
making cookies chewier.

Kosher salt and table salt are identical in flavor, so you can use them
interchangeably if you adjust for volume differences. Kosher salt is
coarse and table salt is fine, so the same weight of kosher salt takes up
more space. To substitute kosher salt for table salt, use double the
volume to match the saltiness of the table salt. Conversely, if you’re
substituting table salt for kosher, use half the volume.

Understanding how all of these ingredients work together can help you
improve or even fix a cookie recipe when things go wrong. To see
several practical examples of this knowledge in action, see our Test
Kitchen piece on cookie troubleshooting.

Beyond Ingredients
A number of other key elements can affect the way your cookies bake.

Mixing Mixing develops gluten in the dough, giving cookies a chewy

consistency. Beware of overmixing, which can turn chewy into tough,
especially in dough that contains less than 50 percent fat by weight. Fat
inhibits gluten development, so high-fat dough doesn’t have the same
toughening problem.
Shaping Round dough balls take longer to bake, resulting in softer,
thicker cookies. Flattening the balls yields thinner, crisper cookies.
Spacing High-fat dough or cookies baked at low temperatures spread
more during baking and need about 2 inches between them. High-flour
cookies or those that bake for a shorter time need only an inch of space
between them.
Time and temperature These work together in baking. A low
temperature and longer baking time yields crisper, thinner cookies; a
higher temperature and shorter baking time makes softer, thicker
cookies.
Equipment Ovens can vary, so for accurate temperatures, check yours
with a thermometer. For even heating, use heavy-gauge aluminum
baking sheets, and line the pans with parchment to minimize hot spots,
prevent sticking, and speed cleanup.
Oven position For best results, bake a single sheet of cookies on the
center rack. If baking more than one sheet, set racks in the upper and
lower thirds of the oven and rotate sheets from top to bottom and back
to front once during baking. This advice applies to convection baking as
well.
Cooling Cool cookies completely before storing, or trapped steam can
turn them from crisp to soggy.