Mouthfeel Multiple Choice

It’s crispy v. chewy in the World Series of cookies… (Sorry for mangling that Prince lyric. I couldn’t help myself.)

Some people like crispy; some people like chewy. I prefer something in between--a crisp exterior and a chewy interior. Here are three ways to get the results that get you going:

If you want a crispy cookie…
use white sugar.
use softened/room temp. butter.
let the cookies sit on the baking sheets a minute longer before moving to the cooling racks.

If you want a chewy cookie…
use brown sugar.
use melted butter.
underbake the cookies by a minute or two.

For a crispy cookie, I think the key thing, for lack of a more elegant way to phrase it, is to dry them out.

For chewy cookies, you could replace some of the butter with oil or shortening, but I think that’s just wrong. Since I’ve already mangling one quote, I’ll do some work on an oldie-but-goodie from Emeril: I don’t know where you come from, but where I come from, my vegetable oil don’t come seasoned.

This is a topic I’ll have to explore in depth in a later post…

Comments

[Lorraine]

Thanks for the info.!! I always wanted to know this fine point. Now I know why my cookies are coming out softer and not as crispy as I like - it's the brown sugar!