Caramel Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to making cookies soft? ›

Baking cookies quickly in a hot oven – at 375 degrees F as opposed to a lower temperature – will make for soft results. They'll bake fast instead of sitting and drying out in the oven's hot air. Ever so slightly underbaking your cookies will give you softer results than cooking them the full amount the recipe says.

For chewier and more flavorful cookies, use more brown sugar than white sugar. Dark Brown Sugar: Light brown sugar and dark brown sugar are interchangeable in most recipes. Though either works in this chocolate chip cookie recipe, I love using dark brown sugar for extra flavor because it contains more molasses.

Different types of sugars affect the texture because they absorb different amounts of water. Remember moisture is the key! White sugar creates crispier cookies and brown sugar creates chewier cookies.

Baking soda is typically used for chewy cookies, while baking powder is generally used for light and airy cookies. Since baking powder is comprised of a number of ingredients (baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, etc.), using it instead of pure baking soda will affect the taste of your cookies.

Use Melted Butter

If the goal is a chewy cookie, then you absolutely need to be using melted butter. The technique of creaming softened butter and sugar together is often used for making cakes. And for good reason! The process of creaming incorporates air into the butter which results in a more airy and cakey cookie.

When to Use Light Brown Sugar. Light brown sugar is used to provide a subtle sweetness to baked goods and even to savory dishes. It has a light color and a light flavor that's less sweet than white sugar. It's often used in cookies to help make them soft and moist.

So in baking they act the same way in the dough, but the taste and colour will be slightly different. You can substitute dark brown sugar for the light brown sugar in the cookie recipe, however the cookies will be slightly darker in colour and will have a slightly more caramelly/toffee taste to them.

The Cookie Test

Using dark brown sugar, my cookies spread less in the oven and were denser, heavier, and quite moist. Using light brown sugar, my cookies spread a far bit more, were more airy, and had lighter flavors. Overall, I wouldn't say that the type of brown sugar significantly changed the outcome of the recipe.

The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.

What does adding cornstarch to cookies do? ›

As Levy Beranbaum writes in The Baking Bible, replacing a little bit of the flour in the dough with cornstarch results in “a more delicate cookie that is also easier to pipe or push through a cookie press.” Adding cornstarch helps tenderize tough gluten, contributing to a softer cookie dough with a finer crumb after ...

To achieve cookies that are soft, chewy, and stay that way over time, here are some tips: Use the right combination of ingredients:Butter: Use softened butter rather than melted butter, as softened butter helps create a softer texture. Sugars: Use a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar.

Using lower-moisture sugar (granulated) and fat (vegetable shortening), plus a longer, slower bake than normal, produces light, crunchy cookies. That said, using a combination of butter and vegetable shortening (as in the original recipe), or even using all butter, will make an acceptably crunchy chocolate chip cookie.

Brown sugar

Brown sugar is also hygroscopic (more so than granulated sugar) and will therefore also attract and absorb the liquid in the dough. The difference is in the molasses that makes brown sugar brown: It adds moisture and slight acidity, resulting in a moist and chewy texture.

Cookies begin losing moisture through evaporation from the moment that they come out of the oven. So it's totally normal for them to harden up a bit. Yet, this is why you need to store them in an airtight container once they completely cool or they will continue to lose moisture.

Shortening is 100 percent fat, meaning there is no water in it and no steam is created during baking. The lack of water also means that shortening does not increase gluten production, so cookies made with shortening tend to be softer and more tender.

Use Brown Sugar

Add two tablespoons of light or dark brown sugar to your cookie recipe. Brown sugar can hold extra moisture because of its molecular structure (science!). The glucose and fructose found in it are hygroscopic, which means they suck up and hang onto moisture and moisture = soft, chewy cookies.