Why aren't my chocolate chip cookies flatter?

ChicagoEd

New member
I've been using a recipe from America's Test Kitchen for perfect chocolate chip cookies (please Google it if need be) but I added 1/4 c cocoa powder to give them the dark brown color and used 1/2 c light brown sugar and 1/4 c dark brown instead of all dark brown. I don't think the different ratio of brown sugar will make them higher but will using the cocoa?

The taste texture etc. are all perfect; I just want them flatter. I refrigerated the dough for about 2 hours before baking but back in the day when I was baking the Nestle, they were refrigerated too and came out flatter so I don't think cooling the dough has anything to do with it. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
I've been using a recipe from America's Test Kitchen for perfect chocolate chip cookies (please Google it if need be) but I added 1/4 c cocoa powder to give them the dark brown color and used 1/2 c light brown sugar and 1/4 c dark brown instead of all dark brown. I don't think the different ratio of brown sugar will make them higher but will using the cocoa?

The taste texture etc. are all perfect; I just want them flatter. I refrigerated the dough for about 2 hours before baking but back in the day when I was baking the Nestle, they were refrigerated too and came out flatter so I don't think cooling the dough has anything to do with it. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Are you using butter or shortening?
 

Mama

Queen of Cornbread
Site Supporter
Refrigerating the dough has everything to do with it. With room temperature dough, the butter begins to melt quicker and the cookies will spread in the oven before they begin to set up making for a flatter, crisper cookie.

I have the ATK cookbook and they have 3 variations on the perfect chocolate chip cookie. The classic, the thick and chewy and the thin and crispy. The one that calls for 3/4 brown sugar is the classic recipe. Here is the recipe for the thin and crispy:

1 1/2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 large egg yolk
2 tablespoons of milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Adjust oven rack to the medium position and preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the melted butter, sugar, brown sugar and corn syrup at low speed until thoroughly blended, about 1 minute. Add the egg yolk, milk and vanilla; mix until incorporated and smooth, about 1 minute, scrapping down the bowl and beater when needed. With the mixer still running on low, slowly add the dry mixture and mix until just combined. Do not over beat. Add the chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed throughout batter, about 5 seconds.

Divide the dough into 40 portions, about 1 tablespoon and roll them between your hands into balls. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake, one sheet at a time until the cookies are deep golden brown and flat, about 12 minutes switching and rotating the baking sheets halfway through the baking time.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheet 3 minutes. Using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Again, refrigerating the dough WILL make a difference no matter which recipe you use so don't refrigerate it.

Oh....and welcome to the forum :flowers:!
 

ChicagoEd

New member
Thanks!!! BUT---I don't want thin and crispy. Hate crispy. I want the same chewy consistency of mine, just flatter. I think I'll try making them next time without refrigerating them and see what happens. Also, I used parchment paper. Think that has any bearing on it? I know they take about the full 14 minutes with parchment paper and about 9-10 minutes without.
 

SilverSage

Resident Crone
Mama is exactly right about chilling the dough.

But the cocoa powder is also affecting your cookies. I used to make the old Toll House recipe. I would bake up half of them, then add cocoa to the rest of the batter and make half of them chocolate. The chocolate ones were always thicker than the plain ones - I actually preferred them that way, because I always thought the Toll House cookies were a little too thin, almost gummy.

By adding cocoa, you have changed the wet/dry ratio. It acts like a flour in the mix, so if you want to add cocoa, you have to reduce the flour by an equal amount.

Cocoa also changes the pH of the dough. It is an acid, so it causes the proteins in the egg and flour to set up faster, making a higher cookie.

If you want a flatter cookie, do 2 things.

1. Reduce the four by the same amount as the cocoa powder. Add it in with the flour in the recipe.

2. Use dutch process cocoa. Depending on the brand, it is neutral or slightly alkali, so it won't affect the pH. This will give the cookies more time to spread before setting up.

I love the ATK cookies. They're a little labor intensive for a drop cookie (but it wouldn't be ATK if it weren't), but WONDERFUL! It's my go-to CCC recipe these days.
 

ChicagoEd

New member
SliverSage-

I used Nestle's Pure Cocoa. Next time I'll look for the dutch processed cocoa. I don't cut back the flour; will try that. Good to know about the cocoa making it rise also. I thought it had something to do with it. But for the next batch, normal cookies, no cocoa, no refrigeration and my sugar ratio. Should be good to go!

Thanks so much!
 

lilbopeep

🌹🐰 Still trying to get it right.
Site Supporter
Lilbopeep---

Butter
Mama and SilverSage have given you very good advice. They know better than I so I would go with what they say.

I find that when I use 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening my dough spreads a little more and makes a flatter cookie. I have been told/read that butter will make a thinner and crispier cookie (because butter has a lower melting point than shortening, causing them to spread faster and more in the short time it takes to bake a cookie) and shortening will be higher and lighter. I like a little of both so I use both.
 
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