What ingredient makes cookies soft!!?

Question

I know how to make crispy cookies or cookies that are soft right out the oven but then turn crispy when they cool. I want to know what ingredient makes cookies soft and stay soft!!!

SERIOUS REPLIES ONLY PLEASE!!!

Answer 1

Here's a recipe for Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies. The vanilla pudding has to be what makes these things so soft.

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

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DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2) Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
3) In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
4) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

Can make about 6 dozen cookies.

If you don't take them out by the 12 minute mark you will have hard cookies. I usually time them for 11 minutes and get them out in enough time. All the ladies in my dorm want me to make these things all the time.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Here are some ideas so you can pick and choose as you like.
Listed in order of what I would do... Actually I would do 1 and 2 together.

1. Use shortening instead of butter or margarine.
Butter and margarine has about 15% water. Water and flour usually produce a tougher product. Shortening is all fat so you don't have to worry about developing the gluten in your cookies. Fats help keep baked goods tender.

2. Brown Sugar - use more of it in place of white sugar.
Brown sugar tends to absorb and retain more moisture.

3. Use a little more flour, flour keeps the cookie from spreading as much. Add an extra 1/4 cup. Thinner cookies tend to be crispy.

4. Cooking time - try pulling the cookies out a minute or two sooner.

Answer 3

High moisture content does it. And that means the recipe, ingredients, baking time and temperature must be adjusted for the dough to retain moisture. Binding the water that is in butter, eggs, and brown sugar (it contains molasses, which is 10 percent water) with flour slows its evaporation. Also the dough needs a little extra flour to make it stiffer; Stiff dough spreads less, less liquid evaporates and so the cookies are thicker. Mass also helps cookies stay moist-big dollops of dough make softer and chewier cookies than tiny spoonfuls. Bake these thick cookies for a shorter time at a high temperature to firm them quickly and minimize spreading . Most important don’t bake them too long-remove them from the oven when the cookie rim is brown and at least a third of the center top remains pale. The cooked centers will be soft.

Answer 4

Put a little baking soda, like a quarter of a teaspoon in the mix next time But it is just easier to make your own gingerbread cookies and here is a recipe: Best Soft Gingerbread Cookies INGREDIENTS * 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour * 2 teaspoons ground ginger * 1 teaspoon baking soda * 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon * 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves * 1/4 teaspoon salt * 3/4 cup margarine, softened * 1 cup white sugar * 1 egg * 1 tablespoon water * 1/4 cup molasses * 2 tablespoons white sugar DIRECTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside. 2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly. 3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Answer 5

Cupcake's answer is correct. No kidding. Put a piece of bread in the container with the baked cookies and it will turn rock hard while your cookies stay soft. You can also do this to keep your brown sugar soft.

Answer 6

The other answerers are right. Its the time you cook them. Bake until they are raised but not brown or even golden yet. Take them out and they will continue to cook on the pan. Take them off as soon as you can to let them cool on paper towels. When you put them into the cookie jar, add a quarter of apple or leaf of lettuce. This will keep the moisture in the cookies and not allow them to dry out. But if your house is like mine, the soft cookies go so fast I rarely need to do that anymore.

Answer 7

The answerer who talked about moisture content is right, but there is a healthier and more effective way to increase your cookies' moisture content than adding butter or brown sugar. Add grated carrot or zuchini. Or, if you'd rather no one could tell, puree them in a blender. About a 1/2 cup to a batch should do it. Trust me, it's perfectly delicious and pretty much undetectable -- except that you cookies will be super soft!

Answer 8

decrease the flour in the recipe by 2 tablespoons. That usually makes them stay soft longer without being raw. You can also store cookies with a cut apple, or a piece of white bread.

Answer 9

Too much shortening makes crispy-- using milk and/or eggs in the batter will add the softness you want.
Secondly-- check out a good basic cookbook-- Retro Betty Crocker picture cookbook ( from the '50's) will give you all sorts of options.
good luck

Answer 10

It really is the amount of time you cook them. Becasue they will continue to cook once removed from the oven you want to remove them from te cookie sheet and place them on a wire rack to cool. You can reduce the time you cook them appox. 2-3 min depending on how dense the cookie is. You will need to play with the recipe and probably reduce the amount of butter adn replace it with shortening, seeing that the butter is mostly used to impart flavor.