My cookies keep turning into cookie cakes!?

Question

When I bake cookies they always come out of the oven tasting more like cakes and being really huge
Like example 1
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g270/evilaphrodite/DSC00214.jpg
which have since been murdered and thrown in the bin

I adjusted the size a little (well a lot) and the next batch came out kind of better but still looked like cake but were harder on top hard enough at the bottom
example 2
http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g270/evilaphrodite/DSC00215.jpg
(they're upside down btw)

so do I just need to make them smaller and they'll stop turning out like cake? and more like cookies!

I don't melt the butter (I don't actually use butter) and what the hell is crisco?

I dont ever mix the wet and dry parts untill the end

can you get crisco in England? 'cause I have never heard of it

Given up on the baking for one day...I'll go back to making cakes now those are easy

Answer 1

Crisco is a solid vegetable shortening.

Make sure your dough is COLD (yes, refrigerate it an hour or so), make sure the baking sheet is not hot from a prior batch, and continue to use smaller scoops of dough.

If you really like that recipe, try adding about ¼ cup more flour to the dough that what is called for. The recipe may just be out of proportion.

PS: The photos helped A LOT! Thanks!

Answer 2

Crisco is shortening - like margarine.

There are a couple of ways you can fix this recipe:
1) put the dough in the fridge for a good half-hour before dropping onto a room-temperature pan and baking; this will harden up the fat (butter) and help the dough to rise more slowly.
2) when you mix up the dough, mix wet and dry separately, adding dry ONLY at the end; the baking powder or soda that causes the rising is a chemical reaction with moisture and you may be letting it soak too long - order is important
3) if you are still unsatisfied with the way your cookies come out, cut down on the baking soda/powder in the recipe a little OR choose a different recipe - it may be that the proportions for the recipe you're using are off

Good luck!

Answer 3

Stop using margarine. Only use butter or a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of butter and Crisco(which is a solid shortening, sold in the blue cans or yellow for butter flavored in the baking aisle by the liquid veggie oil, when you see it you'll know what it is.)

Also chill your dough just a bit,
Have at least 4 cookies sheets as you don't EVER want to put raw dough on a hot pan. I have my 2 in baking and 2 out loaded up and ready to go. When I put the cool ones in, the hot ones will cool in no time and load them up
ALWAYS use parchment paper.
1/2 way through baking rotate your pans, change the up and the down one and rotate them 180 degrees.
Remove the cookies immediately upon taking them out and let them cool on cookie racks.

Answer 4

I looked at your pictures and thought the 2nd batch looked like it needed just a little more time in the oven, to be totally baked. Make sure you cream the sugar and shortening (margarine, butter, whatever) well. Add the egg(s) and beat well. Mix all your dry ingred. in a bowl and add last with any other liquids. Drop by tsp. onto cookie sheet (don't grease the sheet) and adjust your baking time by a minute or 2. Good luck hun.

Answer 5

if you don't have baking powder, you can substitute 2 parts baking soda and 1 part cream of tartar. for instance, if you need a tablespoon of baking powder, use 2 teaspoons of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar. if you cant figure the measurements, just make a slightly larger batch of your makeshift baking powder, mix well, and measure out the amount the recipe calls for. also, your cookies may be hard due to several other reasons. most cookie recipes require you to either mix wet ingredients together, mix dry ingredients together, then combine the two. if this is the case, be sure not to over-mix the dough, it can make your cookies tough. if it asks you to cream the butter and sugar, be sure you whip the two together with a mixer until they are light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. incorporate your eggs, which should be at room temperature, one at a time, making sure they are well incorporated, then you can continue with the rest of the ingredients. the shape of your cookies shouldn't matter so much to the texture, the only thing it will affect is the final thickness and shape of your cookie. round balls will create a round, thicker cookie. cut-outs will give you a thin, crispier, shaped cookie, and flattening them will make them thinner. remember, the thinner the cookie, the faster it will cook. happy baking!

Answer 6

Crisco is shortening....it can make a difference...you can use it in some recipes in place of butter, such as chocolate chip but of course not in a shortbread recipe...you might have to adjust your oven temperature...not all ovens are right on the money.

Answer 7

Try using Crisco or lard in place of the butter. The butter-flavored Crisco works especially well. This will cause your cookies to be thinner and chewier instead of thick and cakey.

Answer 8

From your pictures it doesn't look so much like it's the size you put on the cookie sheet as much as they are spreading too much. To solve that, chill the dough well after you mix it. At least 2 to 4 hours. That will firm it up so it won't spread so bad.

Answer 9

Yes

Answer 10

too much egg can make cookie dough cakey,ie: brownie recipe...1 egg for chewy moist, 2 eggs for cakey.