Gemma's Best-Ever Oatmeal Cookies recipe | Bigger Bolder Baking (2024)

FAQs

Why are my oatmeal cookies so dry? ›

However they won't be particularly chewy and they should not spread out on the baking sheet that much. There are several reasons why the cookies may have become dry and crumbly but the two most likely are that either the cookies were baked for too long or too much flour was added to the dough.

Cookie chemistry: We're taking a 180° turn from our crunchy cookies, substituting higher-moisture brown sugar and butter for their lower-moisture counterparts: granulated sugar and vegetable shortening. That, plus a shortened baking time, yields a cookie that's soft and chewy all the way through.

Adding too many eggs can result in gummy, cake-like cookies. Adding too few eggs can result in dry, crumbly cookies.

The bread/apple trick

Here's a baker's trick you'll find in our new Monster Cookies recipe: Adding a piece of fresh white bread to the storage container will keep cookies from becoming hard or stale.

Keep Them Sealed

The key to keeping cookies fresh and soft is to seal them in an airtight container, like a resealable freezer bag. And here's a nifty little trick: add a piece of bread to the bag. You might think that the bread trick works because the cookies absorb moisture from the bread.

Cornstarch gives the cookies that ultra soft consistency we all love. Plus, it helps keep the cookies beautifully thick. We use the same trick when making shortbread cookies. Egg yolk: Another way to promise a super chewy chocolate chip cookie is to use an extra egg yolk.

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.

Because egg yolks contain lecithin and fat, they enrich the flavor and texture of chocolate chip cookies. If you prefer your cookies chewy rather than crispy, adding extra yolks will create a softer and more tender final product, and you can even save the extra whites for another dessert or dish.

What is the secret to thick cookies? ›

A low proportion of sugar relative to flour reduces spread, keeping the cookies thick. A high proportion of mix-ins helps thicken the dough. Blending chocolate chip styles creates a more dynamic flavor. Overnight refrigeration hydrates the flour, again helping the cookies stay thick.

The type of leavening you use in your cookies doesn't just help them rise while baking, it affects their texture and structure too. Baking soda in cookies yields a denser cookie with craggy tops, while baking powder causes cookies to rise higher during baking for a cakier texture.

Adding too much butter to your cookies can turn them from delightful treats to crumbly disasters! Here's why: Greasy mess: Extra butter means more fat, making the dough greasy and difficult to handle.

An oven that hasn't reached the correct baking temperature causes the fat in the dough to melt before the cookie bakes through. As a result, cookies spread too much. Heat the oven for at least 10 minutes. A good rule of thumb is to turn the oven on just before you begin measuring ingredients.

Overbaking: If you bake your cookies for too long, they can become dry and hard. Make sure to check your cookies frequently as they bake and remove them from the oven when they are just starting to turn golden brown around the edges.

the more you mix cookie dough. the more the gluten develops and they become hard and dry and an unfavorable texture. reason no 3 you're over baking them. make sure you take them out when they're just slightly golden brown.

Some cookies go hard before their time, and there are several baking errors that could be behind this: Over-baking is perhaps the most obvious - too long in the oven and your cookies will dry out, so make sure you time it right.

Oven temperatures are a crucial factor in baking. If your cookies consistently come out flat, you may have selected the wrong baking temperature. If you bake cookies using too much heat, the fats in the dough begin to melt before the other ingredients can cook together and form your cookie's rise.