Flat Cookies

[Trevor Osborne]

I've been using this recipe and while the cookies are really tasty they come out extremely flat. Any help would be great.

4ozs butter

3.5oz brown sugar

3oz castor sugar

1 egg, preferably free range

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 oz plain white flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

150g (5oz) chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. (160°C fan)

Cream the butter add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the egg bit by bit, then the vanilla extract.

Mix the dry ingredients together and fold them in. Lastly, add the chocolate chips.

Divide the mixture into 7g (1/4 oz) pieces, for teeny weeny pieces, or 25g (1oz) for medium sized or 50g (2oz) for American style cookies onto baking sheets. Remember to allow lots of room for spreading. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, depending on size. Cool for a few minutes on the tray and then transfer to wire racks. Store in an airtight container

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I've been using this recipe and while the cookies are really tasty they come out extremely flat. Any help would be great.

4ozs butter

3.5oz brown sugar

3oz castor sugar

1 egg, preferably free range

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 oz plain white flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

150g (5oz) chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. (160°C fan)

Cream the butter add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the egg bit by bit, then the vanilla extract.

Mix the dry ingredients together and fold them in. Lastly, add the chocolate chips.

Divide the mixture into 7g (1/4 oz) pieces, for teeny weeny pieces, or 25g (1oz) for medium sized or 50g (2oz) for American style cookies onto baking sheets. Remember to allow lots of room for spreading. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, depending on size. Cool for a few minutes on the tray and then transfer to wire racks. Store in an airtight container

Your ratios are good. I think it a dough temperature issue.

Start with butter that’s about 60° – 65° F (15° – 18° C). I know recipes and baking standards state room temperature butter for creaming. But warm butter just gets warmer with the friction of the mixer. Warm butter means warm dough. When placed in a hot oven, it’s going to spread significantly before it sets. Also warm butter does not cream properly.

To be honest, depending on the brand of butter, I’ll take butter straight out of the refrigerator and throw into the mixing bowl to cream. Heat is not good for creaming butter properly.

Cream butter and sugar for about 4 - 5 minutes total. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl mid-way through mixing.


See the video linked below on creaming butter.


Use a cold egg right out of the refrigerator. Scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl, them just dump the whole egg in there since it’s one egg. After creaming, the butter is going to be warm from the friction. The cold egg will bring the mixture back into the appropriate temperature range. Since there’s no flour in the creamed butter, you can beat the cold egg into the butter mixture to ensure it is fully incorporated without having any negative impact on the dough.


I check the temperature of my dough after mixing. I like my dough to be about 68° F (20°C) after mixing.


After mixing its best to chill your dough, especially if the dough temperature is in the mid-60° F or higher. I’d like to leave my dough in the refrigerator overnight. The rest allows the flour to absorb the moisture. Fully hydrated flour will bake more evenly. The starch gelatinization rate will help the dough set, so it won’t spread as much. Even a refrigerated rest of two hours or so will help to minimize spread. A chilled rest also makes difference in the overall flavor of your cookie.


You could omit the baking powder. You have enough leavening in there for twice as much flour. I think baking soda is a better leavening agent then baking powder when it comes to cookies. Baking powder produces a cakey cookie, and baking soda produces a chewier cookie.


The amount of baking soda (1/2 tsp) is more than sufficient enough for the amount of flour.



http://www.seriouseats.com/videos/techniques/cookie-science-why-cream-butter-and-sugar-5256173297001

 

[ChesterV]

I would just do it a bit more simply by adding another egg. That usually works for me if I want a little more height to my cookies.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

By adding another egg you change the ratio of flour to egg. Since egg is 75% water, you double the amount of water from the eggs alone. That additional water means more stream. More stream means a cakey texture.

Butter is about 11% water. At 92° the butter melts and the natural water separates from the fat solids. The first infusion of steam comes from the melting of butter.

By the time the dough reached 150° the water in the egg separates from the protein and turns to steam. When you have too much water, the flour is moistened during baking. The dough then bakes up puffy with a cakey texture.

So if you want a cake like cookie add another egg. But if you want a chewy cookie keep the temperature of your dough low.