Same recipe, different baking results

[Celesterp]

Hi everyone,

I made an alfajores (shortbread like) recipe and the first few times the cookie came out smooth and perfect. Some other times it bakes a bit different and comes out more crackly at the top and not smooth. I am not sure what causes this or whether it has to do with the chilling of the dough.

 

[Celesterp]

The crackly result:

The right result:

I know the powdered sugar hides it a bit, but you can see the shape and texture is different I'm the two

 

[Norcalbaker59]

the butter is too warm and you are over creaming the butter.

Creaming is mechanical leavening. When the butter is too warm and you over beat it, the butter lose it plasticity. It cannot hold the air bubbles created by the leavening as the dough expands before the starch sets. So it collapses on itself creating a more wrinkled top.

 

[Celesterp]

Thank you so much! The recipe calls for creaming so I will cream less and it has been extremely hot recently so perhaps should chill the dough more.

Thanks so much for your advice!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Thank you so much! The recipe calls for creaming so I will cream less and it has been extremely hot recently so perhaps should chill the dough more.

Thanks so much for your advice!

Stella Parks wrote a very good article on the proper way to cream butter and sugar on Setious Eats. Recipes always state room temperature butter, but trust me that’s not what they teach him to culinary school. They teach 65°F. Stella Parks uses 60°F. I’ve been baking over 20 years now and I use cold butter.

Have to know what to look for though in creaming butter. So I always tell people you 65°F butter. But just Google serious eats creaming butter.