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    Home > Cakes, Desserts & Treats

    Cookie Experiment

    Published: Aug 8, 2014 · Modified: Jan 30, 2020 by Nicky Corbishley

    Go to Recipe Print Recipe

    Is there a better type of experiment than this cookie experiment?  Sorry to all of you scientists out there, but I win. I've seen a lot of rules around cookie baking.  The most common being that you MUST chill your dough before cooking, and you shouldn't using completely melted butter.  This got me thinking - does following certain cookie rules actually make a difference?

    Cookie Experiment - a visual and taste test using a control cookie and 8 minor changes to ingredient or technique

    Well it turns out the answer is yes.  Quite a significant difference actually.

    I baked over 80 cookies for this cookie experiment - and I probably ate at least 10% of those cookies 🙂

    This experiment took a fair bit of prep, and pretty much a whole day of baking.  So I decided to combine it with my last week at work and get my office friends involved in this taste test as part of my goodbye.  My kids named themselves senior taste testers too, and took the job very seriously!! All-in-all I had 17 taste testers.  I asked my volunteers to vote for their favourite cookie, and also to let me know their least favourite (although 4 people didn't let me know their least favourite)

    I used the recipe from my Classic Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies post as my control recipe (which I originally got from Sally's Baking addiction).   This recipe calls for the following ingredients and rules:

    Ingredients:

    • 280g plain flour
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 and ½ tsp cornflour
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 170g unsalted butter almost fully melted (it’s better not to completely melt it as it can make the cookies greasy)
    • 150g light brown muscavado sugar
    • 100g granulated sugar
    • 1 large egg
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 2 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla paste)
    • 180g good quality chocolate chips

    Rules:

    • Ensure your butter is very soft, but not completely melted
    • Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least two hours
    • Use a mix of brown and white sugar
    • I also baked each cookie for exactly 12 minutes, with the exception of the ones I baked from frozen - I gave these 13 minutes.

    (see the original cookie post for instructions on how to make)

    For the experiment, I made one simple change to each of the 8 further batches of cookies I made.  These changes were:

    1. Replaced baking soda with baking powder
    2. Baked the cookie dough balls from frozen (i.e go through the refrigeration stage, roll the dough into balls, and then freeze)
    3. Baked the cookies without refrigerating the dough
    4. Baked the cookies after refrigerating overnight - rather than for 2 hours
    5. Used all brown sugar (i.e 250g brown sugar) rather than a mix of brown and white sugar
    6. Used 15% more flour (the idea behind this was to see if I'd get a thicker cookie)
    7. Used completely melted butter instead of very soft/almost melted butter
    8. Used all white sugar (i.e 250g white sugar) rather than a mix of brown and white sugar

    Here's a close up and explanation of the results:

    1. Replaced baking soda with baking powder:

    Cookie Experiment - a visual and taste test using a control cookie and 8 minor changes to ingredient or technique

    Replacing the baking soda with baking powder produced cookies that had a had a domed effect in the middle, with the outside edges being very flat and crunchy.  They were still tasty cookies, but they weren't chewy at all.  1 person voted for these cookies as their favourite.

    2. Baked the cookie dough balls from frozen (i.e go through the refrigeration stage, roll the dough into balls, and then freeze)

    Cookie Experiment - a visual and taste test using a control cookie and 8 minor changes to ingredient or technique

    I admit, I cooked these cookies for 1 minute longer than the others, as I expected it to need longer with it being cooking from frozen.  As it turns out, they don't need longer.  12 minutes would have been just fine (I discovered this later - after further experimentation with a number of cookie dough balls that I decided to freeze for 'emergencies').  These cookies came out of the oven very puffed up and smooth.  They sank a little during cooling and went a little rippled as they sank.  These cookies had loads of flavour.  They were crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle.  2 people voted for these cookies as their favourite.

    3. Baked the cookies without refrigerating the dough

    Cookie Experiment - a visual and taste test using a control cookie and 8 minor changes to ingredient or technique

    These cookies, although quick to make, were definitely the worst by far.  They were firm, crumbly, had a very cracked appearance on top, and a bit of a strange looking shine to them.  There was no depth of flavour to these cookies.  It was also much harder to shape them into balls before baking.  When you refrigerate your cookie dough, it goes a lot firmer, enabling you to mould the cookie dough into a ball in your hands.  If you don't refrigerate, you're dealing with a sloppy batch of cookie dough.  This meant my hands were sticky, and the dough was basically splodged onto the baking mat.  In an attempt to make these ones easier to handle, I also wet my hands before trying to form a couple of them into balls.  Interestingly, I found that doing this meant that the resulting cookies didn't have the cracked, shiny appearance.  However, they still tasted bland.  You can see on this picture that the top cookie was formed with dry hands, and the bottom two were formed using wet hands.  1 person voted for these cookies as their favourite.  11 people voted for these cookies as their least favourite.

    Cookie Experiment - a visual and taste test using a control cookie and 8 minor changes to ingredient or technique

    4.  Baked the cookies after refrigerating over night - rather than for 2 hours

    Cookie Experiment - a visual and taste test using a control cookie and 8 minor changes to ingredient or technique

    These cookies were soft and chewy with lots of flavour.  Not much else to say! 5 people voted for these cookies as their favourite.  1 person voted for these cookies as their least favourite.

    5.  Used all brown sugar (i.e 250g brown sugar) rather than a mix of brown and white sugar

    Cookie Experiment - a visual and taste test using a control cookie and 8 minor changes to ingredient or technique

    Definitely one of my favourites.  These cookies had a real caramel flavour, they were chewy on the inside, crisp on the outside and were very tasty.  The brown sugar produced a darker appearance than the other cookies. 4 people voted for these cookies as their favourite.

    6. Used 15% more flour

    Cookie Experiment - a visual and taste test using a control cookie and 8 minor changes to ingredient or technique

    Using more flour produced a thicker cookie that spread less during baking.  They were a little drier than the control cookie.  They had less flavour, and a slight floury/cloying texture.  Visually, they were probably the most appealing during to their puffy, thick appearance.  2 people voted for these cookies as their favourite.

    7. Used completely melted butter instead of very soft/almost melted butter

    Cookie Experiment - a visual and taste test using a control cookie and 8 minor changes to ingredient or technique

    These cookies were tasty and very soft on the inside.  They did have slightly more of a greasy texture than the control.  They also spread more during baking than any of the other cookies.  1 person voted for these cookies as their favourite.

    8. Used all white sugar (i.e 250g white sugar) rather than a mix of brown and white sugar

    Cookie Experiment - a visual and taste test using a control cookie and 8 minor changes to ingredient or technique

    These cookies were reasonably thick and very pale looking.  They were chewy and soft, although they were quite dry at the edges.  As expected, they had less of a caramel flavour than the control cookies.  No-one voted for these cookies as their favourite.

    Finally, here's the control cookie

    Cookie Experiment - a visual and taste test using a control cookie and 8 minor changes to ingredient or technique

    An all round, tasty, soft, chewy cookie.  1 person voted for these cookies as their favourite.  1 person voted for these cookies as their least favourite.

    Conclusion:

    The overall favourite from the taste experiment was cookie number 4 (where the cookie dough had been refrigerated overnight).  The overnight refrigeration really allowed those flavours to fully develop.  Cookie 5 (all brown sugar) came a close second.

    Based on these results (and if you like a very flavoursome, soft and caramelly cookie)  it may well be worth making your cookies using only brown sugar, and refrigerating the dough overnight.

    For me, I'll also be ensuring I have a good stock in the freezer so I can put one in the oven whenever the craving strikes!

    What do you think? Have you done any similar experimentation? Which one do you think you'd choose as favourite?

    As a reminder, here's the basic control recipe (however the experiment results suggest you use just brown sugar instead of a mix of brown and white, and also chill the mixture overnight or cook the dough balls from frozen):

    The Cookie Experiment Recipe:

    Cookie Experiment

    By: Nicky Corbishley
    Cookie Experiment - a visual and taste test using a control cookie and 8 minor changes to ingredient or technique
    5 from 2 votes
    Rate this Recipe Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 2 hrs 15 mins
    Cook Time 13 mins
    Total Time 2 hrs 28 mins
    Course Snacks
    Cuisine American, British
    Servings 18
    Calories 228 kcal

    Ingredients
     

    • 280 g plain flour
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 ½ tsp cornflour
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 170 g unsalted butter almost fully melted - it’s better not to completely melt it as it can make the cookies greasy
    • 150 g light brown muscavado sugar
    • 100 g granulated sugar
    • 1 large egg
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 2 tsp vanilla extract - or vanilla paste
    • 180 g good quality chocolate chips

    INSTRUCTIONS
     

    • In a bowl, mix together your flour, baking soda, cornflour and salt. Set aside.
    • In a large bowl, whisk together the butter and the two sugars until thoroughly combined. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract and whisk again until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix together using a wooden spoon. Finally pour in your chocolate chips, reserving 1 tbsp of them to put on top later. Mix everything together so you get an even distribution of chocolate chips. Then place some clingfilm over the bowl and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (and up to 3 days). It’s very important to chill the dough, so you don’t get flat cookies that spread all over your baking tray upon baking.
    • When you’re ready to bake the cookies, pre-heat the oven to 160c/325f. Line 3 large baking trays with baking parchment or a silicone baking mat. Take the cookie dough out of the refrigerator and scoop out a heaped tablespoon full (you may want to weigh out the dough to get even sized cookies. 2 oz/55g of dough makes a good sized cookie. You’ll get about 16-18 cookies out of this). Roll the dough into a ball with your hands, and place on you baking sheet. Repeat until you have used all of the dough. Make sure your dough balls are a good distance apart on the baking sheet as they will spread. I tend to put 6 or 7 cookies on each baking sheet.
    • Place in the oven and cook for 10-13 minutes, depending on whether you like your cookies soft and chewy or a bit more crisp. Take out of the oven and push the reserved chocolate chips gently into the hot cookies. Leave to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes before gently lifting off with a spatula and cooling completely on a cooling rack.

    ✎ Notes

    Nutritional Information is per cookie.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 228kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 152mgPotassium: 93mgSugar: 17gVitamin A: 265IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 0.8mg
    Keywords Cookies
    Tried this recipe?Mention @KitchenSanctuary or tag #KitchenSanctuary on Instagram!

     

     

     

    Hi I’m Nicky

    I love to cook and I want to share with you my favourite, delicious family friendly recipes. I want to inspire you to create fantastic food for your family every day.

    Read More
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    Reader Interactions

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    1. Janet says

      December 18, 2020 at 9:47 pm

      5 stars
      Good experiment

      Reply
    2. Jeanette Elizondo says

      December 12, 2019 at 4:50 pm

      My problem was I left out part of the butter & was trying to figure out how to make it work had to make cookie balls & put powered sugar on them do not know how they will taste to my family I am calling them snowballs . The dough was falling art so I added oil so they would stay together .

      Reply
    3. Katy says

      May 21, 2018 at 6:25 pm

      5 stars
      Next time you need help with tasting of recipes I'm volunteering my services😋

      Reply
    4. Amber says

      April 19, 2016 at 3:55 pm

      Hey I was wondering, what if you had tried it and tested out what milk would be the best in the cookie?

      Reply
      • Nicky Corbishley says

        April 28, 2016 at 6:12 am

        Hi Amber, no sorry, I don't use milk in my cookie recipes, so I haven't tried this.

        Reply
    5. Lily says

      August 20, 2014 at 9:52 am

      i have always been a big believer of chilling cookie dough for the crispier exterior and soft chewy interior, to me, a good cookie is worth the wait, thanks for confirming mad food scientist:)

      Reply
      • Nicky Corbishley says

        August 20, 2014 at 2:20 pm

        Ha Ha no problem! This is my kind of experiment 🙂

        Reply
    6. Donna says

      August 18, 2014 at 5:35 pm

      Try experimenting with different types of butter... european style verses unsalted and adding a little salt. Also different levels of browning the butter or 1/2 brown butter 1/2 unsalted regular. Takes the cookies to a whole level. Different percentages of chocolate and chocolate quality. 😉

      Reply
      • Nicky Corbishley says

        August 18, 2014 at 9:14 pm

        ooh I like it! Thanks for the ideas Donna. I might have to get a regular experimentation slot going on the blog I think - so much fun!

        Reply
    7. JT says

      August 18, 2014 at 10:43 am

      I remember experimenting last year with part oil part butter, and a mix of brown and raw sugar. The part oil and butter cookies turned out slightly crisper and kept longer, but was somewhat greasier. The raw sugar was interesting but not quite to my liking ha.

      Reply
      • Nicky Corbishley says

        August 18, 2014 at 9:23 pm

        Interesting JT, sounds like the same results as with the ones I did with the melted butter. I didn't think of the added benefit of them lasting longer. Although, I've got to admit, I'm too greedy to leave them for long anyway 🙂

        Reply
    8. Pang @ circahappy says

      August 15, 2014 at 4:07 pm

      I got to tell you, I have NEVER been successful in making cookie, exhibit A, there is NO cookie recipe on my blog 🙁 But I love what you are doing here, and I probably vote for "Used all brown sugar" cookie as my favourite.

      Now that I read your post, I am going to try making cookie one more time.

      Thank you so much for sharing this fun experiment. This is such a wonderful post 🙂

      Reply
      • Nicky Corbishley says

        August 18, 2014 at 10:12 pm

        Thanks Pang. I really hope they turn out well! Let me know how you get on.
        I've just been for a look at your blog and wow!! Great photography! Really beautiful!

        Reply
    9. Jim in IA says

      August 15, 2014 at 12:50 pm

      I'm a science-y guy. And, yes, you win! Excellent job with the experiment. I'm always amazed how many different ways ChChip cookies can turn out. I now see some of the reasons.

      Well done. 🙂

      Reply
      • Nicky Corbishley says

        August 18, 2014 at 10:25 pm

        Ha ha thanks Jim, that made me laugh. I do love winning 😉

        Reply
    10. lapetitepaniere says

      August 11, 2014 at 10:32 am

      Love the presentation 🙂

      Reply
      • Nicky Corbishley says

        August 12, 2014 at 8:49 am

        Thankyou Linda, Happy Fiesta Friday 🙂

        Reply
    11. Chitra Jagadish says

      August 10, 2014 at 2:19 pm

      So unique experiment...loved the way it is presented...Happy FF

      Reply
      • Nicky Corbishley says

        August 12, 2014 at 8:49 am

        Thanks Chitra. It took a far bit of effort, but there were definite advantages 😉

        Reply
    12. Jhuls says

      August 10, 2014 at 6:19 am

      I have seen an experiment on cookies some time ago and wanted to try it myself, but got so busy (or maybe lazy) that I have completely forgotten about it. I admire you for taking the time to do it.

      Yesterday, I was planning what to bake the next weekend. I found one, but I need three [or four] round baking pans. I only have one and only one oven rack. The hard thing is I need to bake the batter four times and need to leave each one of them for 2 hours and it uses egg whites. I just couldn't bake the first batch, leave it two hours while the remaining egg whites batter is waiting - the bubbles will collapse. I have thought of a solution, but it will take me about the whole day to do it. Now, you inspire me, Nicky. I will have to try that recipe I found when I get enough time.

      Thank you so much for sharing this. I will go with the overnight refrigeration and the all brown sugar. I hope you could let us taste test in your next experiment. 😀

      Have a wonderful weekend! <3

      Reply
      • Nicky Corbishley says

        August 12, 2014 at 8:53 am

        Thank you Jhuls. Wow that does sound like it's going to be a lengthy process and a lot of hard work. I hope you figure out a way to make it as simple as possible. You can always come round and share my oven. I have a couple of round baking pans too 🙂
        Thanks for you kind comments!

        Reply
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