How to Adjust Cookie Recipes

Almost all cookies share a few core ingredients—flour, fat, sweeteners, leavening agents, and eggs. If you know how these ingredients influence the taste and texture of cookies, you can adjust your cookie recipes to your liking. Since most people have different preferences when it comes to cookies, there's no one recipe that will please everyone. Some like cookies flat, crisp, and chewy whereas others prefer them soft and cakey.

The rule of thumb for cookie baking is to always keep the amount of fat and sugar used relatively equal. There should be less than 1/4 cup difference between the two. The amount of flour used should be about two times the amount of fat. To determine how much flour to use, start with equal amounts of flour and fat and then increase the amount of flour until the dough is slightly tacky. It is better to have too little than too much. And you should add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of your leavener for every cup of liquid or flour you use (use liquid to determine the baking soda, use flour to determine the baking powder).

A Shortbread recipe uses 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup superfine sugar, salt and 1/2 cup butter. That's 3 parts flour, 1 of sugar and 2 of butter.

Flour and Cookie Characteristics

Most cookie recipes call for all-purpose or pastry flour. Both bread flour, with its high protein content, and cake flour, which is high in starch, produce cookies that tend to spread less. (The gluten in the bread flour and the absorbent starch in cake flour are responsible for the similar results.) Higher flour-to-liquid ratios are needed in shortbread and crumbly-textured cookies.

Gluten is a substance found in flour that is responsible for the elasticity of baked goods. High-protein flours have more gluten than low-protein flours. You can affect a cookie’s texture by using different types of flours (or mixing flours).

All-purpose flour: A mix of high and low protein flours, this flour produces cookies that can be both delicate and chewy. Avoid all-purpose “self-rising” flour. Bleached and unbleached flours are basically interchangeable in cookie recipes, but the bleaching process alters protein structures, resulting in less gluten formation in doughs and batters made with bleached flour. For this reason, unbleached flour is a better choice where a slightly chewier texture is desired, as in drop cookies and nut bars.

Cake flour: This low-protein flour produces fluffy cookies with a delicate texture.

Bread flour: This high-protein flour produces moist, chewy cookies that won’t spread much during baking.

Whole wheat flour: Rarely used alone, whole wheat flour can be combined with other flours to add a nutty flavor and a denser texture to cookies. Substituting no more than 30 percent of the flour in the recipe with whole-grain flour imparts a nuttier, heartier flavor. At higher ratios, whole-grain flours will make cookies denser, less chewy, and slightly gritty. Whole wheat flour goes bad if it’s not stored in the fridge or freezer.

Bleached vs. Unbleached Flour: All types of flour may be chemically bleached or left unbleached. Bleached flours tend to yield smoother and more tender cookies, whereas unbleached flours produce darker and crisper cookies. Bleached flour is prohibited in Europe, and many bakers try to avoid using flours that have been chemically altered.

Depending on its ratio to other ingredients in the dough, flour makes cookies chewy or crisp or crumbly.

Fats and Cookie Characteristics

Shortening and butter make cookies tender. When mixed into flour, fat coats some of the flour and protects it from the liquid in some recipes. This prevents gluten from developing, making the cookies more tender and less chewy. Fats play a major role in the spread of a cookie--whether a cookie keeps its shape or flattens in the oven. In general, more fat equals flat, crispy cookies while less fat equals puffier, cake-like cookies.

Cookies are made primarily with butter, margarine or shortening. Whipped spreads are not suitable for baking. Shortening and margarine are stable, and will help cookies keep their original unbaked shapes. Butter contributes significant flavor, so substituting shortening or margarine for butter (or vice versa) changes the taste. It can also affect the texture of a cookie. Butter has a lower melting point than shortening or margarine, causing it to spread more during baking, so a cookie made with butter will be thinner and crisper than the same cookie made with shortening or margarine.

Butter is essential in certain cookies, such as shortbreads; if they don't hold their shape, consider lowering the amount of butter, sugar, or baking soda in the recipe.

Fats affect a cookie’s moistness, richness, pliability, and flavor. As fat melts during baking, it lubricates the flour and sugar particles and encourages the dough to spread. Different types of fats used to make cookies include:

Butter: With its relatively low melting temperature, butter tends to cause doughs to spread fairly quickly during baking, yielding flat cookies. Always use unsalted butter unless instructed otherwise.

Melted butter: Melting butter before mixing it with the dry ingredients allows the water suspended in solid butter to escape and mix with the flour, yielding cookies that are chewier and moister than those made with solid butter.

Vegetable shortening: Shortening has a higher melting point than butter, which means that it remains solid longer during baking and yields puffier cookies. Shortening is flavorless and is often combined with butter in recipes.

Stick margarine: Margarine behaves much like butter during baking but lacks butter’s creamy flavor and silky feel. Spreadable margarines aren’t suitable for baking.

Sweeteners and Cookie Characteristics

Like fats, sugars liquefy in the oven. The type and amount of sugar used play a big role in cookie performance. White sugar makes a crisper cookie than brown sugar or honey. Cookies made from brown sugar will absorb moisture after baking, helping to ensure that they stay chewy. Most chocolate chip cookie recipes contain both brown and white sugars. If you lower the amount of sugar called for in a cookie recipe, the final baked cookie will be puffier than its high-sugar counterpart.

See How to Reduce Sugar in Baking

The type of sweetener used in a cookie influences its structure, texture, and flavor. The main types of sweeteners are:

Granulated sugar: Aside from adding sweetness, granulated white sugar makes cookies browner (by caramelizing) and crisper (by absorbing moisture in the dough). It also encourages spreading as the sugar melts. The proportion of sugar in most cookie dough recipes is so high that only about half of the sugar dissolves during mixing. During baking more of the sugar dissolves, which causes the dough to soften and spread. For the best results, use pure cane sugar because products that contain both beet and cane sugars tend to be less consistent in quality.

Brown sugar: Brown sugar is white granulated sugar that’s been coated with molasses (light and dark brown sugar differ only in the amount of molasses added). Brown sugar makes cookies moister and chewier than does white sugar. Molasses absorbs moisture so well that cookies made with brown sugar actually draw water from the air, keeping them chewy and moist for days after baking.

Honey: A slightly stronger sweetener than sugar, honey’s flavor varies depending on the flowers its bees pollinated. Honey is ideal for soft cookies—it absorbs moisture from the air, keeping cookies soft when stored. Honey can be substituted for sugar in equal quantities, but a recipe’s other liquid elements should be reduced by a total of 1/4 cup for each cup of honey used.

Molasses: A thick syrup, molasses has a strong, deeply spiced flavor and is most commonly used in gingersnaps and gingerbread. Unsulphured molasses has a relatively mild flavor and is preferred over the more intensely flavored blackstrap molasses for baking.

Corn syrup: Corn syrup adds moisture to cookies and extends storage life but lacks the flavor that sugar adds in addition to sweetness. As a sugar substitute, use 1 1/2 cups corn syrup for each cup of sugar and reduce liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup.

Leaveners and Cookie Characterisics

Baking powder and baking soda are the two most common leaveners in cookies. Since cookies cook relatively quickly, most recipes call for fast-acting chemical leavening agents such as baking soda and baking powder to give the cookies body.

Baking soda is simply bicarbonate of soda, while baking powder is a combination of bicarbonate of soda plus cream of tartar, an acidic ingredient. In most baked goods, baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) acts as a rising agent, but in cookies it's much more important for encouraging browning. It does so by neutralizing acidic ingredients in dough, such as brown sugar, honey, vanilla, and butter, which would normally inhibit browning.

Sometimes baking powder, which is a mixture of baking soda and an acidic ingredient, most commonly calcium phosphate, is added instead of baking soda to give cookies a light, cakey texture. When moistened and heated, the alkali and acid in baking powder react, neutralizing each another and giving off carbon dioxide gas, which aerates the dough, making the finished cookie puffier. Since baking powder already contains its own acid, it will not reduce the acidity in the dough, and the resulting cookies will be puffier and lighter in color.

Baking soda: A leavening agent, baking soda releases carbon dioxide when exposed to acids such as honey, brown sugar, or chocolate. Baking soda also reduces the acidity of cookie doughs, helping cookies to brown during baking. Measure baking soda carefully—adding too much will result in flat cookies. Baking soda has an almost infinite shelf life.

Baking powder: A combination of baking soda, cream of tartar, and cornstarch, baking powder leavens baked goods by releasing carbon dioxide when heated and combined with liquid. Unlike baking soda, baking powder doesn’t reduce the acidity in cookie doughs, resulting in lighter cookies with more volume. Baking powder has a one-year shelf life. To test its strength, sprinkle a small amount over hot water. If it fizzes and bubbles, the baking powder is active.

Salt

Without this flavor enhancer, the secondary flavors in a cookie fall flat as the sweetness takes over. Salt also strengthens the protein in a dough, making cookies chewier.

Kosher salt and table salt are identical in flavor, so you can use them interchangeably if you adjust for volume differences. Kosher salt is coarse and table salt is fine, so the same weight of kosher salt takes up more space. To substitute kosher salt for table salt, use double the volume to match the saltiness of the table salt. Conversely, if you're substituting table salt for kosher, use half the volume.

Eggs and Liquids Cookie Characteristics

Liquids can either cause cookies to puff up or spread. If egg is the liquid, it will create a puffy, cake-like texture. Just a tablespoon or two of water or other liquid will help your cookies spread into flatter and crisper rounds.

Eggs are a major source of moisture and protein in cookie dough. Eggs are a binding agent. The liquid in eggs gives a cookie structure by bonding with the starch and protein in the flour, and their protein helps to make cookies chewy. Egg yolks bind the dough and add richness but allow a crisp texture after baking, whereas egg whites tend to make cookies dry and cakey. To make up for the drying effect of the egg whites, extra sugar is often added. This is why cookies made with just egg whites tend to be so sweet--think of macaroons.

Most cookie recipes call for large eggs. If you want to substitute a different size, note that the weight difference between each size is only about 1/4 ounce per egg. This isn't enough to make a big difference unless you're using more than six eggs in a recipe, so for most recipes you can use egg sizes interchangeably.

The part of the egg used to make cookies affects the cookies’ texture:

Whole eggs: Give cookies a fluffy and cake-like texture while also adding richness and moisture
Egg yolks: Produce tender cookies with less volume
Egg whites: Add volume and make cookies drier and more cakey

Pay attention to the size of the eggs specified in your recipe. If the recipe calls for large eggs and you have small ones only, you might need to add additional eggs. See Measuring Eggs.

Adding another egg (or especially an extra yolk) to cookies makes them richer, chewier, moister, and denser, providing more fat and emulsifiers for tenderness and protein for structure, while an extra whole egg adds more liquid, potentially making them puffier and cake-like. An extra yolk adds fat and richness, creating a fudgy, chewy texture, whereas extra whites can lead to a puffier, cakier cookie. 

Too Many Eggs can make cookies tough or overly cakey; it's all about balance. Adding an extra egg to cookies generally makes them cakier, softer, and chewier, but too much can lead to a spongy, dense, or even slightly eggy result because eggs add moisture, fat, protein, and act as a binder, changing the texture from crispy to cake-like. You'll get more spread and a richer flavor but risk losing that classic chewy-crisp cookie texture

Mixing

Cookies are not as delicate as cakes, but proper mixing is still important. Some recipes require a creaming step in which the fat and sugars are beaten together until light-colored and fluffy. Other cookies require a sandy texture, so the fat is cut into the flour. Over-mixing can incorporate too much air into the dough, resulting in flat, overly spread-out cookies. Follow the recipe instructions. Once you combine the dry and wet ingredients, mix until just combined.

For Chewy cookies, try melting the butter before adding it to the sugars when mixing.

Troubleshooting

If you have a cookie recipe that you love, but aren't getting the desired results, use these tips to get your perfect cookie:

Flat, Chewy Cookies

Soft, Cakey Cookies