Monday, February 24, 2014

my one {thousandth} weakness.

all weekend i had the urge to make cookies.  i fought it hard & made it through sunday without whipping up a batch.  then monday came along in all its dreary, rainy, anti-glory & it was basically begging me to bake.  anyone else get that way?  cold, rainy days just make me want to turn on my oven & make something warm, gooey & gluttonous.

of course i justify it by enlisting parker's help.  it's a fun activity that he enjoys doing alongside me.  he helps me mix up the dough, make the balls to drop on the cookie sheet & when they come out of the oven, he's first in line.  obviously.

looks like this batch was 100% parker approved.


{and for the record, since i know one person will ask or at least think it, i always just use the classic tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe & they're always pretty dang good.  however, they always kinda flat.  WHY?}

25 comments:

  1. To make mine a little plumper and less flat i make the ball tall, rather than a perfect ball. If that makes sense haha. It makes them gooey-er and moister too.

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  2. Aww I love this! :) I love baking these day with our Parker too, they are at a great age for it!

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    1. i know, right? Such a fun age for so many things :)

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  3. For me that recipe ALWAYS falls flat too. I can't figure it out. I stopped using it altogether because it was so frustrating!!!

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    1. so what recipe do you use now?? and are they not flat?

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  4. If you're using baking soda that is more than 30 days old, I think it affects the plumpness of your cookie. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere. Oh and baking cookies is one of Bennett's fave things to do, so that's a perfectly good excuse. lol. I don't usually eat the cookie though, just the dough ;)

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    1. I'm guilty of eating both the dough AND the cookies. and that's interesting about the baking soda! I'm sure I'm only a year overdue for a new box... haha :)

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  5. I use the tollhouse recipe as well and recently discovered that adding more flour makes them plumper.

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    1. oh interesting! so maybe it's a recipe thing. how much more flour, i wonder.

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  6. I switched over to the Crisco stick recipe...I hate that it's shortening but it makes a prettier cookie. Also, add coconut flakes. TO DIE FOR, DELICIOUS!

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    1. do you have to like coconut for the flakes to be good in your cookies? because no matter how much i try it, i can't do coconut! :(

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    2. I always get pancakes instead of cookies when I use softened butter :/ And...you'd probably have to like coconut. I used semi-sweet chips and sweetened flakes and loved what it did together.

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  7. Years ago, I read an article that explained the differences and it boiled down to the butter - how soft or not it is. Here is a link, thought not the one I read (still looking for it) but it gives you the idea: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2013/06/the-great-cookie-experiment-butter-temperature.html.

    I've also heard about Mandy's baking soda theory and how old it is...

    I will definitely be following along to see other's theories!

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    1. oooh, interesting! i always "soften" my butter beforehand, which means i let it sit out all day to room temp but then still end up throwing it in the microwave & then it melts a bit. i wonder if that's the issue!

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  8. I always use the standard Tollhouse recipes but ALWAYS with Crisco, not butter. For me, when I use butter it never turns our right. Crisco is the best. I mean, it's gross. But awesome.

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    1. That's what I was saying up above!! I get pancakes instead of cookies when using butter.

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    2. it's totally sounding like butter is the culprit!! will definitely either be using crisco or harder butter next time :)

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  9. I always use the Tollhouse recipe but I NEVER soften my butter. I just throw it straight into the 'ole Kitchen Aid mixer cold. It makes the dough a little stiffer so it doesn't spread so flat when baking.

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    1. why do I never use my kitchenaid for chocolate chip cookies?? this is what i'll be doing next time, exactly.

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  10. I bake at a considerably higher elevation than you, but I ALWAYS need more flour than a recipe calls for. (I even have to add flour to my boxed cake mixes to get the right consistency.) In addition to what has already been said, if you want plumper cookies, use crisco instead of butter. Or butter flavored crisco if you like the flavor that you get from using butter.
    Side note from my sister who was a professional baker for 14 years: humidity affects the quality of your flour. So, based on your humidity levels the day you are baking, you may need to increase or decrease the amount of flour called for in a recipe. Who knew there was so much science behind baking, eh?
    And seriously, can Parker get any cuter? I mean, come on!!

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    1. oh my gosh... based on all those variables, i'm bound to NEVER figure this out! haha

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    2. Oh you will! Worst case scenario: you have a delicious cookie that's kinda flat. Waah! :)

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  11. aw I love this. and your new blog design! so simple and so perfect and classy.

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    1. thanks Kat! I'm pretty happy with it :) worth the hours of playing around with it! haha

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