[Sca-cooks] OOP Re: guess the mistake, was RE: Chocolate chip cookies

[Randy Goldberg MD]

> >What about a bad batch or old baking powder?
> >You might read what Shirley Corriher says about
> >these cookies in Cookwise and there also has been
> >articles in Cooks Illustrated through the years.
> >Johnnae
> >Johnna Holloway
>
> I'm not a big CCC-maker, so please forgive this question if inane...
> do they _call_ for baking powder? I don't recall a lot of cookies
> that do, offhand. I think most of their puff comes from steam and
> gluten expansion... however, before I go speaking ex cathedra, I
> should think about looking at a recipe...
>
> Adamantius, who is vaguely aware that people do eat chocolate chip
> cookies, but never gave them too much thought

On the contrary, most soft/puffy cookies DO rely on baking powder for their
lift. Thin crisp cookies may leave out the baking powder, and often use
baking soda instead; some few use an ammonium salt (I forget which one -
ammonium carbonate, perhaps?). For really puffy cookies, use cake flour,
baking powder (which has more lift than baking soda) and shortening instead
of butter.

One wants to AVOID developing the gluten in a cookie batter - it makes the
cookies tough - unless one LIKES a chewy cookie, in which case, use bread
flour, melt the butter and use mostly (if not all) brown sugar instead of
white.

AP flour, less egg, more milk, baking soda, more white than brown sugar, and
solid butter will result in a thin, crisp cookie.

The above courtesy of Mr. Alton Brown.

YIS,
Avraham