What is best temp to bake cookies so they are soft and chewy, not crisp?

lisa mckean
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6 Comments

CarlaCooks February 10, 2014
I made these cookies a few weeks ago and they came out brilliantly: thick, chewy, and not crisp. http://food52.com/recipes/9209-chubby-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies
 
per S. February 10, 2014
Softer cookies need more liquid and to contrary to adding more sugar - adding higher water holding sugars (hygroscopic) like Honey, Molasses, or corn syrup absorb moisture. I agree with slightly thicker cookie and reducing bake time as I read in other answers.

Professional Baking, by Wayne Gisslen and Cookwise by Shirley Corriher talk about these tweaks!!

 
petitbleu February 9, 2014
It's less about oven temperature and more about the ingredients and make-up of your cookie dough. Please take the time to read this enlightening article. It's pretty fascinating and will shed a lot of light on how small tweaks can make for very different cookies: http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2013/12/the-food-lab-the-best-chocolate-chip-cookies.html
 

Voted the Best Reply!

Dimply D. February 9, 2014
I have found that instead of oven temp necessarily being a factor (350 being the gold standard with many cookies), flour to sugar ratio (both brown and white) and time play the most important roles in how you want your cookie to turn out. For example, I love thin, chewy cookies with crisp edges and soft middles. to achieve this I could never use the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip package. There is too much flour and not enough sugar to get the cookie I want. Also, I take them out of the oven before they seem totally done because if I wait until they are as brown as it seems they should be, they are always too crispy and overdone. I do a lot of fiddling and trial and error with my cookies :) Don't forget to write it down when you get it right finally.
 
Marie N. February 9, 2014
And so can we have your recipe?
 
pbf February 9, 2014
I don't know if this can even be answered. I am under the impression that the oven temp would be dependent upon the type of cookie and the blend of ingredients. What I would suggest is that if you are having trouble getting the cookies to come out the way you think they should, make sure you have an accurate oven thermometer to monitor the temperature while the cookies bake. Most ovens are not exactly accurate and a shift of 50 degrees could very well affect how the cookies turn out.
 
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