The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

Chocolate Chip Cookie Tips

How do you make chocolate chip cookies chewy?

Many chewy cookie lovers resort to underbaking, but there are other tricks for making perfectly chewy chocolate chip cookies. The easiest solution is to swap all-purpose flour for bread flour, which has a higher protein content and makes for chewier chocolate chip cookies. Another option is to replace some of the granulated sugar with an equal amount of brown sugar.

Why are my chocolate chip cookies flat?

There are many reasons why your cookies could be flat. One of the most common culprits is a miscalibrated oven. Even if you followed the recipe when setting the oven temperature, use an oven thermometer to double-check that the actual oven temperature matches the temperature you set.

If I can't eat butter, can I use margarine instead?

For those who can't eat dairy, you can substitute margarine for butter in almost all baked goods—including chocolate chip cookies—if you chose wisely. Never substitute the tub margarine for butter. Instead, use a high-quality stick margarine that has at least an 80% oil content. With anything lower, the water content will be higher than in butter, which will affect how the cookies react in the oven. (For an easy shortcut, look for margarine that has at least 100 calories per tablespoon.)

How can I soften baked cookies?

Even when you work hard to bake the softest cookies, sometimes they don't turn out as you intend. To soften crisp cookies or ones that are a bit stale, place the cookies in an airtight container and add a slice or two of fresh bread. Seal it up for a few hours and then give the cookies a nibble—you'll find that the moisture from the bread has moved to the cookies, giving them a softer texture.
Research contributed by James Schend, Taste of Home Deputy Editor, Culinary