Secrets to Soft Cookies

• Add extra fat: fat = dairy-based or non-dairy base
  • Dairy-based fat in baking: eggs, egg yolks, heavy cream, cream cheese, cheese
  • Non-dairy based fat in baking: seeds, coconut milk, animal protein for savory baking
  • Fat = color, flavor, and richness. It adds smoothness to the taste of your cookies
  • Want proof? Make my cream cheese sugar cookies

• Add invert sugars: inverted sugars = Simple sugars (a combo of sucrose and fructose)+ water + heat.
  • Simply, it is liquid sugar = light and dark corn syrup, molasses, and honey are the most popular.
  • Adding inverted sugars (AKA inverted syrups) help retain moisture in the cookie. Making ’em super soft and have a long shelf life
  • Make these super-soft gingerbread cookies to see inverted sugar in action

• Add cornstarch: Endosperm of corn + finely ground = cornstarch
  • Normally, it is used as a thickener for puddings and pastry cream
  • But…it makes cookies (and crusts!) extra crumble-y and tender.
  • It softens any harsh proteins found in flour
  • Powdered sugar = cornstarch and white sugar. That’s why you see many shortbread and sugar cookies made with powdered sugar

• Underbake Cookies: Cut down the cooking time 2-3 minutes
  • More time = more crispy. Less time = more gooey center
  • Depending on how gooey you want your cookies, shave off 2-3 minutes.
  • The cookies will look slightly underdone when you remove them from the oven

• Use light-colored cookie sheets: Think gold, silver, or bronze color
  • Light colors = less caramelization from the sugar. So….the bottom of the cookie will be light and golden.
  • Dark color cookie sheets = dark bottom. Better for crispy style cookies like biscotti or tuiles