Tips for Baking Cookies

We did the research (and all the taste testing!) to get one step closer to the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Here are all of our tips for baking cookies!

Last month, I had a revelation. I had a vision. I had a dream.

Okay, let’s step aside and not get too carried away. But when I talk about sweets, I’m all in.

Over holiday break, I spontaneously decided that I wanted to perfect my chocolate chip cookie recipe.

While I have a good basic recipe for chocolate chip cookies, I have a tendency to change things here and there.

It’s about time that stopped.

I’m feeling a little like Monica on the episode of FRIENDS, “The One With Phoebe’s Cookies.” Monica just wanted to be the mom with the perfect chocolate chip cookies. Right now, that’s me. My goal is to just have that one, surefire recipe for the perfect batch of chocolate chip cookies.

So let’s get crackin’!

To start, I wanted to break down the anatomy of a chocolate chip cookie. This way, I could provide my best baking tips while developing (and perfecting!) my cookie recipe.

The Anatomy of a Chocolate Chip Cookie

What makes up a chocolate chip cookie?

Good news is that the components of a chocolate chip cookie aren’t too complicated. In fact, you’ll most likely find the ingredients already sitting in your pantry and fridge.

Dry Ingredients

The first part to any baked good is its dry ingredients to form the structure of the finished dessert. In a chocolate chip cookie recipe, you’ll often find:

• Flour
• Baking soda

The Fat

Fat in baking (and for the sake of this article, in cookies), not only provides a boost of taste in your baked good, but it also acts as a leavening agent and helps with texture.

Fats that have been known to be commonly used for chocolate chip cookies are:

• Butter
• Shortening
• Oil

What Do Eggs do in Cookies?

Eggs are a vital component to baking cookies. They help with building the structure of the cookie, offering moisture, protein, and fat.

Eggs also act as a leavening agent. Normally, putting an extra egg in a cookie recipe will result in a chewier cookie.

The Chocolate Lowdown

We couldn’t leave this part out! What’s a chocolate chip cookie without… well, the chocolate?!

I’ve never been too overly picky with chocolate chips. I realize that lots of recipes call for “high quality chocolate chips” but sometimes, when you’re in a rush (or on a budget), a no-name brand can do the trick.

Of course, it is important to note that there is a difference between chocolate chips and baking chocolate. According to this article on Food Network, chocolate chips “are designed to hold their shape when stirred into a batter or dough […]” whereas baking chocolate “[…] is made to be chopped and melted to be used in baking.”

For my upcoming chocolate chip recipe (yes, I will be coming up with one… you just wait and see!), I’ll be testing out some of the “higher quality” chips, as they call them. Upon research, some notable brands are:

• Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips
• Hershey’s Kitchen Milk Chocolate Chips
• Nestle’s Toll House Milk Chocolate Chips
• BAKER’S Milk Chocolate Chips

What I love about this list is that these chocolate chips have great reviews but are still accessible to just about everyone!

I hope you come and follow along my cookie journey! I’ll be posting updates on my Instagram stories, so be sure to follow me so you don’t miss out!

How do you like your chocolate chip cookies? Chewier? More chocolate chips? Less? Let’s talk about it in the comments below!