What Started All of the Creative Cookie Ideas?
Cookies are cookies, right? Not to me.
When you eat a cookie, you look for a specific flavor, texture and softness.
It is very common to get the perfect combination of these in a chocolate chip cookie, but peanut butter cookies have been eluding me for decades.
I highly dislike crunchy cookies and who had ever heard of a soft peanut butter cookie? I love peanut butter but because peanut butter cookies were always crunchy I could not get beyond the crunchiness to even want one.
I eventually resolved to simply avoid them and stick with the classic fail safe chocolate chip cookie or brownies when at parties.
Finally, my love for peanut butter got the best of me and I started my quest: The search for a soft peanut butter cookie recipe.
I started out with a basic cookie recipe that had a phenomenal taste to it.
I tried various techniques of baking to try and get them soft.
I undercooked them, I increased the temperature, I lowered the temperature, I even baked them on the top rack with a pan underneath so they would cook on top and not in the middle to hopefully keep them soft.
None of these ideas worked.
I tried adjusting the baking soda amount up and down and then combining these changes with the baking technique changes.
Still no luck.
I adjusted the shortening amount and then the peanut butter amount and then the flour amount.
OOps! Now the batter tastes like flour.
The batter is too wet, it tastes wrong, now it tastes like baking soda.
Sheesh! No wonder you can not find peanut butter cookies that are soft.
Two years later I finally had success.
A soft peanut butter cookie with a flavor and texture that will knock your socks off.
It took a long time and many trial batters but I found the perfect combination of ingredients to make them soft.
Softness is an important factor for me when it comes to cookies as I know it is for many people.
I know there are a few people out there who prefer crunchy cookies but the majority of people do prefer soft cookies.
Another factor that many consumers find important with cookies is for the cookie to have body to it and lift.
This was my next challenge.
My cookies were a little flat.
I spent a lot of time and many trials to get the cookies to lift more.
Again, I adjusted the baking soda amount and had no luck.
I started playing with the baking temperatures and the location of the baking sheets in the oven still to no avail.
Finally, I lessened the amount of shortening in my recipes and had success.
My cookies had lift and more body and more texture.
The most important thing to remember when embarking on quests such as these is the pride you have in your abilities to bake and create such incredible flavors to provide pleasure for others.
When you take pride in what you do, it shows in the final product and you take more care with what you do resulting in a higher quality product.
If there is something you would like to see and you want to try it for yourself, never give up, only you know exactly what combination of flavor, texture and softness you want.
Who knows, maybe you could be the next famous TV cook!
When you eat a cookie, you look for a specific flavor, texture and softness.
It is very common to get the perfect combination of these in a chocolate chip cookie, but peanut butter cookies have been eluding me for decades.
I highly dislike crunchy cookies and who had ever heard of a soft peanut butter cookie? I love peanut butter but because peanut butter cookies were always crunchy I could not get beyond the crunchiness to even want one.
I eventually resolved to simply avoid them and stick with the classic fail safe chocolate chip cookie or brownies when at parties.
Finally, my love for peanut butter got the best of me and I started my quest: The search for a soft peanut butter cookie recipe.
I started out with a basic cookie recipe that had a phenomenal taste to it.
I tried various techniques of baking to try and get them soft.
I undercooked them, I increased the temperature, I lowered the temperature, I even baked them on the top rack with a pan underneath so they would cook on top and not in the middle to hopefully keep them soft.
None of these ideas worked.
I tried adjusting the baking soda amount up and down and then combining these changes with the baking technique changes.
Still no luck.
I adjusted the shortening amount and then the peanut butter amount and then the flour amount.
OOps! Now the batter tastes like flour.
The batter is too wet, it tastes wrong, now it tastes like baking soda.
Sheesh! No wonder you can not find peanut butter cookies that are soft.
Two years later I finally had success.
A soft peanut butter cookie with a flavor and texture that will knock your socks off.
It took a long time and many trial batters but I found the perfect combination of ingredients to make them soft.
Softness is an important factor for me when it comes to cookies as I know it is for many people.
I know there are a few people out there who prefer crunchy cookies but the majority of people do prefer soft cookies.
Another factor that many consumers find important with cookies is for the cookie to have body to it and lift.
This was my next challenge.
My cookies were a little flat.
I spent a lot of time and many trials to get the cookies to lift more.
Again, I adjusted the baking soda amount and had no luck.
I started playing with the baking temperatures and the location of the baking sheets in the oven still to no avail.
Finally, I lessened the amount of shortening in my recipes and had success.
My cookies had lift and more body and more texture.
The most important thing to remember when embarking on quests such as these is the pride you have in your abilities to bake and create such incredible flavors to provide pleasure for others.
When you take pride in what you do, it shows in the final product and you take more care with what you do resulting in a higher quality product.
If there is something you would like to see and you want to try it for yourself, never give up, only you know exactly what combination of flavor, texture and softness you want.
Who knows, maybe you could be the next famous TV cook!
