How to Get Chewier Cookies

Cookies
Photo by Food Photographer | Jennifer Pallian on Unsplash

There are lots of ways to tweak your cookie recipe to your taste—make it crunchier, softer, cakier, or the best: chewier. If you’re someone who loves your cookies especially chewy, then you might be looking for ways to make your recipe serve that purpose. Luckily, there’s plenty of ways to control for texture to your own liking. Here’s how to make your cookies extra chewy.

Incorporate More Moisture

One thing that has a big effect on your dough’s chewiness is its moisture content. More moisture will make your cookies chewier … to a point. You don’t want to add too much wetness or your cookies will run and spread, making them crunchy instead of chewy.

There are a few ways to add moisture. First, you can swap out some of the white sugar for brown sugar, which has molasses, or even add a teaspoon to a tablespoon or molasses or syrup if you need the white sugar. You can try using two yolks instead of a full egg, as the fatty yolks won’t dry out as fast as egg whites. Finally, you can try replacing some or all of the butter with shortening: butter has water that can evaporate in the oven, while shortenings full-fat makeup will retain its moisture better.

Technique

One thing many professional bakers do is let their dough set in the fridge for an hour or so. This will also help promote chewiness. Finally, try experimenting with varied baking times and temperatures. Depending on your recipe, you may find there is a profound effect on your cookie’s texture.