Sometimes I think dentists generally are some sort of version of a cookie. I’m totally an oatmeal chocolate chip. Soft on the inside, crisp on the outside edge, semi-sweet when you really get to know me.
So today, in light of Christmas, I’m going to indulge with my own inner cookie-monster and dive deep on the science of my favorite cookie.
Nhomm Nhomm Nhomm Nummmmm
Room temperature butter and eggs, why is that so necessary? The softer textures of both when stirred, create an emulsion that traps pockets of air which expand during the hot oven phase to help create the fluffiness of our cookie. Eggs also give moistness and protein. It’s our bonding agent between proteins and starches. Butter is the fat to my bottom and the love of my tastebuds. The fat content in butter also prevents the long chains of gluten proteins from forming which make a cookie too chewy.
Brown sugar contains molasses and acidity. Acids not only give cavities to your patients, but prevent browning in your cookie. Who even likes the pale a** white sugar cook’s that stale overnight in the tins… I rest my case. And sugar is not only just a sweetener, it’s a job security thing, gotta love feeding those cavity bugs. While the molasses secures more moisture, helping make the cookie have that gummy like flexure.
Baking Soda, a basic pH neutralizes any acids in the cookie. Again with that acidity deal. Make sure to add a heaping teaspoon into the dough. Just like you’d wait 30 minutes after a meal to let your saliva neutralize your pH.
Baking Powder on the other hand has both an alkali and acidity premixed. Why both? The self neutralizing baking powder releases CO2 gas during the heating phase which puff’s up your cookies and your cheeks.
Of all the flavors in the world, you choose being salty… tell me you got that joke? Ohhh well. Salt of the earth. A quintessential ingredient to bring balance to the force and the flavors of your cookie. It cuts the sugar while enhancing all the other flavors in the cookie.
Don’t overmix the dough. Creating too much gluten will kill your gluten free friends. And make your cookie tough as the calluses on your overworked fingers.
I like to flatten chilled dough, just to get the gooey inside, and crispy outside.
Finally make sure to let the cookies rest after taken out of the oven. On second thought, who cares, I’m eating them fresh and hot. You shouldn’t resist temptation either.
These are my thriving cookie tips for the holidays, I’ll leave you the recipe of the ones I made in this episode.
Cheers to the Holidays!
Lam
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups large rolled oats
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
- Add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir with an electric mixer or by hand until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper 2-3 inches apart (I do 9 per pan). If you like thinner, chewier cookies, press down slightly.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 9-10 minutes, until the edges are beginning to brown and the centers are almost set (a tiny bit of glossiness in the center is good, as they will continue to set).
- Let sit for 5-10 minutes or eat while hot before removing from the pan to cool completely.