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So I found a recipe for cookies which calls to "Bake the cookies for 10 mins, taking the tray out halfway through and banging sharply on a work surface covered with a couple of tea towels - this dispels the air, making lovely squidgy cookies." (Source)

Is this sound advice?

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squidgy, adj: moist and pliant; soggy; unpleasantly damp – Sobachatina May 9 '12 at 19:44
I guess it would...collapse them? Could be tasty, though I suspect the same ends could be achieved through underbaking... – Adele C May 9 '12 at 19:48
Underbaking isn't quite the same thing as taking out air. It's probably a lot like reducing the leavening. – Jefromi♦ May 9 '12 at 19:48
I wonder why the recipe would call for baking powder and soda and then add a step to reduce their effect. – Sobachatina May 9 '12 at 19:50
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The soda and powder help to give the cookies spread, not only to gain volume. – mrwienerdog May 9 '12 at 20:15

1 Answer

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Based on the recipe, it seems that the intended result here is for a denser, chewier cookie.If you were able to perform this percussive therapy maneuver in exactly the method desired by the recipe-writer, then yes, it would knock some of the air out of the cookie, and collapse it's structure a bit. I think that this maneuver would be difficult to perform precisely and repeatedly. Also, you'll have lots of variation in cooking time, as you have to open the oven halfway-though and let lot's of the warm air out of it.

Instead of the "bang", I'd just introduce less air into the cookies during the initial preparation. I think the easiest thing to do would be to under-cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar.

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Good idea - the chewy cookie recipe I used once didn't cream at all, it used melted butter. – rumtscho♦ May 10 '12 at 9:28

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