Difference in cookie texture if we use melted vs softened butter

Question

I would like to know the difference in the final result if we use softened butter or melted butter in an ordinary cookie recipe.

A few days ago i baked chocolate chips cookies i waited for the butter to get the room temperature and then i smoothed the butter with the mixer (...) and at the end i put the cookie dough in the frighe. I just wondered what if i melt the butter so i will not have to wait for the butter to get soft, anyway i will put the cookie dough in the frighe later. But what will change? Some recipes demand for butter in room temperature softened and to turn sugar and butter mixture into a fluffy outcome. Some other recipes demand to melt the butter and sugar in low heat.

What is the logic behind what each recipe demands? And why?

Answer 1

There are many factors in play such as the type of sugars, amount of eggs or other sources of hydration, amount and type of leavening and so forth, but as an overall generalization:

• Melting the butter will lead to chewier cookies
• Creaming colder/room temperature butter with sugar will lead to cookies with a higher, more cake like texture.
• Refrigerating the dough before baking will help inhibit spread because the butter is colder, and takes longer to melt. It is also gives time for the liquid in the recipe to hydrate the flour. See What does an overnight chill do to cookie dough, that a 4 hour chill doesn't?

See the transcript of Alton Brown's Three Chips for Sister Marsha episode for a good treatment of chocolate chip cookies and their variations.

Answer 2

My experience is that every cookie I've baked that has a base of:

• softened butter

• white & brown sugar

• egg

• baking soda

• flour

  (which are most chocolate chip recipes), melted butter (or even too soft, almost melted butter) will result in very flat, almost toffee-like cookies. Not that they're bad, they can be quite tasty if you can get past the look of them (like a lunar landscape).

I'm sure there are others on this site that can give the exact chemical and molecular reason for the need for softened, not melted butter, but from my many years experience as a cookie baker, that is my observation.

Answer 3

I did my science research project on this and found that the softened butter will result in chewier, and smaller cookie than with melted butter. The cookie with melted butter will also be thinner. I also figured out that if you use double the melted butter you get a WIDE, thin, and crispy cookie and with half the butter you get a small, chewy, and what I found very appealing to most people in taste, texture and appearance.

P.S. I used the toll house recipe without nuts and with choc. chips.

Answer 4

If we are using melting butter in cookies then the cookies will become chewer in taste.There are some ingredients that are used while baking cookies to make them perfect in taste and texture.These are baking powder,softened butter,egg,brown sugar,white sugar.

Answer 5

I just made two batches of chocolate chip cookies. One recipe had butter creamed at room temperature and the other had melted butter. The ones with the melted butter were noticeably chewier. Both batches are yummy. We prefer the melted butter.