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Here is the recipe. http://www.handletheheat.com/2013/10/ultimate-chocolate-chip-cookies.html It looks completely different from the web-site.What could be the cause of this mistake? too much eggs? Baking powder? or maybe not enough flour?

However, I live in south east asia. Do you think the temperature here could be one of the factors or maybe conversion from cup to grams are different?

Thank you

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  • Were you looking for soft cookies? Firm cookies? Crunchy? Cakey?
    – Matthew
    Jun 9, 2014 at 13:54
  • soft and chewy cookies. Jun 9, 2014 at 16:45

2 Answers 2

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It can be challenging to get recipes exactly right in different parts of the world, but not to worry - you can usually fix it with some modifications. This may require some trial and error.

There are a few things which could be going wrong:

  1. too much liquid: this is a US recipe, and US large eggs are generally smaller than the rest of the world's large eggs, so you could be adding too much egg. You could also be adding too much butter - a stick is 1/2 US cup of butter by volume or 113 grams. Try weighing the butter to get the right amount. The recipe also calls for bread flour, which has a high gluten content, and gluten soaks up liquid. If you aren't using bread flour then there could be too much liquid. In any case the answer is use less butter and/or egg, or increase your flour content a bit
  2. The dough is too warm: warm dough will spread out much faster, try sticking it in the refrigerator for an hour or so, and return the dough to the fridge while your cookies bake
  3. The dough hasn't rested: most cookie doughs need some time to meld after mixing, to allow the ingredients to completely combine. Try letting it rest. Steps 2 and 3 are both accomplished by wrapping the dough and putting it in the fridge
  4. Too cool an oven: Cookies stop spreading and rise when the mixture crystallizes and gains some rigidity. If the oven is too cool then the dough has more chance to spread before it crystallizes. If you can find one buy an oven thermometer, that will tell you whether your oven is the right heat. You could also try moving your cookies higher in the oven

What is isn't likely to be is too much baking powder or baking soda. Your spread comes from other factors.

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  • Thank you very much for your advice. I just finished making another batch this time I put more AP flour in (around 100g). I will leave it in my fridge around 8-10 hrs before baking. I'll report back to you guys tomorrow. Jun 9, 2014 at 16:50
  • Good luck @SukanokDonot, I hope they come out well.
    – GdD
    Jun 9, 2014 at 18:18
  • Hi, Today it came out a little bit thicker than yesterday however,for the texture, i expected to see some crackles on top but got the ugly wrinkle instead. I'm thinking may be reducing amount of eggs next time. Jun 10, 2014 at 15:02
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If I had to guess, it looks like they were too warm before cooking. Then when you added heat, they spread out a lot more than intended. Usually I will portion out my cookies and then put them in the freezer for about 10 minutes to discourage spreading, but I exclusively make chewy cookies because I enjoy the texture.

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  • I actually did leave the dough in my fridge for 2 hrs before baking. Jun 9, 2014 at 16:46
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    The recipe says clearly "Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours but no more than 72 hours" If you only refrigerated it for two hours that is very likely why your batch turned out differently. Jun 10, 2014 at 16:37

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