r/Baking • u/puppy_girl_fey • 7h ago
Baking Advice Needed Chocolate chip cookie help
Hi guys! So i just made these chocolate chip cookies and theres something off, they taste good but something is off and i don’t know what. Sorry if this is stupid im 100% not a baker. I browned my butter this time to try and make them better but i dont know if it messed it up or not. Recipe is included on 3rd photo.
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u/NotTheMama4208 Human Detected 7h ago
Are they dry? I haven't tried browning my butter yet but I have heard that unless the recipe specifies otherwise, you need to replace some of the moisture lost by the browning. I think that is what happened here, just guessing.
Edit: always take them out when the middles look just slightly underdone, they will finish baking on the tray.
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u/Agitated_Function_68 4h ago
I need to know what you think is wrong
But, as others have said, you can’t just use browned butter without making other changes.
If this recipe calls for creamed butter, you not only need to add moisture back, but the butter will have a different consistency once it’s browned/melted that will change the way the cookies end up
There’s a pretty good browned butter chocolate chip cookie recipe from King Arthur, Joy’s Brown Butter CCC. It calls for browning half of the butter. I’ve had good luck with it
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u/Peach_Bunn 7h ago
You can’t just brown butter in a recipe, especially 2 sticks worth. I’m not sure of the actual equation break down for how much moisture loss there is, but I usually would add a few additional tablespoons if I was browning that much. There are recipes out there specifically designed for brown butter that do the work for you of figuring out how much water you lose in cooking it down.
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u/CrazyLi825 7h ago
If you're trying to brown butter in a recipe that doesn't tell you to, try adding an ice cube per stick of butter to it after you've removed it from the heat. This will accelerate the cooling process while also adding back lost moisture. You want to chill the browned butter before mixing it. Never add it hot. You'll just end up melting the sugar or something and changing the way the cookie comes out. Cookies are best when the butter is only warmed enough to be soft, but otherwise still cold.
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u/Zealousideal_Lime349 3h ago
If you use brown butter, add a teaspoon of milk during the final mix before adding the chocolate chips. You lose moisture when browning the butter and milk brings a little bit of that back. Make sure to use room temp milk.
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u/Pleasedont_recognise 7h ago
Try changing two eggs for one egg + a second yolk, and make sure not to overmix. You'll get a chewier, less cakey/risen cookie.
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u/teanoeas 7h ago
i would use a recipe specifically for brown butter. i make the ones from broma and they always come great
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u/MyCatToldMeNotTo 4h ago
That’s the original tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe. I just made it last week. Mine were good. I didn’t brown the butter. It says to cream the room temperature butter and sugar together I believe. It didn’t come out right because you changed the recipe when you browned the butter.
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u/PsychologicalAir8643 1h ago
Don't brown the butter if it doesn't tell you to brown the butter. When you brown butter, water evaporates from it. You removed necessary moisture from the recipe, leaving you with dry cookies. Of you want to make brown butter cookies, find a recipe specifically formulated to have brown butter in it.
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u/Old_Detective_4770 7h ago
It’s hard to say cause the photos look good and the recipe looks good. Can you elaborate? What do you mean something is off? Was there some kind of texture issue, anything particular stand out to you?
Browning butter can go wrong if you burnt it, but if it was an amber color when you used it you should be good. Some people just don’t like the nutty taste browning butter adds
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u/mocolate-chilk 4h ago
Did you use semi-sweet chips? The ones in the photo kind of look like milk chocolate.
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u/seanmharcailin 6h ago
What flour are you using? I went through a period where I was using the generic cheapest store brand flour and my cookies LOOKED GORGEOUS but tasted completely meh. I swapped back to another brand and that completely fixed the flat taste.
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u/somethingweirder 3h ago
it’s hard to say what’s wrong if you can’t be a bit more descriptive of the issue? is it flavor? texture? are they dry?
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u/Mimi_Gardens 5h ago
That is almost exactly the recipe I grew up baking in the 80s. Main difference is nobody was browning butter back then.
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u/Peach93cc 5h ago
Don't brown the butter. You need to cream it in the bowl at room temperature. If you want a richer flavor, refrigerate or freeze the dough overnight. That's what I do.
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u/Spiritual_Bird2032 3h ago
This looks really similar to the recipe I use. Are you letting the butter properly soften, then creaming the butter and sugar today? I do that and then add in the eggs and vanilla extract after. Eggs should be room temperature too. Creaming the butter and sugar seems like the intention here I believe since you're using softened butter.
After that, I blend the dry mix in with the wet mix at speed 1 with an electric mixer until mostly mixed. Then I pour in the chocolate chips, and fold the rest of the way until no white streaks remain and the chocolate chips remain in the mixture as much as possible.
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u/vd_the_rd 2h ago
If you're going to brown the butter, add 2 TBSP water to the brown butter once its cooled. Browning butter loses moisture; you want to add that back in. Also, only 6 cookies per sheet so they have room to spread. 🙂
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u/Independent_Ant_2776 2h ago
what’s wrong with them? this recipe seems fine and the cookies honestly look fine too lol
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u/Low_Reception477 1h ago
What do you think is wrong? Adding an extra 1-2 tablespoons of butter when browning works for me, but its also possible you forgot an ingredient or something like that for something to taste “off” since the recipe looks totally fine to me. I favor one with a 1/2 granulated, 1 cup brown ratio but I love molasses so that might just be me.
Another thing that makes chocolate chip cookies so much tastier (imo) is letting the dough rest as long as you can. A few hours in the fridge is good, but over night, or even 24-48 hours later is even better.
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u/SeaBeautiful3788 5h ago
Weigh your flour. Spoon and level if you don’t have a scale. You can definitely use browned butter but be sure to replace the lost moisture (abt 1 tbsp per half cup). Make sure to chill the browned butter and bring back to room temp as the recipe calls for softened butter. Don’t over mix and pull them out slightly underdone, they’ll continue cooking on the pan! They look great regardless 😊
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u/Flimsy-Sprinkles-877 1h ago
If you don't provide the recipe or tell anyone what exactly you think is wrong with him, nobody can help you
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u/claire-is-confused 7h ago
These cookies look good, but if the recipe doesn't call for you to brown the butter - don't brown the butter. you remove the moisture out of butter when browning it, which can make for a crumblier, less chewy cookie!