Holiday Baking - What went wrong?

[Tina]

I just attempted to make pecan pie cookies using this Land O Lakes recipe. My cookies went horribly flat and actually ran right off the cookie sheet onto the bottom of the oven. I went back and re-read the recipe and am positive I followed it correctly. I used Land O Lakes unsalted butter (softened to room temperature in the mixing bowl, not microwaved). I see that in the comments on the recipe site, a few report having had the same thing happen, while others rave about how fantastic they were. Any baking experts have any ideas what could have gone wrong?

Here is a pic of my cookies after about 4 minutes in the oven when they started running off the pan!

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

Well the batter needs to be thicker so maybe more flour?

 

[Tina]

Well the batter needs to be thicker so maybe more flour?

I don't think batter thickness was the problem. It seemed to be the right consistency when I was rolling the balls.

 

[Nancy]

Were the cookie sheets warm from baking other cookies?

Was the oven hot enough so they cooked correctly. If the oven isn't at the right temp the cookies might "melt" before they get a chance to cook.

I know my oven if off temp wise..I pre-heat it longer than I normally would now when baking or cooking.

 

[PixieDustandEeyore]

Okay I talked to my grandmother and she says if you used butter maybe switch to shortening as it spreads less and a bit more flour wouldn't hurt for a denser cookie.
Sometimes if you cook on a higher temp it gives the cookie less time to go flat.
I think the cool cookie sheet makes a difference too as a PP said

 

[Tina]

The cookie sheets were cool, but the oven temperature could be the reason. I don't have an oven thermometer, so I need to pick one up and check it out. I did bake sugar cookies earlier in the day and those came out just fine, but that recipe also bakes at 25 degrees higher than these pecan cookies.

I'm not sure if this recipe would taste the same if I were to use shortening, rather than butter. I've looked at a few other pecan pie cookie recipes using shortening and the rest of the ingredients were very different.

 

[LadyZolt]

Are you at a higher altitude? Maybe you need to add more flour if so. My house it at 6,000 feet above sea level, so I always try to factor that in when baking.

Check to be sure you used baking powder and not baking soda. Forgive me for asking if this is a no-brainer to you, but I've almost done it myself, so I thought I'd mention that.

Check the expiration date on the baking powder. If it's too old, I don't think it activates the way it should.

Let us know if you can figure it out! The cookies on the recipe site look fabulous! I hope yours turn out soon!

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[Tina]

Are you at a higher altitude? Maybe you need to add more flour if so. My house it at 6,000 feet above sea level, so I always try to factor that in when baking.

Check to be sure you used baking powder and not baking soda. Forgive me for asking if this is a no-brainer to you, but I've almost done it myself, so I thought I'd mention that.

Check the expiration date on the baking powder. If it's too old, I don't think it activates the way it should.

Let us know if you can figure it out! The cookies on the recipe site look fabulous! I hope yours turn out soon!

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

No, to the high altitude. I'm just outside of Washington DC, which is 25 feet above sea level (I googled it! LOL).

I used a new can of baking powder (not soda) and that was my first thought. I checked the bottom of the can and it expires Dec 2011.

I did continue to bake and experiment with my cookie size and shape. Nothing seemed to help, but I was able to get some good tasting (albeit horribly ugly) cookies out of the oven. They're much to ugly to make it into the gift bags, but they do taste good!

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Did you use a teaspoon or TABLESPOON of baking powder? Too much may have caused your troubles.

I had a similar problem with my cutout cookies today. I realized too late that I used baking soda and baking powder instead of cream of tartar. Baking powder also contains baking soda, so my cookies puffed up and fell flat. I'm going to try again with cold dough and a hotter oven.

 

[Fantasmic23]

I had the same problem when I attempted to make chocolate chip cookies earlier in the week - - The same Nestle Toll House cookies I've been making for years.

They were definitely tasty, but very flat and very, very crisp.

Like you, I googled and found a zillion answers as to the culprit of the flatness. I baked a new batch of Toll House cookies this morning and here's what helped me:

1. I used Crisco (Butter-flavor) instead of butter.
2. I added 1/4 cup more flour to the recipe.
3. The baking powder I had in my cabinet expired March 2011. I opened a new can (That expries in 2012) just to be safe.
4. After I scooped out a "rounded teaspoon" of dough, I rolled it into a ball.
5. I refrigerated the dough in between batches.
6. The recipe calls for ungreased cookie sheets, but I sprayed mine with butter-flavored Pam. When I baked the other day, I had to use a butter knife to lift the cookies off of the cookie sheet.

The cookies were ... better. Definitely more puffy-looking, but still not quite the Toll House cookies that I know and love.

 

[LilyWDW]

Could you have over softened the butter or not creamed it long enough?

Maybe put the dough into the fridge for 15-20 mins after it is combined but before you form and bake. I did this yesterday with a cookie recipe I had had issues with in the past and it fixed it.

 

[lisateaches]

Are those air bake pans? that could be it.

 

[Imzadi]

I'd say it was a baking powder problem. There is no puff at all in those "cookies." Also, something was off with the temp in the mixing of the butter, notice how they are all really yellowy in the center?

 

[JessicaR]

I'd say it was a baking powder problem. There is no puff at all in those "cookies." Also, something was off with the temp in the mixing of the butter, notice how they are all really yellowy in the center?

These are my 2 guesses too.

OP - I hate when cookies fail! Sorry.

 

[aaronella]

I had the same problem a couple of weeks ago when I made chocolate chip cookies. They went totally flat. The batter looked right and tasted great but the cookies were a mess. I threw it out and followed the directions the second time making sure that I combined all of the wet and then the dry ingredients and the cookies came out fine.

 

[Tina]

Not airbake, just Calphalon cookie sheets. I also switched to my old T-fal sheets (with small sides) after the oven spill mishap and they still flattened the same.

I definitely used teaspoons of baking powder and not tablespoons (I recall having to dry the teaspoon between vanilla and baking powder.

Its possible I could have left it(butter) too long to soften, but unlikely. I was anxious to get going on it and occasionally stuck a butter knife in to check the softening.

I'm doing a bit more baking tomorrow. I plan to refrigerate the dough and put the oven temp up a bit higher to see if that helps.

 

[Tina]

I'd say it was a baking powder problem. There is no puff at all in those "cookies." Also, something was off with the temp in the mixing of the butter, notice how they are all really yellowy in the center?

The picture looks very yellow, but they actually weren't that yellow. I'm not sure why the pic came out that way. They were pretty pale throughout.

 

[GJM]

I made chocolate chip cookies last night (toll house) the ones I always make. I bought new flour sugar, baking powder. I didn't soften the butter in the microwave. I followed the directions exactly.

The cookies were so flat - I threw them in the garbage.

I would love to know why this happens at times?

 

[Tina]

I'm thinking more about other things I've baked in recent times. All the mentioning of Toll House cookies made me think of my making them. I often have a tub of the pre-made dough in the fridge so we can make small batches for snacks. Those cookies also don't puff up like the cookies I grew up eating. I just assumed it was the pre-made dough. Now they're not totally flat disks, but they are fairly flat. This makes me think it could very well be my oven temperature!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I made chocolate chip cookies last night (toll house) the ones I always make. I bought new flour sugar, baking powder. I didn't soften the butter in the microwave. I followed the directions exactly.

The cookies were so flat - I threw them in the garbage.

I would love to know why this happens at times?

HA! How timely! I just made tollhouse cookies today, following the recipe on the bag. I used Land O Lakes margarine. I also never beat in the flour and stir in it. That is in the orginal recipe!

1.) Refrigerate the dough.
2.) DO NOT cook it at 375. Instead lower to 350.

I made 2 batches today. The first was in a hurry since I was bringing them to the hospital. FLAT cookies. Not awful, but flat. This was made at 375 and the dough was not chilled.

The second batch, I tossed in the fridge to cool. DH made them while I was gone and they are terrific. I had told him to lower the temp before I left. He said he did 10mins at 350 and they are super yum.

So just passing this along....