Hoping you nice folks can tell me why my choc chip cookies are flat?

[BWVDenise]

I follow the directions and every time I make cc cookies, they come out flat as paper. They taste good, but there is no "body" to them.
I don't know if it is my oven, my cookie sheet, or my ingredients. Any suggestions?

 

[Spinning]

How old is your baking soda?
That will sometimes do it or you ever beat your butter and it got to warm. But that usually makes them a little flat not pancake flat.
I personally love them really thin and flat ith just the bumps of chocolate sticking up...not DH!

 

[BWVDenise]

Goodness, I never thought of the baking soda! I think I've had it a while. I'll get new baking soda and try that! Thanks!!

 

[pattyT]

don't tell anyone -
but my trick to better cookies
replace some of the sugar with a box of vanilla instant pudding mix.
so if your recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups sugar - pour 1 box pudding mix into measuring cup then fill with sugar to make 1 1/2 cups.
Make fluffy sof cookes

hth

Patty

 

[Meriweather]

Also cool your pans before putting the next batch on.
Refrigerate your dough between batches.
Add another egg.
Butter or margarine? Butter makes for a crisper cookie....you could try half and half.

 

[firstmickey]

If you add more flour than the recipe calls for, your cookies will be much higher and fluffier.

I always add about 1/2 - 3/4 c. more flour to the tollhouse recipe.

It makes them a little less chewy but more fluffy and thicker.

 

[DonaldDuckFan]

I've always used butter flavor crisco (or just regular crisco, before the butter flavor kind came out) in place of the butter in the recipe and they have always been delicious!!! I think my DM wrote to Hershey a long time ago and this is what they told her to use, it's always worked for me and I always get rave reviews (sometimes thats not a good thing though because I am ALWAYS volunteered to make cookies for everyone, every year! LOL)

HTH, Amy

 

[buckeye]

Whenever I have used butter in my cookies, they have come out flat. I use Crisco instread. Sometimes I use half butter and half Crisco to get the buttery flavor, but not the flatness. Never tried the butter flavor Crisco!

Good luck!

 

[chi-mom]

I used to use all butter and they came out flat. Now I use 1/2 butter and 1/2 butter flavored crisco-I found that to be a perfect combo for perfect cookies!

 

[BCVOwner2002]

Same here - half butter and half butter flavored Crisco. The cookies come out perfect! Annmarie

 

[BWVDenise]

I tried them again today. This time I used a stick of butter and a stick of margarine. I also added a little extra flour. And I refrigerated the dough in between... they did not come out as flat as the last time but still not as thick as I would like. Next time I'll try 1/2 butter and 1/2 crisco.
Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Spinning]

oh another thing, I love to bake my cookies on stones! They aren't as flat.

 

[lrmillen]

i have the exact same problem, i've a;ways thought it was because my baking sheets are old and not the non-stick kind. because someone told me i should'nt grease them - that's what makes them flat. but these sound like more logical ideas. looks like i'll have to try them out. and how in the world do you bake cookies on stones!? the kind from your backyard???

 

[Spinning]

No silly stones are a different kind of cooking sheet. Pampered chef sells them. They are just a fat piece of cook ware made out of stone material. Makes great cookies, pizza crust I love them!

 

[pattyT]

I LOVE my stone too -
REALLY try the vanilla instant pudding thing - I promise youll LOVE em if not send them to me - I haven't made any in a while -

 

[BWVDenise]

I'd love to try the pudding, but my dd has food dye issues... I'm sure it's delicious!

 

[HunnyPots]

I just had the opposite problem; mine did not spread out and were sort of cake-like. My son loved them, but I thought they were awful! What I like are crisp edges and a chewy center, like the ones they show on the Toll House commercial.

Come to think of it, I used Crisco baking sticks instead of butter. Could that be it?

I also use Pampered Chef baking stones. Mine are so well "seasoned" they are almost black!

 

[BWVDenise]

I had a baking stone (twice!) and broke it (twice!). I gave up after that. They both broke in half in the oven!!

 

[whirlsy]

baking stones never work for me they never cool down~ what kind of pans are you using. My friend always made the worst choc. chip cookies ever and I asked her what kind of pans she was using and she was using those air baked kind~yuck~ she threw them away and got non stick pans and has been making the best cookies in the neighborhood, next to mine of course

 

[BWVDenise]

Whirlsy, do you mean the kind with the little wholes in the underside of the pan and the pan is thicker that regular cookie sheets? That's what I've been using!!! UGH! I have to get some new cookie sheets!!!!!! I'm so embarrassed!