Baking Question

[Slowfaller 0]

Ginny and I are making cookies for our friends and we didn't have time to actually bake them last night due to an unexpected dinner invite.

We did make the dough though and mine, surprise, came out kinda bad. The dough has a crumbly consistency but still moldable where Ginny's dough is how I remember cookie dough being, smooth. Is there something that I can add to the dough to make is smoother without ruining the recipe? Or will they come out fine after baking?

this is the recipe I used but doubled all ingredients for a double order.

--"Someday you will die and somehow somethings going to steal your carbon" -MM

[Icon134 0]

Generally speaking baking is pretty precicse in terms of ingredients, mixing, and temperature. Assuming that you included the right ingredients it sounds to me like you have a mixing problem.

In this case as it isn't a very complex recipe you might just form some of them into cookie sizes and attempt to cook them. (if nothing else they become a source of humor for you and your friends... )

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[RhondaLea 3]

I wouldn't add anything.

Doubling recipes is not always a good idea--sometimes the ingredients need to be adjusted--but don't add anything.

Instead, bake a test batch, and see how they come out. Describe the results, and maybe it will be possible to determine what ingredient you haven't enough of, if any.

rl

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[Slowfaller 0]

Quote

In this case as it isn't a very complex recipe you might just form some of them into cookie sizes and attempt to cook them. (if nothing else they become a source of humor for you and your friends...

Thats what I'm thinking, Ginny's batch will be good and mine will be,,,uh,,,special We'll see.

Plus, the dough has been in the fridge since last night because we went to dinner. If temp is a factor that might screw 'em up too huh?

--"Someday you will die and somehow somethings going to steal your carbon" -MM

[simplyputsi 0]

Ok so any advice you take of mine I do not take responsibility for the outcome, good or bad. I know this has happened to cookies I've been involved with before and I don't think you have a problem. Is the dough kind of dry? Maybe add a little bit of water and see if you can get it the way you want. I'd do a test batch off to the side, don't include the whole batch. You could also try to just give them a good mixing again, I mean really beat the crap out of the stuff. I really think the water thing will work though, it sounds like you have too much flour going on, or like icon said the mixing phase was fubared somehow. You could just try a test cookie and see what happens. I don't know how much batter you have but small test cases might yield your answer.
Or you could just serve dough, who doesn't like cookie dough now??? Really.

Skymama's #2 stalker -

[Icon134 0]

Quote

If temp is a factor that might screw 'em up too huh?

That's not really what I mean by temperature... In this regard I'm more or less refering to cooking temperature.

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

[DrewGPM 0]

Baking is a precise balance, but air temperature and relative humidity will affect the moisture content. Every baking cook book I own mentions that. If your dough is dry and crumbly you can add water to adjust for it. Add it a little at a time...too much moisture is a much bigger problem than not enough.

The suggestion to "beat the crap out the stuff" is not great. The more you work a flour dough, the more gluten you create. Gluten is the protien that makes bread tough and chewy...which does NOT make for a good cookie.

Start with a one or two tablespoons of water. If you need more, add it a couple tablespoons at a time.

[lawrocket 3]

I used to be a baker. I need some more info from you. First, did they taste good? Second, was the dough crumbly when you made the cookies or were the cookies themselves crumbly when done?

IT actually sounds like you may have forgotten to add an egg. Also, refrigerating - but not freezing - the dough overnight _can_ cause some problems. Baking is fairly precise, and is all about chemical reactions. Those reactions occur in refrigeration, too, which means that the cohesiveness of the product can be implicated.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[DrewGPM 0]

It may not be that you forgot the egg, but that you used the wrong sized egg. The recipe calls for a large egg...if you used a small or medium egg, you're missing out on all that liquid. If that's the problem, add 1/2 and egg white instead the water as I suggested earlier.

[Remster 24]

All I have to add to this is, WHAT ??? NO CHOCALATE????

Remster

[simplyputsi 0]

Quote

The suggestion to "beat the crap out the stuff" is not great. The more you work a flour dough, the more gluten you create. Gluten is the protien that makes bread tough and chewy...which does NOT make for a good cookie.

Start with a one or two tablespoons of water. If you need more, add it a couple tablespoons at a time.

Beating the crap out of stuff is fun though!!!! If they came out alright you could be like yeah I had some problems with them but I beat the crap out of them and look at them now.
I did suggest the water idea as the first correction. I didn't see that you refridgerated the dough. This probably sucked some of the moisture out and thus they just need to have some of it back. I don't see why you can't add some egg white as well.
You should try this because others and I agree this will help. however if this does not correct said situation,

BEAT THE LIVING CRAP OUT OF THOSE BEOTCHES!!!!

Skymama's #2 stalker -

[sd-slider 0]

You mean to tell me you don't have a reserve batch?

Anvil Brother #69

Sidelined with a 5mm C5-C6 herniated disk...
Back2Back slammers and 40yr old fat guys don't mix!

[Slowfaller 0]

Alright, going to definitly make a test batch.

The recipe did call for 1 large egg but I don't remember if the carton advertized jumbo as the size so I'll have to look and consider adding the egg white.

The cookies haven't been baked yet so its the dough I'm describing as crumbly but the dough itself does taste good. It's a shame we had to put the dough in the refrigerator but I would've felt bad not going out to dinner with my friend from Anchorage and her Father. Spending time with friends this part of the year will make up for a bad batch of cookies
I asked my mom too and she said to add some water so if the test batch comes out bad I'll give that a go.

Thanks for the help everyone, I'll post a post cookie consumtion update next week when I'm back at work. Have a very merry Christmas/holiday and a super safe new year everyone.
Chris

--"Someday you will die and somehow somethings going to steal your carbon" -MM

[lawrocket 3]

The egg in the recipe is not really intended to add moisture. The butter or margarine add the necessary moisture. The egg is intended to keep it all together.

Adding water to the recipe can actualy serve the purpose of making it even drier and more crumbly. Think of it this way. Let's say you have a cup of flour and you want to make it smooth and more moist, so you sprinkle about a teaspoon of water to it. Instead of making it smooth, you have just ended up creating lumps in it! The only cure? Add more water to it and suffer the problems that come with that with cookies.

Really, water should be avoided. But, you are right about the size of the egg.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Slowfaller 0]

Butterfingers are coverd in chocolate!

Plus the cookies my Fiancé(geez its awesome saying that) is making are going to include a hershey kiss in the center.

--"Someday you will die and somehow somethings going to steal your carbon" -MM

[lawrocket 3]

Quote

add some water so if the test batch comes out bad I'll give that a go.

Please, don't add water. Add vegetable oil or butter to it.

One more thing just occurred to me. How long did you mix it after adding dry ingredients to wet? If you mix quick breads too long, the douhg becomes dry and crumbly because of the reactions.

Next time you try the cookies, mix the ingredients until they are just incorporated and then STOP. Actually, the more I think about it, the more I believe that overmixing may be the sole cause of this.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Slowfaller 0]

The BCBA (Betty Crocker Baking Association) doesn't require a reserve

--"Someday you will die and somehow somethings going to steal your carbon" -MM

[Slowfaller 0]

Gotcha, more butter can't hurt anything

I did mix the hell out of the thing thinking it would help. You're probably right on the over mixing but hell, I haven't made cookies since 7th grade home economics.

--"Someday you will die and somehow somethings going to steal your carbon" -MM

[lawrocket 3]

Quote

I did mix the hell out of the thing

I believe we have a winner. Unfortunately, there just isn't much of anything you can do to salvage overmixed cookie dough without the use of paraffin or some of that other cool stuff.

Honestly, I'd recommend dumping the dough and trying again. It'll be worth it.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[Slowfaller 0]

Maybe we'll just use Ginny's cookies and I'll buy a case of 40oz King Cobras to give. Problem solved

--"Someday you will die and somehow somethings going to steal your carbon" -MM

[ginandjuice 0]

Well here's what I think it was. Yesterday morning I forgot to take the butter out so it would become room temperature. I think that is why it was a little crumbly. The butter was cold. That was my mistake.

Ginny

The words I have to say, May well be simple but they're true, Until you give your love, There's nothing more that we can do-David Bowie

[ginandjuice 0]

I'll get more stuff for the peanut blossoms then?

Ginny

The words I have to say, May well be simple but they're true, Until you give your love, There's nothing more that we can do-David Bowie

[Slowfaller 0]

We'll figure something out at Hooters tonight

--"Someday you will die and somehow somethings going to steal your carbon" -MM

[AlexCrowley 0]

let me explain now why I dislike you....

For the last 24 hours I see the topic of this thread and think "I have cookie Mix downstairs" which then turned to "which cookie mix should I get out of the fridge" whcih then turned into "cookies would be nice to eat" which turned into "I NEED COOKIES" and my eyes jiggled around and I grew blue fur.

So now I have to go bake some cookies. and I HATE BAKING COOKIES but ln311 is at work so I have to do it myself, and now she'll yell at me because I always destroy the kitchen, so now i'll get divorced one day before christmas and they'll find me drinking thunderbird under a bridge in Boston in the 20 degree weather with a small bird in my pocket and nothing but memories of my dog and purple panties.

I hate you.

mmmm cookies.

TV's got them images, TV's got them all, nothing's shocking.

[sd-slider 0]

Quote

The BCBA (Betty Crocker Baking Association) doesn't require a reserve

There seems to be some confusion here....

1. The BCBA MBR(Minimum Baking Recommendations) state the following.

I. Any person(s) engaging in activities that involve -flower, yeast, sugar, butter, etc., are required to have an eqaul amount or greater of the ingredients required on hand, to successfully complete the project.

II. In the event the ingredients are not available, the local RGBE(Resident Grocer Baking Expert) can waive this requirement when, and only when the batch organizer has demonstrated oral proficiency in one of the following areas:

---- A. Holly Hobby Easy Bake Mini Wave Oven pre and post operations knowledge of safe operation.

---- B. Proper ST&FO (Stealth Transfer and False Ownership) of store bought goods with the intention of claiming them as your own. Sometimes a re-bake is required to provide that over-done home baked look.
---- C. Proper demonstration of remorse for attempting it in the first place.

Although not requirements, they need serious consideration.

Anvil Brother #69

Sidelined with a 5mm C5-C6 herniated disk...
Back2Back slammers and 40yr old fat guys don't mix!