Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with recipes and cookies

These peanut butter T-rexes are underwhelming.

Adridne — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 18:00:48 -0800

I like cookie cutters way more than I like sugar cookies. Do you have recipe for delicious cookies that are cut out? Cookie cutters are great! Sugar cookies are boring. I tried the peanut butter cutout cookies recipe here and was disappointed. Mediocre peanut butter flavor, mostly just flat and sweet. I would love to make cookies that are rich and awesome and also shaped like stars and dinosaurs. Got any suggestions?
Alternately, what makes cutout type recipes different from drop cookie recipes? How far from the base sugar cookie recipe can one go before losing shape definition?

How can I make my chocolate chip cookies come out flatter?

masquesoporfavor — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:37:03 -0800

I made the same recipe multiple times, and have gotten different results every time. How can I maintain consistency?! So I made this recipe a few weeks ago, and it turned out just like the picture. Flat, beautiful cookies! I have made it 2 more times and gotten totally different results, and I can't figure out what I did wrong.

The second time I made them, they turned out much taller and domed. I wasn't totally alarmed because I'd browned the butter and used a different brand of chocolate (lower quality), so I figured that had something to do with it. I also used the whisk attachment on the KitchenAid because my paddle attachment broke, so I figured the extra air made the cookies fluffier.

I made them again a few days ago and used the bread hook attachment, added an extra tablespoon of butter, and used the same brand of chocolate I originally had. The cookies still came out slightly domed, and not flat. They taste good, but aren't what I wanted! I'm going crazy trying to figure out what I did the first time that made them turn out so picture-perfect.

So lend me your ideas, please! Should the butter be freshly melted or room temperature? Should I sift the flour? Should I refrigerate the dough, or not refrigerate it? It doesn't seem to have made a difference, since I refrigerated on both the first and third rounds, but maybe some combination of these is the key!

Also if you have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, I'd love to hear it. I used the Tollhouse recipe for years and loved it, but there's a bakery near my house that makes these big, thin cookies that I can't get enough of and they're moving, so I'm on the prowl. Thank you!

Cookies that freeze?

kimdog — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:14:27 -0800

I love to bake cookies for the holidays. I'd like to do most of my baking the second weekend of December (8 & 9), but that's earlier than I've done my baking in the past. Do you have recipes for cookies that freeze well? Preferably after baking? I'll also entertain recipes for dough that can be frozen with the caveat that the cookies can be shaped before freezing (so that I can just put them on a sheet to thaw then bake). I'm also open to bars, breads, and muffins. Anything I can do ahead and freeze.

Sweets without the sugar

rpaxton — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:03:30 -0800

Need recipes for sugar free (diabetic friendly) recipes for holiday treats: fudge, bars, cookies, what-have-you. Everyone is enjoying delicious things this time of year & I just shipped out a load of traditional fudge & goodies to family across the miles. It got me to thinking about a very good friend who just exited the hospital after open heart surgery and he is diabetic. We also have a couple of other family members who are borderline diabetic that we'll be seeing next weekend. I'd like to put together some little gift packages of home-made holiday tasties: sweet things that are just like the sort of treats our moms & grandmas would make us, except, you know..... that won't kill the people we care about. I've seen this thread and this thread, but they don't really have what I'm looking for. I'm not looking for suggestions to just give them fruit, nuts, cheese, or things like that as "alternatives" to the desserts. (fwiw, friend's doctors have given the okay to eating sugar free things in moderation.) I'm hoping to find reliable recipes - that have been tried & verified as good - for tasty holiday goodies like candy, bars, & bite size sweets sans the sugar. Thanks!

First foray into baking cookies

remixnine — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 11:54:54 -0800

I'm about to bake cookies for the first time. What should i make that's both delicious and that epitomizes the joys of baking? Somehow I've lived my life without baking cookies. My friends have pointed out what an incomplete existence this is, so I've decided to get myself in the kitchen and give it a shot.

I'm not picky or averse to trying something adventurous, but try to keep it simple - I'm new to baking. Bring on your best recipes!

Mad Scientist slash Baker

allymusiqua — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 12:24:58 -0800

How do I start making my own recipes? I've been baking for a while now--mostly cookies, muffins, cakes etc. and I love trying really unique, CRAZY recipes (like fig curry cookies). I've played around with different ingredients and substituting nuts or dried fruit, but I really want to start developing recipes completely on my own.

I've tried eye-balling cookie recipes and it's usually a crap shoot--sometimes they're great, sometimes they taste like crepes that have been sitting in the sun for three weeks.

I'm assuming this is going to take some sort of chemistry-esque cookbooks, but does anyone have ideas on where to start experimenting?

Need gluten-free, milk-free delicious cookies!

flawsekno — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 22:10:59 -0800

Need gluten-free, milk-free delicious cookies! A friend of mine was just complaining about the not!deliciousness of her gluten-free, milk-free cookies. (She can't eat gluten or dairy products for health reasons.) Bad cookies are a blemish upon this good earth and I refuse to believe that all of the human race's creativity and desire for delicious cookies has not come up with a good cookie recipe with those restrictions. Prove me right and give some recipes! :D

What to make when supplies are short?

BusyBusyBusy — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:48:52 -0800

Are there some tasty dessert recipes I can make that don't require baking or any of the things I have trouble getting in Ghana? I love desserts, and would like to make some for my lovely hosts here in Kumasi. I probably could find some ingredients if I really searched, but I'd prefer to make things using what is readily available. I cannot use an oven or a microwave, but can cook on a stove top.

Things that are available are... oatmeal, sugar, peanut butter, cocoa, margarine, digestive cookies, condensed milk... I also brought with me a few boxes of chocolate instant pudding.

Things that are available, but inconvenient to get are... butter, milk, breakfast cereals (rice krispies, special k), flour (I have about 2 cups).

Things I cannot find are... chocolate chips (though I could get chocolate bars), flavorings like vanilla or almond extract, marshmallows, corn syrup, brown sugar, cream cheese.

I've had some trouble finding recipes on the internet that fit this strange criteria. So far I've made oatmeal no-bake cookies, which I loooove, but I would like to make something different this time. Thank you so much for your ideas and help!

What's a good recipe for gingerbread construction materials?

ErWenn — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:35:40 -0800

I'm thinking about building a gingerbread house this year, and as usual for food topics that have yet to show up on Good Eats, I'm at a loss for where to find a good recipe. I'm looking for something that balances structural integrity with taste because I think it's utterly ridiculous to build something out of edible materials and then not eat the thing. Besides, eating the roof off of a gingerbread house must be at least twice as much fun as biting the head off a gingerbread man.

If you can also point me to a good recipe for the frosting stuff that you use to stick things together. I think it's called "royal frosting", but I'm not positive on that.

Complete me

InstantSanitizer — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:16:17 -0800

Help me find a cookie recipe that uses apple juice as an ingredient and results in the super bestest baked yumminess I have ever gorged myself on... I can't remember when it was that I tried the best home made cookies I have ever tasted and I can't remember who made them or where I was or anything at all... except that apple juice was a key ingredient for sweetening the batter..

The cookies were very thin, not cakey or crumbly, and had chocolate chips...

Anyone?

TIA

sweets that keep and are tiny

beckish — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:25:18 -0800

I'm planning a birthday which I celebrate enthusiatically only once every 7 or so years...anyways...I'm planning on baking lots of sweet things and feeding all my friends. I need to start baking early to get it all done and would like suggestions for small(portioned) sweet treats that can be made in advance and transported easily. I am, of course, making a cake(my favorite) that will be cut in little squares. I'm thinking about no-bake cookies and whoopie pies. Need other suggestions, something more exciting than basic cookies. recipes or links also very appreciated. please and thank you!

Do you know a chocolate chip cookie recipe that doesn't use butter or shortening?

Kattullus — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 18:32:14 -0800

I'm making chocolate-chip cookies tonight and I have no butter or shortening. Can you suggest recipes without either? I forgot to get butter at the grocery store when I went shopping for ingredients. My wife has the car and all the markets within walking distance have closed by now. I haven't found any recipes online without butter or shortening or some other random things I don't have. Here is what I have that might be useful for making cookies.

Chocolate chips (semi-sweet)
Dark chocolate (bars)
Whipped chocolate cake frosting (ill considered impulse buy)
Peanut butter and chocolate swirl chips
Peanut butter chips
Peanut butter
Flour
Salt
Sugar
Brown Sugar
Marshmallows (mini)
Cinnamon (ground)
Cocoa
Baking powder
Baking soda
Vanilla extract
Corn starch
Milk
Canned pumpkin
Cranberry sauce
Mustard
Cat (only one, so no multiple cat recipes)

What's the secret to baking cookies that stay soft?

macadamia — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 21:51:07 -0800

What's the secret to baking cookies that stay soft? I've been told to add lecitihin, trade 1/2 butter for shortening, use egg yolks, etc. "C is for Cookie, and H is for Help" includes good suggestions for preventing flat, runny cookies, but I'm trying to bake cookies that don't go crunchy 30 minutes out of the oven.

How do I get a Sainsbury's-style cookie outside London?

nbrier — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 14:17:27 -0800

I lived in London for a while and fell in love with the fresh-baked cookies from Sainsbury's. They came in a pack of 5 for .99p (as I remember). There were double chocolate and chocolate chip versions and they always seemed to be soft and delicious. The problem is I just can't seem to find a cookie that stacks up to the ones from Sainsbury's. Anyone have any recommendations? I live in New York City. Or, even better, anyone know the recipe for Sainsbury's cookies? Even just knowing the name of these cookies (if there is one) would help in my quest. Thanks.