There are two desserts that I love, cookies and cakes. But I absolutely despise caky cookies. Baking cookies may sound very easy, and the recipes are easy as well, but it takes years of practice to make the perfect cookie.
I personally like my cookies, either crispy or chewy, but not cakey. I am pretty sure you are here because you tried making chewy or crispy cookies, and they turned out to be cakey instead.
Well, don’t you worry, my friend, you have reached the right place. Over the years, I have baked enough cookies to know what causes cookies to be cakey and how to fix that.
Today I will tell you what causes your cookies to be cakey and how to fix this. So let’s begin. Stay with me and read till the end of today’s blog to get answers to all your cookie-related questions.
Why Are My Cookies Cakey?
There are multiple reasons why your cookies are not crispy or chewy but are somewhat cakey. These can be as simple as using melted butter instead of room temperature butter or something more complex like using the wrong flour, eggs, and sugar ratio.
So let’s take a look at what can the probable cause for your issue.
#1- An Excess Of Egg
In many recipes, eggs are employed as a leavening agent; therefore, if you use too many, your cookies may rise and even become cakey instead of spread out. Beating your egg for too long can also become an issue sometimes.
#2- Employed An Alternate Type Of Flour
There are many great flour alternatives when making cookies, but all-purpose flour is often the one you choose.
Baking is about exploring different possibilities and is good for you if you’re exploring other kinds of flour, but you should know that they might change the cookie’s texture.
#3- Overbeaten Sugar And Butter
You may think that overbeating sugar and butter will not cause my cookies to be cakey. But guess what, beating sugar, butter, or eggs for too long traps air in them, which causes the cookies to rise and gives them a cakey texture.
#4- Use Room Temperature Butter Instead Of Melted Butter
Not melting butter before adding it to the flour may not seem very harmful, but it is. You may see that many recipes specifically tell you to add melted butter. This is because room-temperature butter makes your cookies cakey.
#5- I Have Put In Too Much Flour.
No matter what kind of flour you choose, if you make your cookie dough with too much of it, the result will be cakey cookies.
Why? Well, it’s actually rather easy. The flour is not wet. Excessive flour and insufficient liquid will cause the mixture to become dry.
#6- Too Much Baking Powder/soda Was Used
Typically, adding too much leavening, such as baking powder or baking soda, or an excessive amount of egg results in cakey cookies.
The cookies will puff excessively during baking and take on a cakier structure if there is excessive baking soda or powder in the batter.
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How To Make Your Cookies Less Cakey?
Well, now that you know some of the things that make your cookies cakey, let us see how we can fix this issue and make delicious cookies that are not cakey.
Utilize Baking Soda.
Baking soda aims to make your cookie a little rise and help you make denser chewier cookies, so it’s a great technique to help your cookies expand and achieve a crispier finish.
Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda appropriately, even if your recipe doesn’t include it.
Avoid Chilling Your Cookies.
Many cookie recipes call for chilling the cookies in the refrigerator before baking. This is often a fantastic baking tip since it frequently results in puffier cookies that spread less in the oven.
However, feel free to use my authorization to skip chilling the dough if you create a recipe that is too cakey.
Remove Some Flour.
Adding too much flour can make your cookie too dry. So if the amount of flour written in your recipe causes your cookies to dry up and become cakey, try using a little less flour. This will reduce the cakey texture.
Minimize The Amount Of Eggs.
Using too much egg causes the cookies to rise too much since eggs and baking powder act as leavening agents.
So adding an excess amount of either will cause the cookies to rise and become cakey due to the excess air that gets trapped inside.
Measure By Weight And Not Quantity.
If you’re measuring large quantities of sugar, flour, and butter, you may likely go wrong with these measurements.
So instead of using measuring cups to measure the quantity, try measuring your raw material with weight to get the exact amount.
Flour is one of the ingredients that is measured most inconsistently if using a cup to measure, and you know what happens when you use excess flour.
Heat The Butter Until It Melts.
Although many recipes ask you to use room-temperature butter, but if your cookies are still getting cakey, try melting the butter first. This will break the fat and cause the cookie to expand when it is baked.
Follow The Instructions In The Recipe.
Following the instruction in the recipe is very important. You may think that adding sugar to the flour before mixing butter in won’t make a difference, but believe me, it makes enough difference to completely change the texture of your cookie.
Make Sure To Use The Right Kind Of Flour.
As I told you earlier that baking is about experimenting with new things, but using the right kind of flour is important. If you use cake pix flour to make cookies, remember that they will end up being cakey.
Don’t Overbeat Your Sugar And Eggs.
You do need the creamy texture of your cookies, but overbeating may not seem a big issue, but it traps excess air inside, and this causes the cookies to rise more and become cakey. So avoid overbeating your sugar and butter.
Final Verdict:
So there you have it, my friend. I have tried to identify all the issues and mistakes that I used to make, and I have seen other people’s make that cause the cookies to have a cakey texture.
I hope these tips help you in improving and achieve your desired texture of cookies.
I’ll see you guys soon with some more baking hacks, till then, Happy Baking!
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