choco chip cookies turn into stone!

[Rosikat]

Hi there.
I have been trying different choco chip cookie receipies, but my cookies always turn out like stone when cooled or the next day:nolove: . What could be wrong? did i stir the mixture too hard? :(

[equus_peduus]

have you made the kind that come out flat or the kind that stay rounded? are you string the cookies in an airtight container? are you maybe overbaking the cookies? if you want, i can post my recipe that's always worked well for me...

[Ginger]

Maybe they are just overcooked. You can remove them from the oven 2-3 minutes sooner....

(PS : I had the same problem ! :| )

[Rosikat]

am i not supposed to put them in an airtight container? they were baked for 10min, which is what the receipe suggested and it was when the cookies started to turn brown.

equus, the kind i made didn't go flat a lot, just a little bit.

thx both! :)

[Loves2LoveChins]

You know there is a way to make them soft again after they turn hard. Just microwave them for a few seconds and it does the trick. :)

I have found that also just baking the cookies until the tips of the sides are brown helps keep moister cookies.

[Chinchilla_girl]

bake for 8 minutes, not 10 and store them with a piece of bread in the container. For some strange reason, I little peice of bread softens them right up

[mrdempse]

Thanks for the bread tip! I'll try that if I have leftover cookies- not likely to happen with my male friends around to eat 'em! :)

[equus_peduus]

I find baking for 2-5 minutes under recommended bake time (depending on the recipe - if they recommend 10 min, i'm going to go for 8ish) and then adding time depending on done-ness. You are supposed to use an airtight container (sometimes i'm lazy and don't put my cookies away the same day I bake them, and they go all hard the next day). Like L2LC said, baking til barely browned on the edges helps. I've never heard the bread trick. Microwaving for a few seconds right before eating would help, but if you let them cool a lot, they'll get even harder (has to do with the starch crystals, it's kinda neat, but basically, heating it will soften the crystalline structure, but when they cool again, they crystallize even more than before heating, so then they get even harder. which is why if you microwave stale bread too much and let it cool, it gets even harder).

[Loves2LoveChins]

LOL ep you only micro the ones you plan on eating right away. :laugh:

[Meep]

LOL ep you only micro the ones you plan on eating right away. :laugh:

Alton Brown (my hero..hehe) did an entire show on making cookies. He explained why some cookies were soft, and the others came out hard and crunchy.

The Chewy
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_13617,00.html

The Puffy
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_13616,00.html

The Thin
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_13615,00.html