September 25, 2011

Know your cookies: fat

I'll start by telling you all that this week's cookie experiment was just as successful as last week's, and a hundred times tastier. This time, I varied the fat, with somewhat surprising results. I stuck the liquid level at a constant (somewhat - it went over in the upper levels of fat, just because of how much water was in the butter) 50%.

I totally love doing these recipe development posts, as I hope you all do. I started this trial by making cookies with no fat, 25% (based on flour weight), 50%, 75%, and 100% fat weight. This was calculated by subtracting the weight of the water from the weight of the butter to get the weight of the fat.

vvbvgfcv. (My dog's contribution to the post)


The real shocker came in the 0% fat cookies. They were amazingly, surprisingly delicious. They came out super gooey. They were also fairly chewy, and a bit coarse. But in no way were they horrible. I would definitely make them again. (Oh, and full disclosure, they have small amounts of fat from the egg yolk and milk, but I don't count that, compared to the possible 4+ ounces of butter)

The 25% cookies were actually worse. They were chewy,  but rather tough.

The 50% cookies ended up fairly chewy and fairly soft, and decidedly richer than the previous two.

The 75% cookies were soft, but still had some height. They melted in the mouth and were a bit richer than the 50%.

The 100% cookies were very soft (falling apart) and flattened in the oven. They also melted in the mouth, and were very rich. They took on a caramel flavor which the previous cookies didn't have.

And that was this week's experiment in cookie recipe development. Do with it what you will. I suggest somewhere between 50% and 100%, keeping in mind that the higher the percentage, the richer the cookie and the more spread you get.

Oh, and here's the recipe for the butter-free cookies. Mix together the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients and mix to combine. Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.

Ingredients:

  • 4 ounces AP flour
  • 4 ounces brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • .6 ounces milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

What characteristics do you enjoy in a cookie?
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