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I want a chocolate chip cookie like the ones Subway has. Those cookies have a smooth top and chewy texture.

I have a recipe for 3/4 cup fat, 0.5 cup sugar 0,5 cup brown sugar, 3/4 cup flour, 1 egg, 2 tsp extract. I get a semi stiff dough, but also an airy cookie, not as dense like Subway. I use room temperature margarine.

I have tried to bake cookies with 2 eggs and with 1 egg, but they always come out wrinkly on top, not as stiff. Is it possible that using an egg and a yolk would work? (But wouldn't that waste a lot of whites if that's how they do it?)

I think as part of this I want a stiff dough, that'll leave the bowl clean, to minimize spread and keep the tops from getting wrinkly as stiffness will keep the the cookies from expanding and contracting. Is that true? If so, I'm afraid that if I add more flour to stiffen the dough will make the cookies cakey - is that the case? How would I avoid that?

Cascabel
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christen
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  • Check this out: http://sweets.seriouseats.com/2013/12/the-food-lab-the-best-chocolate-chip-cookies.html He suggests that baking powder should give a smoother top, baking soda a more craggier top. – NRaf Nov 20 '14 at 20:49
  • ..thank you..yes you are right.. but it seems like majority of the commercial cookie companies use baking soda. i noticed that mixing soda and powder give good results.. – christen Nov 20 '14 at 22:35
  • @NRaf : if you read through the whole thing, the likely issue is actually that they have corn syrup in their recipe. Scroll down to 'Cookie Fact #10'. – Joe Dec 05 '14 at 17:15
  • @Joe it seems like if the dough is stiff, the cookie won`t expand and contract.it wont give a craggier top. i think when you minimize spread, you get a smoother top. – christen Dec 05 '14 at 18:58
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    @Jefromi My bad - didn't see this before I answered the other question. This seems to have more info about the OP's intent so my vote would be to consolidate into this question. I can simply move over my answer if that's the way to go. – logophobe Dec 05 '14 at 21:38
  • Thank you for editing some. I've cleaned your question up, added in some of the information from comments elsewhere that was still missing, and tried to phrase things as questions, rather than assumptions. It's possible there are other important things scattered around in comments that I missed. If so, please edit them into your question, so people can see right there everything they should address. – Cascabel Dec 06 '14 at 20:43
  • @logophobe You could probably move your answer now - not sure if it might require revisions too. – Cascabel Dec 06 '14 at 20:45

2 Answers2

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It would help if you could supply a complete list of ingredients (including the type of flour you used) and the temperature you are using to bake your cookies and even what shelf in the oven you are baking on. Were the cookies wrinkled when they came out of the oven or did they wrinkle as they cooled?

A lot of different factors determine how CCC's behave in the oven. Wrinkly cookies usually mean that the cookies expanded during their bake time then contracted either inside or outside of the oven. What causes that behavior could involve how much fat is in your cookie dough or how much egg white vs. egg yolk you used or how much leavening you use (more leavening doesn't necessarily mean more rise - sometimes if you have too much leavening your cookies can over-expand then collapse leaving a wrinkly top). There are other possibilities, but it's hard to make a useful recommendation without knowing the rest of your cookie equation.

Stephen Eure
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  • Thank you.. i use a convection oven with 4 racks.Since the fan blows strong, i lower the temperature to 285 degrees fahrenheit, i cook for 13 min. its an A/P flour . i use the middle rack. yes the cookies expand in the oven , i use 2 1/4 cups flour with 1 cup of sugar-brown and granulated mixed..3/4 cups room temp. margarine.1 egg. i tried with 1 tsp soda and 1/2 tsp soda with same wrinkly tops.. i add little water too..the tops seem smoother with egg and yolk. when i use the egg and yolk recipe. i want to increase the temp, but then burning tops is a problem:) – christen Nov 20 '14 at 16:12
  • So compared to the traditional Nestle Toll House recipe you are using less sugar, margarine, and egg. I would recommend increasing your sugar to 1 C brown + 1/2 C white (at the very least, increase the ratio of brown to white sugar for whatever you use) - that will give you a softer cookie with less spread. And instead of adding a little water, I would recommend adding an extra egg white for 2 eggs total and chilling your dough for several hours before baking. Your convection temperature sounds very low and your cooking time long - consider a 300°-315° oven with a shorter bake. – Stephen Eure Nov 20 '14 at 17:24
  • If all else fails, you can always just add more and more flour until your cookie has enough structure to prevent falling and wrinkling - but the more flour you add, the more you get something kinda cake-y and less cookie. – Stephen Eure Nov 20 '14 at 17:27
  • Thank you. Ok i will try also adding the extra sugar, the extra egg white too.when i compare the commercial cookies, with the one i bake, i notice that they are more white than yellow. i tried adding one egg and 2 yolks but that makes the cookie very yellow. Iam trying to get a stiff dough, but also, dont want to cut the fat too much. i notice that if the dough is stiff, the cookie doesnt get to wrinkly. – christen Nov 20 '14 at 19:57
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You actually would want your cookie dough to be less firm, that way when they are baking they spread out. Whenever they are done baking, you can hit the pan (carefully) against a counter top and it will give them a more wrinkled look.

user35007
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  • This doesn't answer the question as it addresses how to make the cookies more wrinkly. The OP is asking how to get them to come out smooth and not wrinkly. – Cindy Apr 20 '15 at 10:32