The Pro-Tip For Getting Perfect Crinkles In Your Chocolate Chip Cookies
There's no taste quite like a homemade chocolate chip cookie. There's just something about the mix of brown sugar, real vanilla, and chocolate that feels like a warm hug with every bite. Pretty much all bakers have a recipe for the ideal mix, but the way it looks sets one cookie apart from the rest. And cookies that have wrinkles are the most sought-after by chocolate chip cookie enthusiasts. To make the perfect crinkles in your chocolate chip cookies, put away the measuring spoons and scoops. Instead, rip refrigerated dough balls in half and stack them to create the perfect cookie.
The ideal chocolate chip cookie with crinkles is both soft and crispy and doesn't look like it was made in a factory (sorry, ice cream scoop enthusiasts, perfection is out, and imperfection is in). While it's still a good idea to weigh each cookie ball to make sure they're relatively the same size, don't worry about getting the perfect scoop every time.
Crinkly cookie methods that work
There's no shortage of crinkly cookie methods, including the viral "pan banging" method from chef Sarah Kieffer. You can use the pan-banging method (bang your pan of cookies before they go into the oven to create ripples) and get those perfectly imperfect lines, but there are more straightforward ways to make eye-catching cookies.
The cut-and-stack method gained popularity thanks to cookbook author Shauna Sever, who advised fans to refrigerate dough balls for one hour; rip each piece in half; and then stack the top on the bottom part before baking. This method calls for taller cookies pre-bake and results in wrinkled perfection.
Another way to crinkle up your cookies is to slightly push the sides of each cookie together after refrigerating and before baking. You can also drop a pan of just-baked cookies on the counter to jar the sides, causing them to wrinkle. All of these methods work, but some amount of crinkling can quickly happen with the right ingredients.
Sugar, butter, and leaveners matter
The more sugar a cookie has, the more likely it is to crease, thanks to the caramelization process. Adding baking soda and powder to the dough will also cause cookies to expand and rise, creating ridges. If your cookies aren't coming out right, there could be ingredient-related reasons.
One of the most prominent issues bakers face is a flat, dry cookie, which can happen very quickly if your recipe has too much flour. Cookies can also spread too much due to butter that's too cold or too warm; room-temperature butter is the best way to make cookies come out right.
Lastly, putting cookie dough into an oven that is too hot or cold can impact any cookie's size and shape. Purchase an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is at the perfect temperature, and always preheat your oven. If you follow these basic steps, and use any of the methods above, you should be able to create mouth-watering chocolate chip cookies every time.