Why do choc chip cookies change with different temperature butter?
My name is Chris and my daughters name is Maggie (9yr) She’s doing s science fair project and we have a question we need help with.
Her science project is baking choc chip cookies 3 different ways to see how they change. 1. with melted butter 2. with room temp butter 3. with cold butter
We are having the hardest time trying to figure out why they are changing because of the different butters.
Do you have any idea why? If you have time to field this questions she would really be very grateful.
Thank you so much for your time, Maggie and Chris
Best Answer
It all comes down to "creaming".
When you mix granulated sugar with solid (cold or cool) butter (creaming), the volume increases thanks to little-itty-bitty bubbles in the fat. That creates a kind of leavening. The bubbles get bigger as the item bakes.
Melted butter doesn't do that at all, and very softened butter does it very little.
So, different temperatures of butter in the batter make for different cookies, even if everything else is the same.
For an added factor in your daughter's experiment, try butter flavored shortening. It has a higher melting temperature and added emulsifiers. Shortening makes for more, but smaller, bubbles.
Here's a pretty good blog on the subject of The Creaming Method. The article covers temperature at length.
See also: What is the purpose of creaming butter with sugar in cookie recipes?
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Quick Answer about "Why do choc chip cookies change with different temperature butter?"
Chilled cookie dough spreads less because the butter is colder and as a result takes longer to melt and spread in the oven. A cookie made with shortening will spread less than a cookie made with butter because shortening melts at a higher temperature and thus doesn't begin to spread until later.Does the temperature of butter affect cookies?
Butter also plays a critical role in cookie structure; the fat and moisture can enhance or inhibit gluten development, which directly impacts the shape, spread, and texture in your cookies. In short, the temperature of your butter for cookies directly impacts how cakey, crispy, or flaky your cookies will be.What temp should butter be for chocolate chip cookies?
\u201cMost people think the butter should be so soft that it's broken down, but the most important thing is that you want a little bit of give to the butter.\u201d If you want to get technical, she says the precise temperature should be between 63 and 68 degrees \u2014 where it's cool to touch, but your finger can leave an indent.What effect does melted butter have on cookies?
Adding melted butter to your recipe will change your cookies' and cakes' structure, density, and texture: Adding melted butter instead of the traditional softened butter will result in a chewier cookie. Softened butter in cookie dough will give you a more cake-like cookie.What does melting butter do to chocolate chip cookies?
Chocolate chip cookies made with softened butter vs melted butter. In terms of flavor and texture, there's no difference. The cookies made with melted butter spread a tad more, but this difference is even less after the dough has been chilled (for a minimum of 1 hour).Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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