Baking cookies is a waste of time. Better to just buy them at bakery

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a really odd post. I have no problems with someone buying the cookies/baked goods at a bakery. I love a good bakery as much as the next person. But, to say makes such a broad, sweeping generalization that it's better to buy cookies at the bakery, is just wrong. Sure, it's convenient and you sometimes get specialty cookies that aren't easy to make at home. But, it's also more expensive and a lot of pleasure and rituals can surround the baking of cookies.

I just did a calculation of what a base sugar cookie recipe would cost me - less than $6 for a batch without chocolate chips. You don't have to even use 'good butter'. I didn't include the cost of using the oven because it's just pennies. Nor did I include the cost of mortgage or utensils because those are sunk costs - I'd pay for them whether I made cookies or not. I also didn't include the cost of my time because it wouldn't take me any longer to bake cookies than to run to the store to get them and I'm also avoiding the cost of gas.

^^PP here. I calculated the costs using the prices on Costco's website. I didn't include the cost of salt/soda because the amounts are so small and cheap. I also use the imitation vanilla recommended by America's Test Kitchen and it's just as cheap. It's only pennies that are missing from here and not worth wasting my time to calculate.
1.17 Eggs
0.20 flour
1.67 sugar
2.25 butter
5.28 Total

Um, the good dark or semi sweet chocolate chips?

As noted, the cost above is a base sugar cookie recipe. A bag of Ghirardelli Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips is $3.99 at Wegmans. A bag of Toll House is $2.50. So, a batch of chocolate chip cookies with 'good' chocolate chips is still less than $10. If you were to buy chocolate chips in bulk or with coupons, it'd be a bit cheaper.

There's also risk involved with at-home cookies. No risk involved buying at bakery you're a repeat customer at.

Risk? In chocolate chip cookies? What in the world?

She can't tell you, because then she would have to kill you.

wink-wink-nudge-nudge

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could someone share a good recipe with European butter?
I use European butter and the recipe I follow doesn’t work well I guess due to different fat content, my cookies turns out flat.

+1. And none of the recipes have this warning.

It's more likely to have flat cookies because the baking soda/powder is flat. In fact, if you're using a European recipe with American butter, you might end up with thinner cookies because of the higher moisture/lower fat content of American better. It shouldn't make that much of a difference unless you're making butter cookies/shortbread because the amount of butter used just isn't that much.

Oh! Please make sure you are NOT using margarine!

If you want a bit more lift and chewiness, add an additional egg yolk to your batter and, maybe, another tablespoon of flour.

I didn't know that about the extra egg yolk. Thx!👍

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, just venting. I just have no idea how chocolate chip cookies can come out different every time we try to bake them at home. It's not that they're awful, it's just they're sort of mediocre compared to theirs. I'm just going to use up these chips and never try cookies again. Going to support the bakery instead moving forward.

You need a better recipe or may need better tools. Baking is a science. There are so many things that can go wrong, especially around the incorporation of the fat and heat. This will heavily impact the crumb and flavor of the cookie.

But if you don’t mind spending that much for cookies, I see no reason not to just buy them. If you really wanted to make them at home, I could suggest some recipes snd strategies.

I am a good cook. But baking cookies is too hit or miss. It's just not worth it anymore. I give up.

How does this personal “revelation” necessitate a thread, again?

I wonder if OP is actual a bakery owner trying to drum up business.

Haha. I actually refuse to name the bakery because then they would sell out earlier than they already do. And justifiably raise the prices from $3 to $5!

I was with you, OP, until this. Just name the bakery! This thread is full of people who like to bake! Your perf cookie place is not going to be swamped if you name it. C’mon!

+1

OP, it's kind of mean of you to go on and on about these how good these cookies are and not share the bakery!

You might very well be right, and I am definitely someone who would appreciate the recommendation since my husband and kids don't like cookies. I would love to treat myself to a $3 special gourmet cookie, and I would probably drive pretty far to get it. The ones in plastic buckets at the grocery store don't look good to me, and there is no way I'm baking my own to have them around the house for me to eat them all!

[Anonymous]

How do people create thick dense/chewy cookies at home? Mine always get pretty flat even if I make the dough ball big.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, just venting. I just have no idea how chocolate chip cookies can come out different every time we try to bake them at home. It's not that they're awful, it's just they're sort of mediocre compared to theirs. I'm just going to use up these chips and never try cookies again. Going to support the bakery instead moving forward.

You need a better recipe or may need better tools. Baking is a science. There are so many things that can go wrong, especially around the incorporation of the fat and heat. This will heavily impact the crumb and flavor of the cookie.

But if you don’t mind spending that much for cookies, I see no reason not to just buy them. If you really wanted to make them at home, I could suggest some recipes snd strategies.

I am a good cook. But baking cookies is too hit or miss. It's just not worth it anymore. I give up.

I mean it’s clearly not hit or Miss for everyone, since the people at the bakery in your town manage to get them perfect every time. And I guarantee they are not using “good” butter and “good” chips for 6 dollars each (!!!!!) for their mass production of cookies.

I mean you do you- I love some bakery products better than my own too- but to tell everyone that chocolate chip cookies are just oh so complicated and that we should all give up is just funny. My 10 year old can make good cookies.

[Anonymous]

All I want is Panera’s Kitchen sink cookie recipe so I can stop buying them and just make them at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could someone share a good recipe with European butter?
I use European butter and the recipe I follow doesn’t work well I guess due to different fat content, my cookies turns out flat.

We just switched to only using Irish butter and the same thing happened last week when I tried to make cookies. They turned out flat.

I bet some food blogger has worked around this and has recipes!

the workaround is by the normal butter. premium European butter is for toast, not baking.

This. Maybe OPs problem is she just needs to buy the regular ingredients, not kerrygold and expensive gourmet dark chocolate chips

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a really odd post. I have no problems with someone buying the cookies/baked goods at a bakery. I love a good bakery as much as the next person. But, to say makes such a broad, sweeping generalization that it's better to buy cookies at the bakery, is just wrong. Sure, it's convenient and you sometimes get specialty cookies that aren't easy to make at home. But, it's also more expensive and a lot of pleasure and rituals can surround the baking of cookies.

I just did a calculation of what a base sugar cookie recipe would cost me - less than $6 for a batch without chocolate chips. You don't have to even use 'good butter'. I didn't include the cost of using the oven because it's just pennies. Nor did I include the cost of mortgage or utensils because those are sunk costs - I'd pay for them whether I made cookies or not. I also didn't include the cost of my time because it wouldn't take me any longer to bake cookies than to run to the store to get them and I'm also avoiding the cost of gas.

^^PP here. I calculated the costs using the prices on Costco's website. I didn't include the cost of salt/soda because the amounts are so small and cheap. I also use the imitation vanilla recommended by America's Test Kitchen and it's just as cheap. It's only pennies that are missing from here and not worth wasting my time to calculate.
1.17 Eggs
0.20 flour
1.67 sugar
2.25 butter
5.28 Total

Um, the good dark or semi sweet chocolate chips?

As noted, the cost above is a base sugar cookie recipe. A bag of Ghirardelli Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips is $3.99 at Wegmans. A bag of Toll House is $2.50. So, a batch of chocolate chip cookies with 'good' chocolate chips is still less than $10. If you were to buy chocolate chips in bulk or with coupons, it'd be a bit cheaper.

There's also risk involved with at-home cookies. No risk involved buying at bakery you're a repeat customer at.

Risk? In chocolate chip cookies? What in the world?

She can't tell you, because then she would have to kill you.

wink-wink-nudge-nudge

Risk like…. You think their kitchen is cleaner and there is 0% chance someone recovering a stomach virus is working behind the counter handing you those cookies? Lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do people create thick dense/chewy cookies at home? Mine always get pretty flat even if I make the dough ball big.

You have to use a different recipe. Making a big dough ball won't make a thick cookie. You also have to chill the dough before you make it.

This recipe that's sort of a shortbread/chocolate chip hybrid went viral:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019152-salted-chocolate-chunk-shortbread-cookies

You could try this recipe that mimics cookies from a bakery in NYC known for big thick cookies:

https://www.modernhoney.com/levain-bakery-chocolate-chip-crush-cookies/

There's a lot of variety out there so search around, read comments and look at pictures. Never skip steps like chilling dough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All I want is Panera’s Kitchen sink cookie recipe so I can stop buying them and just make them at home.

With the toffee, chocolate and pretzels, this copy at recipe will be pretty pricey to make:

https://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/copycat-panera-kitchen-sink-cookies/9242e80e-8a83-4c61-9464-75a7ace4acd8

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never had a bakery cookie taste as good as homemade.

Me either! And cookies are so easy. Pie I would agree with you, if I make one it’s an educational/fun experience with my kids but they rarely are as good as bakery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do people create thick dense/chewy cookies at home? Mine always get pretty flat even if I make the dough ball big.

You have to use a different recipe. Making a big dough ball won't make a thick cookie. You also have to chill the dough before you make it.

This recipe that's sort of a shortbread/chocolate chip hybrid went viral:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019152-salted-chocolate-chunk-shortbread-cookies

You could try this recipe that mimics cookies from a bakery in NYC known for big thick cookies:

https://www.modernhoney.com/levain-bakery-chocolate-chip-crush-cookies/

There's a lot of variety out there so search around, read comments and look at pictures. Never skip steps like chilling dough.

Levain cookies are way too sweet and basically raw. How they ever became so popular is beyond me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve never had a bakery cookie taste as good as homemade.

Me either! And cookies are so easy. Pie I would agree with you, if I make one it’s an educational/fun experience with my kids but they rarely are as good as bakery.

I mean it's also very simple: bakeries don't make my mom's recipes. It's about biting into a cookie and having that Ratatouille moment.

[Anonymous]

Don’t be embarrassed about not being a good baker, OP. Not everyone has that skill. But for those of us who are, the advantage is we can control the ingredients (no crisco or weird stuff in mine, only good chocolate chips, real vanilla, and so on), can control the size, can vary the recipe depending on desire for soft and chewy vs thin and crispy, plus we can make the dough, freeze it, and have fresh hot cookies on demand.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do people create thick dense/chewy cookies at home? Mine always get pretty flat even if I make the dough ball big.

You have to use a different recipe. Making a big dough ball won't make a thick cookie. You also have to chill the dough before you make it.

This recipe that's sort of a shortbread/chocolate chip hybrid went viral:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019152-salted-chocolate-chunk-shortbread-cookies

You could try this recipe that mimics cookies from a bakery in NYC known for big thick cookies:

https://www.modernhoney.com/levain-bakery-chocolate-chip-crush-cookies/

There's a lot of variety out there so search around, read comments and look at pictures. Never skip steps like chilling dough.

Levain cookies are way too sweet and basically raw. How they ever became so popular is beyond me.

Yeah it's not my personal cup of tea, but I'm just trying to help the PP. Big thick cookies are about recipe and chilling, not among dough balls.

Now those gingerbread latte cookies they featured in the NYtimes this year, those were my kind of thing. Loved those.