what happened to my cookies?

[Anonymous]

I made cookies last night, simply doubling a recipe I had used previously (to perfect results) -- and it came out disastrously! I literally just doubled all of the ingredients, but instead of rising slightly while baking and creating a cracked crust (brownie cookies), they stayed flat and ran together. I'm not a baker, so tell me what I did wrong, please!

this is the recipe, which I just doubled:
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp. hot water
• 1/2 tsp sea salt + more for sprinkling
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

[Anonymous]

i would say too much oil, sometimes I find that oils do not need to be doubled like other ingredients.

but i'm just guessing here!

[Anonymous]

Could it be your baking soda? Check the expiration date.

[Anonymous]

Bad baking soda would keep it from rising but probably wouldn't make it run together. I don't see an obvious problem with doubling this recipe, which makes me think there might be some other culprit. Dough that was too warm (particularly if it sat too long before baking), an oven that wasn't pre-heated, or the fact that its been raining all week are all possible contributing factors.

[Anonymous]

Im guessing a combination of hot water and olive oil ratio. too much oil. also could depend on the amount of olive oil you used. To me for the amount of flour, it's too much oil.

[Anonymous]

I think you probably just doubled something incorrectly.

[Anonymous]

Looks like not enough flour/cocoa.

[Anonymous]

Tell me about the temperature at which you baked them. If you put cookie dough in an oven that is not hot enough it does too much melting and not enough rising. It needs to get its rise on before the fats get too runny.

[Anonymous]

Completely agree with too much oil and/or the dough being a bit too warm - even if the recipe doesn't call for it, it sometimes helps to chill it a bit to prevent the spreading.

[Anonymous]

Baking is a science. Doubling doesn't always work. I suggest you make two discrete batches next time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Baking is a science. Doubling doesn't always work. I suggest you make two discrete batches next time.

I was going to say this. Doubling/halving a recipe NEVER seems to work for me when it comes to baking. Something's always off. Just do two single batches.

[Anonymous]

humid weather really effects cookies

[bakersman]

Did you use natural cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa powder?

You should have used natural since the recipe called for baking soda instead of baking powder.

Dutch-processed cocoa has had its acidity tempered (unlike natural cocoa) and, therefore, it does not react to baking soda the same way natural cocoa does.

Natural goes with baking soda and Dutch goes with baking powder.

[Anonymous]

olive oil doesn't work well for cooking imo.

[bakersman]

The two other possible common culprits are: 1. you used eggs larger than "large". A large egg yields about 3 1/2 tbsp of liquid while an extra large egg will have about 4 tbsp of liquid. Substituting 4 extra large eggs for large eggs would be like using 4 1/2 large eggs. 2. your dough was too warm. If you don't want your cookies to run, chill the dough in the fridge before scooping the cookies onto the sheet.