A Classic Conundrum -- Should Cookies Be Chewy or Crispy?

Hey Everyone,

I got up this morning and thought I'd make myself a little treat. And so I, put a tray of slice-and-bake cookies in the oven (I know this is cheating but I'm not a baker myself -- it would be way too tempting if I got into the habit!)

I personally tend to like my cookies chewy. Yum Yum Yum -- nice and soft, fall-apart tender --EXCEPT for those strangely mutated Lofthouse Sugar Cookies you can find in almost any store here in the USA. Those things are SO soft, they taste like pure mounds of flour.



I tend to underbake my cookies (and pizza!) in search of that heavenly chew. But alas, this morning I got distracted (by answering a post right here on CC, wouldn't you know) and so, my beautifully anticipated, melt-at-first-bite cookies -- now resemble small, shrunken hockey pucks. They're not at all burned, but just so dang

crispy that they could double as crackers.

Ack. I will eat them (can't let a cookie go to waste!) but I won't enjoy them nearly as much.

What about you?




* Do you prefer crispy or chewy cookies? Does it depend on what kind of cookie?

* Do you bake cookies yourself, or have a favorite bakery or store brand?

* Do you have milk with your cookies, or do you prefer another beverage?

And, as a bonus question:

* Do you or anyone you know call them something else besides cookies, such as biscuits? (I've heard that's what they call them in England?)

Let your inner Cookie Monster out and tell us how YOU like your cookies.

Hey! Welcome to the Singles Forum! LOL. The perfect time for me to have a treat for myself is really Valentine's Day I can get a pack of cookies of any kind I want and enjoy it for the whole day.

I don't like anything where I might have to see my dentist after I eat it. The only exception to that would be a ginger snap that are made to be softened once you put them in milk. I love to bake. But the family favorite is peanut butter, so that's my go to unless it's Christmas.

Considering I specifically just baked two kinds of CHEWY cookies for Commencement (Pentecost), what do you think my vote is?

Sorry but your Lofthouse cookies are a sad excuse for cookies, and, really, your slice and bake cookies too. They are for people without either any time, money, or culinary sense. Mostly they are for children that don't yet understand that 'pretty' doesn't mean 'tasty.' Not that they are so bad that I don't eat them when that is what is available, but we can do better.

They aren't sugar cookies, but if you want some real cookies, here following are the ones I just made. The chocolate chip in particular were very well received and looked gorgeous (though maybe not pink-with-sprinkles gorgeous). Sally of Sally's baking addiction that provided the recipe seems to be quite the perfectionist at making her recipes, so prepare for a bit of baking gymnastics, though nothing crazy. Critically important is apparently taking the time to chill the dough since chewy ingredients otherwise cause the cookies to spread. (At least, so says Sally.) Alternatively she has a chewy, chocolate-chip-cookie bar recipe where the pan contains the dough so no chilling is required, though I haven't tried it.

The peanut butter cookies, on the other hand, are more the recipe of someone's easy-going grandma. I liked them, no chilling was required, and no one complained, though in hind sight I would have put in less of the peanut oil of my natural (and thus separated) peanut butter since they came out a little greasy. They also looked good for their type.

Chewy Chocolate Chip from Sally's Baking Addiction
Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars from Sally's Baking Addiction
Soft Peanut Butter Cookies from Food.com

And yeah, I definitely want milk with my cookies, though they are just 'cookies' and not something more exotic to me. Since I try to drink organic, A2 milk, maybe that can be my exoticness.

Weeeeeeell... That depends on the cookie.

My chocolate chip cookies are softer than crispy, but they aren't exactly chewy. But since those are the two available options, I will call them chewy. And if I bake them too long and they are crispy, they aren't nearly as good.

Then again, I have some Bahlsen (German) cookies that are like a butter cookie sunk into a bar of dark chocolate. They are very good and quite crispy, and I can't see them being nearly as good if they were chewy.

So it depends on what kind of cookie we're talking about here, whether it should be chewy or crispy. That's like asking what kind of phone you should use. It depends what you're going to use it for, and a few other factors.

Funny you should post those links from baking addiction... seoulsearch, of all people, should NOT learn how to bake very good cookies because it would be a bad temptation. It would be like a drunkard learning how to brew whiskey.

It's much better if she sticks to slice-and-bake, whatever your opinion is of that product line.

This thread reminds me of a similar conundrum I saw in a Foxtrot (tm) comic.

https://www.gocomics.com/foxtrot/1997/05/12

This made me smile.

I guess I'm a little different. It all depends on a person's individual preferences, priorities, and goals.

I have some friends who are foodies and like to tease me about my very elementary tastes (I love Kraft boxed mac'n'cheese,) but I grew up with a health-conscious mom who didn't like to cook. So most of our food was very plain and inexpensive but as healthy as my mom could make it, and I still have simple tastes.

I've never been able to get into cooking or baking (but admire everyone who does) because: 1. it's just not something I inherently enjoy; 2. it's expensive (I don't even go out to eat); and 3. I've known some amazing cooks and bakers, but I haven't known many who aren't struggling with their weight or health later on in life. My Mom's wasn't a cook, but she's stayed the same weight all her life and I'm hoping to do the same. (I'm not quite as successful, but I can still fit in jeans I've had for over 10 years.)

I'm at an age now where I notice that people are fighting over the availability of motorized chairs in the store, or are having a rough time getting settled into the restricted space of a plane seat. And that would be my struggle as well if I were cooking or baking on a regular basis.

I know a few people who are are incredible in that they can eat one cookie and be perfectly content but I knew I wasn't one of those people, so it's best that I stick with a roll of slice-and-bake where I can indulge in 6 cookies, but then not have any again for a week or two.

The older I get, the more the doctors also holler at me to stop eating sugar and flour -- and to me, those are the top two major food groups! But I'm trying my best.

I was also raised very frugally so when I got out on my own, I'd look at my budget and say, "Ok, where can I shave off $20 a week to pay my car off faster?" And it seemed the food allotment could make the sacrifice. Now I'm not starving by any means, but I also haven't had a car payment in almost 11 years (because I got it paid off early..) For me, it's always been a matter of, "Do I want to spend more money on food, or on things I can get paid off?"

And I'm certainly not saying at all that anyone who wants to put their time and money into food is wrong -- we all have our natural talents and preferences -- and I love my foodie friends, for sure!

But I often encounter people who ask why I don't have such and such culinary experience or maturity, as if it's some kind of character flaw, and I always have to explain that it's because I wanted to focus on paying off debts rather than fancier food.

While this is true, I still say you should try a good flan one time before you die.

Lynx is definitely a foodie friend, and I often ask his advice on various things (types of cheeses, chocolate, etc.) I feel blessed that he understands that I can't indulge like others might be able to.

I have a condition called PCOS (anyone interested can look it up) that affects how the body processes carbohydrates, meaning that you're supposed to have very limited carbs.

When I was diagnosed, it was barely heard of, but these days it seems like a large percentage of women have it. The symptoms are wide and varied, but one of the most-well known is obesity, because the body takes those carbs and packs them on as excess weight rather than processing them.

I have often said I'm addicted to sugar the way someone else would be addicted to alcohol. It's always interesting to see how we each have different afflictions. I have no interest in alcohol as a drink -- I have a bottle of rum I used for a recipe and it's been on my shelf for about 5 years. It was nearly 3 years before I even opened it, and the only time I've used it is for that recipe. I'm just not drawn to alcohol.

But if that bottle of rum were a pack of Oreos, it would be gone in 2 days, easily. Many days it's hard not to pick up a pack and just scarf it all down -- anyone who has these kinds of cravings and compulsions will understand.

I was talking to another girl who also had PCOS and she had to have that stomach-stapling surgery. Before she had it, she told me, "I'm surprise YOU'RE not a whole lot bigger!" (I wear a size 6 jean.) But she was eating a roast beef sandwich, large curly fried, and full-sugar pop from Arby's -- and I was eating Triscuits (for the fiber), carrots, and celery.

Believe me, I'd love to be eating cookies and pasta casseroles every day of my life.

The only way I can keep things under control is if I have a tight rein on my own food supply (and even then I often fall off the wagon.)

But I'm trying my best to stay healthy, and it does require a lot of sacrifices.

Ok Mr. Cat, I think I'll take you up on that!

*Note to Self*: Have cat deliver a top-quality flan to my deathbed right before I "see the light."

I just like a good cookie.

I like chewy cookies... but then, I like crispy cookies too... what a conundrum!

Crunchy cookies are an abomination and should remain in the fiery depths of the oven until they turn to ash and cease to exist!

I'm trending towards chewy cookies.

Preferably, Nestle Toll House chocolate chip.

I did and just about gagged. Maybe it was a bad flan and not a good flan.

I'm down with the peanut butter cookies. Frito-Lay once had a Grandma line of cookies. The peanut butter ones were exceptional.

What about Oreos dunked in milk until they're soft and falling apart? Am I the only weird one?