How to Make Your Cookies Soft

Baking Tip of the Day

Cookies can be baked soft or crisp. For those who love soft cookies, there are ways to keep them from baking up hard and dry.

One of the easiest methods to soft cookies is to not bake them for as long as the recipe recommends.

Adding cornstarch to the dough will help to keep cookies soft.

Omit the egg whites and add an additional egg yolk. This increases the fat content keeping the cookies moist.

Using butter adds water to the dough which keeps cookies softer.

Baking soda produces crisp cookies. Use a 3 to 1 ratio of baking powder to baking soda. If the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking soda use 3 teaspoons of baking powder instead.

Using brown sugar, which includes molasses, instead of white sugar yields a moister, softer cookie. Adding a tablespoon of molasses, honey, or corn syrup to the recipe will also add moisture.

If using corn syrup, it is highly recommended by health experts to use regular corn syrup and avoid high fructose corn syrup which can cause health problems in some individuals.

For more information on cookie making read:

Tips on Making Good Cookies
Christmas Cookie Tradition
Christmas Cookie Santa Trivia