Oh pshaw, on Fri 17 Nov 2006 01:06:08p, brickled meant to say...

> hello all,
>
> seems every time we make these, they want to burn on the edges, all the
> while the middle is uncooked and more times than not the entire cookie
> ends up "flattening" (appears the cookie is melting rather than cooking)
> out so far that it just turns out to be a gigantic mess in the pan. the
> end result is so far from what one would expect that it seems
> unfathomable that we actually followed the recipe.
>
> it's the recipe out of the much-hailed "better homes and gardens cook
> book" - we're following it EXACTLY as it is stated.
>
> it calls from 3/4 cups of butter - doesn't say butter or margarine so we
> used the real thing. for some reason we suspect the butter has something
> to do with it. the results were so bad i'm not sure it's accurate to
> blame any one ingrediant.
>
> please help - my kids are losing confidence in me

Assuming your measurements are correct and the oven temperature is
accurate, then it probably *is* the butter causing the symptoms you
describe. I would not want to try margarine, as there are so many
variations on it's composition today. I would suggest using half butter
and half vegetable shortening (Crisco), or even all whortening, in which
case you may want to try the butter-flavored version. Shortening reacts
quite differently in cookies than does butter.

--
Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
_____________________

hello all,

seems every time we make these, they want to burn on the edges, all the
while the middle is uncooked and more times than not the entire cookie ends
up "flattening" (appears the cookie is melting rather than cooking) out so
far that it just turns out to be a gigantic mess in the pan. the end result
is so far from what one would expect that it seems unfathomable that we
actually followed the recipe.

it's the recipe out of the much-hailed "better homes and gardens cook
book" - we're following it EXACTLY as it is stated.

it calls from 3/4 cups of butter - doesn't say butter or margarine so we
used the real thing. for some reason we suspect the butter has something to
do with it. the results were so bad i'm not sure it's accurate to blame any
one ingrediant.

please help - my kids are losing confidence in me

brickled wrote:
> hello all,
>
> seems every time we make these, they want to burn on the edges, all the
> while the middle is uncooked and more times than not the entire cookie ends
> up "flattening" (appears the cookie is melting rather than cooking) out so
> far that it just turns out to be a gigantic mess in the pan. the end result
> is so far from what one would expect that it seems unfathomable that we
> actually followed the recipe.
>
> it's the recipe out of the much-hailed "better homes and gardens cook
> book" - we're following it EXACTLY as it is stated.
>
> it calls from 3/4 cups of butter - doesn't say butter or margarine so we
> used the real thing. for some reason we suspect the butter has something to
> do with it. the results were so bad i'm not sure it's accurate to blame any
> one ingrediant.
>
> please help - my kids are losing confidence in me

I have used that recipe many times and have had very good results. Are
you sure you are using regular butter, and not some kind of
watered-down version? Sometimes I have the best luck using part oleo
and part real butter. In your recipe, I'd use 1/4 C. oleo and 1/2 C.
butter. I don't know what else to tell you - sometimes chilling the
dough before dropping it helps, but I've found that doesn't really
matter for my choc. chip cookies. Also, don't drop cookies onto hot
pans - make sure the pan is cooled from one batch before using it over
again. If you take them out a little underbaked (in the centers) and
leave them on the pan on a rack to finish baking and cool slightly,
they might not spread so much.

Or, just try a different recipe. ;-)

N.

N.

brickled wrote:
> hello all,
>
> seems every time we make these, they want to burn on the edges, all the
> while the middle is uncooked and more times than not the entire cookie ends
> up "flattening" (appears the cookie is melting rather than cooking) out so
> far that it just turns out to be a gigantic mess in the pan. the end result
> is so far from what one would expect that it seems unfathomable that we
> actually followed the recipe.
>
> it's the recipe out of the much-hailed "better homes and gardens cook
> book" - we're following it EXACTLY as it is stated.
>
> it calls from 3/4 cups of butter - doesn't say butter or margarine so we
> used the real thing. for some reason we suspect the butter has something to
> do with it. the results were so bad i'm not sure it's accurate to blame any
> one ingrediant.

It isn't worth the energy to diagnose the problem with that recipe, when
it is much easier to try a new recipe. The classic oatmeal raisin cookie
recipe on the Quaker Oats container has always been a hit.

brickled wrote:
> hello all,
>
> seems every time we make these, they want to burn on the edges, all
> the while the middle is uncooked and more times than not the entire
> cookie ends up "flattening" (appears the cookie is melting rather
> than cooking) out so far that it just turns out to be a gigantic mess
> in the pan. the end result is so far from what one would expect that
> it seems unfathomable that we actually followed the recipe.
>
> it's the recipe out of the much-hailed "better homes and gardens cook
> book" - we're following it EXACTLY as it is stated.
>
> it calls from 3/4 cups of butter - doesn't say butter or margarine so
> we used the real thing. for some reason we suspect the butter has
> something to do with it. the results were so bad i'm not sure it's
> accurate to blame any one ingrediant.
>
> please help - my kids are losing confidence in me

It may be that it has more to do with the amount of flour. Are you sifting
it into the measuring cup? That results in using less. If so, perhaps you
should try spooning it into the cup and levelling instead.

Have you compared your recipe to others?

brickled wrote:
> hello all,
>
> seems every time we make these, they want to burn on the edges, all the
> while the middle is uncooked and more times than not the entire cookie ends
> up "flattening" (appears the cookie is melting rather than cooking) out so
> far that it just turns out to be a gigantic mess in the pan. the end result
> is so far from what one would expect that it seems unfathomable that we
> actually followed the recipe.
>
> it's the recipe out of the much-hailed "better homes and gardens cook
> book" - we're following it EXACTLY as it is stated.
>
> it calls from 3/4 cups of butter - doesn't say butter or margarine so we
> used the real thing. for some reason we suspect the butter has something to
> do with it. the results were so bad i'm not sure it's accurate to blame any
> one ingrediant.
>
> please help - my kids are losing confidence in me
Do you have an oven thermometer? I would first check to see that your
oven temp is accurate. Also, check the recipe- you would not believe
how often errors/typos occur.

One time on Usenet, "merryb" > said:
> brickled wrote:

> > seems every time we make these, they want to burn on the edges, all the
> > while the middle is uncooked and more times than not the entire cookie ends
> > up "flattening" (appears the cookie is melting rather than cooking) out so
> > far that it just turns out to be a gigantic mess in the pan. the end result
> > is so far from what one would expect that it seems unfathomable that we
> > actually followed the recipe.
> >
> > it's the recipe out of the much-hailed "better homes and gardens cook
> > book" - we're following it EXACTLY as it is stated.
> >
> > it calls from 3/4 cups of butter - doesn't say butter or margarine so we
> > used the real thing. for some reason we suspect the butter has something to
> > do with it. the results were so bad i'm not sure it's accurate to blame any
> > one ingrediant.
> >
> > please help - my kids are losing confidence in me

> Do you have an oven thermometer? I would first check to see that your
> oven temp is accurate. Also, check the recipe- you would not believe
> how often errors/typos occur.

I'm leaning toward the oven tempurature issue -- I found that
my cookies turned out much better once I started using an oven
thermometer...

--
"Little Malice" is Jani in WA
~ mom, Trollop, novice cook ~

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> Oh pshaw, on Fri 17 Nov 2006 01:06:08p, brickled meant to say...
>
> > hello all,
> >
> > seems every time we make these, they want to burn on the edges, all the
> > while the middle is uncooked and more times than not the entire cookie
> > ends up "flattening" (appears the cookie is melting rather than cooking)
> > out so far that it just turns out to be a gigantic mess in the pan. the
> > end result is so far from what one would expect that it seems
> > unfathomable that we actually followed the recipe.
> >
> > it's the recipe out of the much-hailed "better homes and gardens cook
> > book" - we're following it EXACTLY as it is stated.
> >
> > it calls from 3/4 cups of butter - doesn't say butter or margarine so we
> > used the real thing. for some reason we suspect the butter has something
> > to do with it. the results were so bad i'm not sure it's accurate to
> > blame any one ingrediant.
> >
> > please help - my kids are losing confidence in me
>
> Assuming your measurements are correct and the oven temperature is
> accurate, then it probably *is* the butter causing the symptoms you
> describe. I would not want to try margarine, as there are so many
> variations on it's composition today. I would suggest using half butter
> and half vegetable shortening (Crisco), or even all whortening, in which
> case you may want to try the butter-flavored version. Shortening reacts
> quite differently in cookies than does butter.
>
> --
> Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
> _____________________.
Ugh, shortening..Is your baking powder/soda old?

writes:
>
>brickled wrote:
>> hello all,
>>
>> seems every time we make these, they want to burn on the edges, all the
>> while the middle is uncooked and more times than not the entire cookie ends
>> up "flattening" (appears the cookie is melting rather than cooking) out so
>> far that it just turns out to be a gigantic mess in the pan. the end result
>> is so far from what one would expect that it seems unfathomable that we
>> actually followed the recipe.
>>
>> it's the recipe out of the much-hailed "better homes and gardens cook
>> book" - we're following it EXACTLY as it is stated.
>>
>> it calls from 3/4 cups of butter - doesn't say butter or margarine so we
>> used the real thing. for some reason we suspect the butter has something to
>> do with it. the results were so bad i'm not sure it's accurate to blame any
>> one ingrediant.
>>
>> please help - my kids are losing confidence in me
>Do you have an oven thermometer? I would first check to see that your
>oven temp is accurate. Also, check the recipe- you would not believe
>how often errors/typos occur.

and make sure the oven is actually preheated before putting the cookies in

Wayne Boatwright wrote:
> Oh pshaw, on Fri 17 Nov 2006 01:06:08p, brickled meant to say...
>
> Assuming your measurements are correct and the oven temperature is
> accurate, then it probably *is* the butter causing the symptoms you
> describe. I would not want to try margarine, as there are so many
> variations on it's composition today. I would suggest using half butter
> and half vegetable shortening (Crisco), or even all whortening, in which
> case you may want to try the butter-flavored version. Shortening reacts
> quite differently in cookies than does butter.
>
> --
> Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬
> _____________________

It is extremely easy to find an oleo that is used for baking - the
boxes now say it in large print: Blue Bonnet Best for Baking comes to
mind. You can tell at a glance. And even though oleo is just colored
vegetable shortening, I'd still rather use it than butter-flavored
Crisco. It's just the idea of it, really. ;-)

N.

Goomba38 wrote:
> brickled wrote:
> > hello all,
> >
>
> It isn't worth the energy to diagnose the problem with that recipe, when
> it is much easier to try a new recipe. The classic oatmeal raisin cookie
> recipe on the Quaker Oats container has always been a hit.

We love the Quaker Oats recipe, but it isn't a big, puffy soft cookie
which seems to be what the OP wants; it tends more to be flatter and
crisp.

N.

Nancy2 wrote:

> We love the Quaker Oats recipe, but it isn't a big, puffy soft cookie
> which seems to be what the OP wants; it tends more to be flatter and
> crisp.
>
> N.
>
Oh yeahhhhhhhhhh.. I like my cookies crispier rather than soft (toll
house in particular)

brickled wrote:


> it's the recipe out of the much-hailed "better homes and gardens cook
> book" - we're following it EXACTLY as it is stated.

Without seeing the recipe, it's hard to critique. (I looked and found no
less than 3 "Better Homes" oatmeal cookie recipes online)

However, if your cookie batter gets warm it will spread more in the
oven, and thinner cookies can burn on the edges. You may need to put the
bowl in the fridge between batches.

Is your oven rack centered? Too high and cookies can burn.

The oven can lose heat when you open it to take the previous batch out.
Give it a few minutes to get hot again before putting a new pan in. This
will help the cookies bake at the correct temp instead of 'melting'.



Dawn

On Fri, 17 Nov 2006 20:06:08 GMT, "brickled" >
wrote:

>seems every time we make these, they want to burn on the edges, all the
>while the middle is uncooked and more times than not the entire cookie ends
>up "flattening"

I would lower the oven temp 25F and keep your dough cold before
putting in oven. If you are panning up the all the cookie dough at
once, put the baking sheets in the refrigerator and don't let them get
room temp.

The Fine Art of Cooking involves personal choice.
Many preferences, ingredients, and procedures
may not be consistent with what you know to be true.

As with any recipe, you may find your personal
intervention will be necessary. Bon Appetit!

Oh pshaw, on Fri 17 Nov 2006 02:18:28p, Nancy2 meant to say...

>
> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> Oh pshaw, on Fri 17 Nov 2006 01:06:08p, brickled meant to say...
>>
>> Assuming your measurements are correct and the oven temperature is
>> accurate, then it probably *is* the butter causing the symptoms you
>> describe. I would not want to try margarine, as there are so many
>> variations on it's composition today. I would suggest using half butter
>> and half vegetable shortening (Crisco), or even all whortening, in which
>> case you may want to try the butter-flavored version. Shortening reacts
>> quite differently in cookies than does butter.
>>
>> --
>> Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬ _____________________
>
> It is extremely easy to find an oleo that is used for baking - the
> boxes now say it in large print: Blue Bonnet Best for Baking comes to
> mind. You can tell at a glance. And even though oleo is just colored
> vegetable shortening, I'd still rather use it than butter-flavored
> Crisco. It's just the idea of it, really. ;-)
>
> N.

Perhaps so. I don't use either, as I only use butter for baking and I
don't have the problems the OP had, It was just an alternative.


--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

Iraq's national bird?, 'DUCK'

Oh pshaw, on Fri 17 Nov 2006 01:40:05p, merryb meant to say...

>
> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> Oh pshaw, on Fri 17 Nov 2006 01:06:08p, brickled meant to say...
>>
>> > hello all,
>> >
>> > seems every time we make these, they want to burn on the edges, all
the
>> > while the middle is uncooked and more times than not the entire cookie
>> > ends up "flattening" (appears the cookie is melting rather than
cooking)
>> > out so far that it just turns out to be a gigantic mess in the pan.
the
>> > end result is so far from what one would expect that it seems
>> > unfathomable that we actually followed the recipe.
>> >
>> > it's the recipe out of the much-hailed "better homes and gardens cook
>> > book" - we're following it EXACTLY as it is stated.
>> >
>> > it calls from 3/4 cups of butter - doesn't say butter or margarine so
we
>> > used the real thing. for some reason we suspect the butter has
something
>> > to do with it. the results were so bad i'm not sure it's accurate to
>> > blame any one ingrediant.
>> >
>> > please help - my kids are losing confidence in me
>>
>> Assuming your measurements are correct and the oven temperature is
>> accurate, then it probably *is* the butter causing the symptoms you
>> describe. I would not want to try margarine, as there are so many
>> variations on it's composition today. I would suggest using half butter
>> and half vegetable shortening (Crisco), or even all whortening, in which
>> case you may want to try the butter-flavored version. Shortening reacts
>> quite differently in cookies than does butter.
>>
>> --
>> Wayne Boatwright @¿@¬ _____________________.
> Ugh, shortening..Is your baking powder/soda old?
>

Hmm... I never thought about the baking powder/soda. I've never had that
problem. Shortening would not be my first choice, but it does help prevent
over-spreading.

--
Wayne Boatwright
__________________________________________________

Iraq's national bird?, 'DUCK'

brickled wrote:
> hello all,
>
> seems every time we make these, they want to burn on the edges, all the
> while the middle is uncooked and more times than not the entire cookie ends
> up "flattening" (appears the cookie is melting rather than cooking) out so
> far that it just turns out to be a gigantic mess in the pan. the end result
> is so far from what one would expect that it seems unfathomable that we
> actually followed the recipe.

I agree with the oven temp as a possibility & also mybe get new baking
powder/soda. Another thing is, if you are using black non-stick pans,
switch to a regular pan. Black pans tend to cook hotter, so things
burn easier. One more thing, make sure you are not using too much
dough. Get a 1oz (1-1/2T) scooper. Not only does it make all the
cookies the same size, but they will all cook the same (If your oven
cooks even, that is).

On 17 Nov 2006 13:19:30 -0800, "Nancy2" >
wrote:

>> It isn't worth the energy to diagnose the problem with that recipe, when
>> it is much easier to try a new recipe. The classic oatmeal raisin cookie
>> recipe on the Quaker Oats container has always been a hit.
>
>We love the Quaker Oats recipe, but it isn't a big, puffy soft cookie
>which seems to be what the OP wants; it tends more to be flatter and
>crisp.
>
>N.

I use that recipe also and they're not all that crisp. I think it
calls for making 4 dozen. I make them much larger and probably only
get 30 per batch. They're soft and puffy. But I've learned the
window for taking them out if very brief or they can get to crunchy.

Lou