There’s
no question about the chocolate chip cookies’ being an all-time favorite, but
the real question is: Why? The secret
lies behind its ingredients, so let us look deeper into its ingredients and
know the reason behind the cookies’ success.
Flour
Flour
is an essential ingredient in making bread, cookies, cakes, muffins, and cupcakes.
It is the core of every pastry. It gives density to the chocolate chip cookies,
and is mainly responsible for the body and structure of baked goods. Flour also determines the flavor and texture
of what you are baking; it is a binding agent that helps other ingredients in
chocolate chip cookies harmoniously mix together. Without flour, your cookies
would be utterly lifeless.
Chocolate chips
The
life of the chocolate chip cookies are of course its chocolates. It is the main reason for its stardom and
reputation. The chocolate adds a unique
flavor and style to the cookies. Chocolate
chip cookies are in fact so famous because of the chocolate itself. While some mothers doesn’t like their kids
eating too much chocolates and other sweets, studies showed that eating
chocolates and sweets are good for children as it may actually stop them from
getting fat in later life. Well, chocolates do have benefits as well, it actually
contains flavonoids that act as antioxidants and chocolates are known to help
relax a person in times of depression.
Brown Sugar
Brown
sugar got its color because of the presence of molasses in its granules which
also make its texture smoother. Its main purpose is to add sweetness to the
chocolate chip cookies depending on your preference. But sugar isn’t just a
sweetener, when used in baking, brown sugar adds volume, texture, tenderness,
color, and serves as a preservative.
Eggs
Chocolate chip cookie recipe requires beaten eggs in it to fulfill its perfect state. Eggs provide structure and richness to the
cookies. Just as flour, eggs also help
binds the ingredients together making them perfectly at harmony with each
other. It also acts as a leavening, thickening, and adds color to the baked
goods.
Baking Soda
Baking
soda is a chemical leavening agent (see more leavening agents)together with baking powder which is responsible for the rising of the batter
during baking. Baking soda is about four times as strong as baking powder,
which is the reason why most prefer using baking soda. In chocolate chip cookies, baking soda is
used because baking powder doesn’t react with chocolate due to the fact that
chocolate is an acidic ingredient.
Vanilla Extract
Vanilla
is the secret for an enticingly aromatic chocolate chip cookie. It is also used as a flavoring in almost all
desserts and pastries.
Salt
Salt
in cookie ingredients seemed pretty much out of place, right? But there’s
always a reason for this. A cookie isn’t
perfect without a little bit of flavor twist.
Using just the right quantity of salt emphasizes the flavors of all
other ingredients in cookies and pastries. You might be surprise to know that
without salt in cookies, the cookie just wouldn’t taste right, a good chef
would know that.
Butter
The
main function of butter is to add flavor and texture to the baked goods. Make sure to follow the directions in a
recipe whether butter should be melted or cold because temperature of butter is
very important in baking.
Nuts
In
chocolate chip cookies, pecans and walnuts are the usual nuts used for the
recipe. Nuts simply add flavor to the
cookies especially when you’re chewing the baked product already. You can feel
and taste the nuts’ flavor in your mouth and it blends perfectly with
chocolates.