Secret To Stop Toll House Cookies Spreading?
Baking By Dayti Updated 16 May 2013 , 12:35pm by Annabakescakes

I don't make many cookies, except for choc chip cookies using the Toll House recipe. But my problem is they seem to spread too much. I hardly beat the butter, sugars and eggs at all before adding in the flour, since I heard that overbeating makes them spread.
I use a trigger action metal ice cream scoop to portion them. I don't press down on the scoopful when they are on the baking sheets.
I bake at about 350F. Do I need to up my temperature? But then the outside edges get really dark. Or do I add more flour? I have also tried baking when the raw dough has been refridgerated/frozen, but I get the same problem. I bake on a silpat. Should I try parchment?
I really want my cookies to be a bit higher, rather than wider and flatter!



Toll House only uses baking soda right? Baking soda will make your cookies spread. I'd add a little baking powder. So if you use a tsp of BS (lol) use 3/4 tsp BS and 1/4 tsp BP... and keep adjusting until you get the cookie you like.


Thanks. My oven temperature is spot on, it definitely bakes at what it says its baking at. I will try reducing the baking soda and adding baking powder. I had no idea it might be that! If that doesn't work, I'll try reducing the sugar a bit.
I had tried refridgerating or freezing before baking and it didn't work for me at all.


I make all different types of choco chip cookies... some like really poofy cookies... I use mainly BP for that... some like a medium cookie and I use less BP... and some like really thin crispy one (this would be my hubby) and I use mostly if not all BS.
Mix your butter and sugar until combined... mix your eggs in until well combined... and then add your dry and chips. You don't want to overmix because you'll have a more cake-like cookie, but you don't want to undermix either.
Bake at 375...

Baking soda needs an acid to react and give you the leavening you are looking for. Chocolate chip cookies don't have a ton of acidic elements in them so there's not much for the BS to react with.
Baking powder is baking soda with an acidic agent (usually cream of tartar) and a starch to keep the moisture down. It has the acid in it to give you the leavening action no matter what.
Baking soda is usually used when there is an acid in the recipe... buttermilk, sour cream... things like that.


Divide your fat into 1/2 butter and 1/2 Crisco...as an old Home Ec teacher, I can tell you that it is your fat, not the baking soda issue...the fats have different melting points and the combination of the two will allow the other ingredients to do their job when they are supposed to act...you will notice a tender cookie with some height...nothing worse than seeing a chocolate chip cookie that looks like puke on a floor when you use only butter ...and if you use only Crisco, it looks like a mound of concrete (and tastes like it)
I used to have the kids do the experiment in my classes and it is amazing how the fats combination makes the difference. You know your oven, and adjust accordingly...so, try and see if this does not make the cookie you envision.

Yeah, but I hate using crisco in my baking so if you get creative with your leavening you get similar results. I wouldn't want cookies made with crisco (no offense, it's just my personal preference) so I figured out how to rememedy the flat cookie without having to use crisco.
The baking powder will react and give you some rise before the butter melts away and give you the structure you need. You get a cookie that is much like you stated... tender with some height with a nice chewy center and all the great flavor of butter.
Then there's my husband who LOVES those pile-o-puke looking cookies... LOL. I add some extra butter and use the BS and they almost look like chocolte chip tuiles... LOL.

Yes, I really want to avoid Crisco, especially since it's soooo expensive over here. I only use it for bakers pan release and modelling.
I am going to try a batch with just baking powder. I never understood why it has BS in the recipe since there's nothing acidic in there. I just never thought to change it
I agree I am getting choc chip tuiles/piles of puke. I want a nice chewy mound of buttery, chocolatey cookie


Butter causes the spread, crisco doesn't. Crisco will give a crispy crunchy outside. Butter is more chewy in texture. I do half butter half shortening. Also, try adding a little more flour. (1/4 cup- this should keep them from spreading).
i use a cookie scoop too. If you freeze them, you need to bake them 3-4 minutes longer.

Alton Brown had a great episode on chocolate chip cookies. He shared three recipes, The Puffy, The Crispy, and The Chewy. He altered the recipe to produce the three. The video should be somewhere on the net, maybe even Food Network. All of the recipes are there. Look up the names above. I use a combination of his chewy with a recipe from my sister-in-law. Many chefs are sharing the advantages to chilling overnight.
With all due respect to Toll House, there are many recipes out there designed to do what you want. Alice Medrich has a book, Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy, with excellent scientific information. I just ordered a book from amazon with great reviews, Big Fat Cookies, by Elinor Klivens.

I have always used the toll house recipe too, and I also have always put in extra flour. I make this recipe at least once a week because I use it to make cookie cakes and they are quite popular at my kids school. I put in almost 3 cups of flour, the last cup I don't quite fill all the way. You don't want to not put in the baking soda, because then you will have cookies that are the exact same shape as your scooper. And yes I know this from forgetting to put in the BS before! LOL

Don't use butter or margarine. My mom used Crisco shortening instead and this is how I've made them for years. I've tried it both ways and it is definitely the butter than does it. Crisco makes a less chewy cookie that does not spread. Try it.

My grandmother makes shortning Chchp Cookies and they are very thin and flat, but they are soft, not at all crispy. They are my favorite.

Oh and I fogot to say I always use Land o'Lakes margerine at room temp, no Crisco...Hope this helps!!

Don't use all BP or you will have a very cake-like cookie. If you have 1 tsp of BS in the recipe then use 1/4 tsp BP and 3/4 tsp BS and see if you need more BP from there.
I don't use Toll House recipe so I can't say for certain how much you will need, but that's a good place to start.
Not for nothing, but margarine is pretty much butter flavored crisco with some water, milk solids and salt in it.

i use the toll house recipe all the time and i agree with cakesandbakes when it comes to adding a bit more flour. i add just enough more that when i touch the dough my finger does not stick to it. also you said the cookies get crispy around the edges? are you using alum. sheets or non stick. i find using the alum. sheets with the lip(i think its quarter sheet/bun pan) tend to not overcook the edges, where as the flat cookie sheets with no edges will cook your cookies too crispy. personally i stay away from anything non stick or dark in color because they will just come out too dark on the bottom and sides by the time the cookie is baked.


I think your using margarine has more to do with why your cookies don't spread as much than the extra flour.
The op stated that she bakes on a Silpat, so the pan wouldn't ever touch the cookies so I don't think that's her problem. The butter will give you a crispier edge than margarine will due to it melting and pooling at the edge. I love the little bit of crispy edge and the nice chewy center... the best of both worlds.

This is making me want to bake up a few batches of CC cookies with different leavening in each to illustrate the difference in the final product.
Too bad I'm trying to eat healthier right now... LOL. Maybe I will anyway and send them into school with my kiddos for the teachers.

The toll house recipe is my favorite! I always cut the amount of butter in half. That's the look I get from everyone when I tell them, but cross my heart they still taste so yummy and NEVER spread. They are the perfect texture, a little crunchy on the outside but the inside is soft and chewy. I have converted most of my friends!

My mom and I like to call those taco cookies cause they are as flat as a tortilla when they are done...not good!
I use butter, but I add more flour about 1/4-1/2 cup more. and I bake on an insulated aluminum baking sheet. Has stopped the spreading completely. I only bake until mine are slightly brown on the edges then let them cool on the cookie sheet. They are so soft and chewy - to die for!


Just use parchment paper. Mix up the original recipe -no alterations, they will still spread because of the butter but not as much. And you will have absolutely no over browned edges. Use a cookie scoop to get even shapes and size. If the original recipe still isn't what you want, go to Alton Brown's variations. His recipes are trust worthy. (But continue using parchment paper. Cookies are pain without it.)

So a while back I was trying to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Mine have always been good, but I wanted these to be a little crispy on the outside while chewy on the inside so I started investigating. I concur on reading what Alton Brown has to say...very interesting and I tried some of those tips. But I also read the info below. (I hope it pastes)...it's a Mrs. Fields secrets thing. I followed that and now everybody RAVES about my cookies. My hubby said they're the best I've ever made. The secret (and basically you can use any recipe of choc chip cookie) is to mix it up...I use melted butter but you don't have to...mix by hand when you're at the flour stage...then roll into balls and refrigerate or freeze for a day. Then bake at a low temp (300 degrees). It makes the best cookies and they don't spread all out but they're crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside! Yummmmm
http://www.mrsfieldssecrets.com/blogs/blog/2010/02/recipe-blue-ribbon-chocolate-chip-cookies/

I have some in the oven now, have decreased baking soda and subbed it for baking powder. I'll report back with pics!
Just use parchment paper.
Instead of a Silpat? Does it make a difference? (I hate using parchment paper, I only use it in cake pans)
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