# What's the correct flour to butter ratio?



## kelleybean (Oct 12, 2005)

Hi there,

I was just wondering because I have a cookie recipe that seems to always tun out too loose for a cookie dough.

Thanks
Kelley


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## vera bradley (Mar 21, 2004)

Would you post the recipe for us, please, Kelleybean? 

And were you making a drop or piped cookie or rolled? Have you tried chilling your dough?


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## jbd (Mar 17, 2008)

Flour, fat, sugar, liquids ratios vary depending on what characteristics one wants for the cookie.


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## kelleybean (Oct 12, 2005)

WOOP! Sorry about that. Here's the recipe:

Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
These are about as good as cookies get, so make several batches and watch them disappear fast.

joj 15 minutes preparation plus ela chilling, 10-12 minutes baking per batch
Makes 4 dozen cookies
1 1/2cups sifted all-purpose flour
1teaspoon baking soda
1teaspoon ground cinnamon
1cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2cup firmly packed light brown
sugar
1cup granulated sugar
1large egg
1teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 Mix together flour, baking soda, and cinnamon.
2 Beat together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
3 At low speed, beat in flour mixture until blended. Fold in oats and chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap; chill for 1 hour.
4 Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 2 baking sheets.
5 Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place cookies, 2 inches apart,

on prepared baking sheets. Flatten each cookie slightly.
6 Bake cookies until lightly browned around edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks to cool slightly. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely.

I have tried everything with the darn things. I"v ch9lled the dough. Checked to se if my skda is good. Everything except add more flur. I don't know what else to do.


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

It is my opinion and I am not a baker, but it seems that there is to much fat and liquids to flour?


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## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

You have 1 1/2 cups flour, how much oatmeal is that? Looks like 1 cup? maybe. Then you have the cup of butter, the egg and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Typically, because sugar melts when heated, it is considered liquid even though it is measured dry. Did you get this recipe from a tried & true source? Could it be that something was either left out or incorrectly entered? You might consider starting over with a recipe that is known to be accurate.


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## ed buchanan (May 29, 2006)

I have tried everything with the darn things. I"v ch9lled the dough. Checked to se if my skda is good. Everything except add more flur. I don't know what else to do. 

Amazingrace is correct with the sugar factor,it does add more liquid> I really believe this to be the problem, check your flour or solids to liquid ratios.


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## jessiquina (Nov 4, 2005)

are you talking about the dough just looking too loose? how does it bake up?


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## kelleybean (Oct 12, 2005)

They turn out totally flat. The spread factor is awful. They come out the thickness of a potato chip. Other then that they taste AWESOME. That's the reason I want to stick with this recipe. Maybe I should just abandon ship and go with a different recipe.


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## jbd (Mar 17, 2008)

Nah. Just tinker with the formula. Try cutting out 1/4 cup fo the white sugar and reduce the butter amount by a few TBSP.

Also try baking the cookies on parchment instead of greasing the pan(s).

Make notes of what you do. By tinkering with the formula you will learn how some of the ingredients work in the product.


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## kelleybean (Oct 12, 2005)

Thanks jbd. I''l give it a try. I'll just have to eat all those other ones ones until I get it right.:lips:


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## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

You should have an oven thermometer to check that your oven is really the temp you need it for these cookies. Too cold an oven can result in the dough 'melting' before it begins to bake, resulting in very thin cookies.


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## kelleybean (Oct 12, 2005)

Hello Everybody,

Yesterday my husband had a cookie contest at work. I made these cookies and even though they did spread they tasted great. I took first out of 11 entries. I know that’s really all that big of a deal. After all didn’t get anything from it but a little award saying that I won. It still kinda made me proud. My husband thought that I would never win with the cookies I entered. POOH ON HIM! Thanks so much to all of you and all of your help.

Kelley

Kelley


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## vera bradley (Mar 21, 2004)

That is _FANTASTIC!_ Congratulations, Kelley! 

I'd have tossed out the recipe but you stuck with it and it paid off big-time!

By the way, before editing, your recipe said_ "1% cup rolled oats"_ (which is why I replied as I did above). So, were those oats the problem -- that the 1 + "%" was actually supposed to be 1-1/2 cup? If not, what amount of oats and flour did you end up using? Thanks!


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## amazingrace (Jul 28, 2006)

:bounce::bounce::bounce: Hey... you got bragging rights...that *is* a big deal!!! Congratulations!!! :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:


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## kelleybean (Oct 12, 2005)

Hi Vera,

Thanks so much! 

What happened with the oat thing was that it was 1 1/2 cups but when I copped it and then pasted it the fraction came out as a %. I ended up trimming off a half a stick of butter and a half a cup of the granulated sugar. I made the little cookie balls and put them in the fridge over night and baked them the next day so they would be nice and fresh. Oh yeah. The recipe said to bake them for 10 to 12 minutes and I baked them for 14 minutes. They turned out pretty darn good.

Thanks Again,
Kelley


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## kelleybean (Oct 12, 2005)

Thanks amazingrace! It’s so nice that people here are happy for me. As I mentioned before, my husband told that there was no way that I would win. What a POOH


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## z~bestus (Dec 13, 2005)

Kelleybean:
Your recipe has to much butter. All that is required is 4, oz. The weight of the eggs should equal the weight of the butter with-in 10%. Thus 1, egg is not enough. add 1 more egg.
Good luck from Las Vegas, Nv. & enjoy the rest of the day.

~ZEE.:chef:


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