The Secret To Baking Crunchier Cookies

Are you on team soft cookie or crunchy cookie? If your go-to is a Lofthouse, jam thumbprint, or chewy molasses gingersnap cookie, then look elsewhere. But, if you love nothing more than the perfect crack of gingerbread or a snappy and thin brown butter chocolate chip cookie, then you, my friend, have come to the right place.

Crunchy cookies are wonderful because you can eat them straight or dunk them into a glass of milk, hot chocolate, or coffee for something a little softer — without the fear of them disintegrating. The key to baking a good crunchy cookie at home is to understand some of the chemistry behind why cookies bake how they do. In short, a crunchy cookie is one that is dry and has a higher ratio of fat to other ingredients. Once you understand the role that fat and bake time play, you can experiment with your favorite cookie recipe at home and try to make the crunchiest cookie imaginable.

First, let's talk ingredients. If you want to make your cookie crunchier, you're going to have to increase the amount of fat in the cookie. Some people will add shortening to their cookies to increase the fat content because it's just hydrogenated vegetable fat, but it's important to note that adding this fat will also change the structure of your cookies. Butter will melt faster than shortening, which will cause your cookies to spread more on the baking sheet. As a result, the all-butter cookies are thinner than the ones made with shortening, which is what some people are looking for when they hear the phrase "crispy cookie." But, if you're looking for a crispy cookie without the spread, use a mixture of butter (for flavor) and shortening. 

Besides fat, you should also consider the moisture level of your cookies. You want your cookies to be dry and brittle so that they have more of a crispy, crackly effect when you break one open. Therefore, you may want to consider swapping out some of that moist brown sugar for white sugar. You can also control the brittleness and crumbliness of your cookies by leaving them in the oven for longer than you would for a soft, molten cookie. However, if you go this route, you'll want to keep a watchful eye on your cookies, as the bottoms will brown and burn faster than the tops.