Most people can agree that there are many, many different variations of cookies out there. There are cookies that are thick and chewy, while there are others that are thin and crispy.
Some cookies have a tougher consistency than others while other cookies are as soft as butter. With as many different ways as there are to make cookies, it is inevitable that you will accidentally make cookies with the wrong texture.
With that being said, when you realize that you are making cookies with the wrong texture, but it keeps happening, this may be a sign that there is something off about your ingredients.
After all, it is the number and type of ingredients that you include in your cookies that ultimately dictates the texture. If you are looking for cookies that are thin or cookies that are soft, yet chewy, you may be disappointed when your cookies turn out cakey.
Thankfully, there are ways that you can make sure this doesn’t happen. Before you can begin learning about this, you will first need to think about the texture and consistency you are aiming for.
This will help you prepare the ingredients as necessary so that you can make the cookies that you have always wanted.
From there, you will want to learn about what makes cookies “cakey” in texture and what you can do in the future to avoid this happening to you and your cookies.
Creating the Cookies You Want
When baking cookies, there’s a good chance that you have an end result in mind. To better achieve that end result, you should have an idea of what is needed to make your cookies reach that goal. There are three main types of cookie categories: crispy, cakey, and chewy.
Crispy cookies tend to be very thin and fairly brittle, meaning that they can easily snap rather than bend and break. Chewy cookies are the opposite, as they tend to be somewhat malleable and bendable before they split into two pieces.
Cakey cookies are on another end of the spectrum, as they are thicker than chewy cookies, but they are also a bit more rigid in structure than chewy cookies are.
To make cookies thinner and crispier, you will usually want to aim for more granulated sugar and butter. For softer, chewier cookies, you will want to add much less granulated sugar, slightly more brown sugar, and a fair bit less butter. For cakey cookies, you will often be including even less butter and sugar.
This means that, by nature, if you are not including enough butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar into your recipes, then there is a very good chance that you are going to end up with cookies that feel far more like a cake than the crispy, chewy cookies that you were looking to make.
Now that you know a little bit more about what goes into the cookie types, you can begin learning about what makes a cakey cookie and what you can do to avoid making this cookie when you aren’t in the mood for it.
How Do Cookies Become Cakey?
There are a few different ways that your cookies can turn into cake bites by mistake. Most of the causes will come from the type of ingredients being used, the amount they are used in, and so on.
For example, most cookies require flour. If you use a cake flour mix, then you are likely going to end up with a cakier cookie than you normally would.
Generally, too much flour is going to be a factor in creating cakier cookies, so if you are consistently making cookies that are too cakey, you should consider changing flour types or using less flour.
Too many eggs, or eggs that are far too big can also cause a cakey cookie. You should always use the recommended amount of eggs and the recommended size of eggs when you are going off a recipe.
Finally, another ingredient that makes cookies cakier than normal, in addition to the above, is that there is too much milk or too many other liquids that were not called for in the cookie.
Sticking to the recipe and taking care not to include other ingredients will do you well when you are working off of a recipe for your cookies.
You should also keep a close eye on measurements, as baking is a fickle activity and even measurements that are slightly off can cause trouble, such as a cakey cookie.
How Can You Fix It?
Unfortunately, it can be hard to tell when your cookies are too cakey until they are done. However, if you are able to notice beforehand, there are a couple things that you can do to try and salvage your recipe, turning it into something that resembles a cookie more than a cake.
For one, if you are concerned about your cookie mix, you should consider baking a test batch of cookies from the dough you are working with. This will give you a good idea of how your cookies are going and how they will turn out.
If you prefer your cookies to be dense, you may want to consider leaving out the milk altogether, or using very minimal amounts of it.
When working with a recipe, make sure that you are working with the appropriate measurements of ingredients as well, and that all of your measuring tools are accurate.
Even if it doesn’t seem like much, you should also make sure that you do not use more or less than a recipe recommends and that your measurements are close to precise.
If the recipe specifies a specific size egg, then it will be important for you to use that exact egg size if you want your cookies to turn out with a good texture.
For the next time you cook with a recipe that resulted in cakey cookies, you should make sure that you hold back anywhere from two tablespoons of flour to a quarter cup of flour, depending on the cakeiness and how much of that you want reduced.
Before you know it, you will be left with the perfect dish of cookies that everyone wants.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.
Shanon R.
Tuesday 14th of December 2021
Thanks for the tips!! I made a batch of lemon crinkles last week and they were delicious but a little more cakey than I would have liked. Now I know how to fix it. :)