Better Batches (Soft Batch Cookie Upgrade) Recipe (2024)

  • Recipes
  • Recipes By Course
  • Desserts
  • Cookies

For those who love the softness of Soft Batch cookies, but don't especially care for their flavor.

By

Stella Parks

Better Batches (Soft Batch Cookie Upgrade) Recipe (1)

Stella Parks

Editor Emeritus

Stella Parks is a CIA-trained baking nerd and pastry wizard, dubbed one of America's Best New Pastry Chefs by Food & Wine. She was the pastry editor at Serious Eats from 2016 to 2019.

Updated August 20, 2023

WRITE A REVIEW

Trending Videos

Better Batches (Soft Batch Cookie Upgrade) Recipe (2)

Why It Works

  • Placing the warm cookies in an airtight container and "aging" them for 24 hours allows them to steam in the residual heat, which improves their flavor and renders them ultra-soft from edge to edge.
  • Swapping clarified butter for the oil adds richness.
  • Scraping the seeds from a vanilla bean, adding the seeds to the dough, and infusing the butter with the scraped pod extracts maximum flavor from the ingredient.
  • Adding melted milk chocolate and chopped dark chocolate to the dough results in an exceptionally chocolatey cookie.
  • A touch of hazelnut liqueur and cinnamon contribute nuttiness and spice.

These cookies are for those who love the softness of the Soft Batch, but don't especially care for the flavor. This recipe uses butter which is pseudo-clarified; a process that just cooks out the water, no skimming. If you'd like, you can brown the butter for an even nuttier flavor, but that's just a bonus step. If this all sounds too fancy and you'd like a recipe that more closely matches the rather generic flavor of the original Soft Batch, check out my "mock batch" recipe by following the link below.

Mock Batches (Soft Batch Cookie Copy Cat) Recipe

September 2011

Recipe Details

Better Batches (Soft Batch Cookie Upgrade) Recipe

Prep20 mins

Cook10 mins

Active10 mins

Resting Time24 hrs

Total24 hrs 30 mins

Makes24 cookies

Ingredients

  • 6 ounces all purpose flour
  • 1/2 ounce cornstarch
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
  • 3 ounces unsalted butter
  • 1 3/4 ounce milk chocolate, chopped
  • 3 ounces dark corn syrup
  • 1/2 ounce cream, cold
  • 1/2 ounce brown sugar
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 ounce Frangelico
  • 1 3/4 ounce dark chocolate, chopped into very small pieces (approximately 1/8-inch pieces)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and have two parchment-lined cookie sheets at the ready. Sift together the flour and cornstarch. Set aside.

  2. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter along with the scraped vanilla bean pod (seeds reserved) over low heat until the butter completely liquifies. Turn the heat up slightly, just until the butter begins to bubble. Continue cooking until the butter stops bubbling and hissing. Immediately shut off the heat, remove the vanilla bean pod, and add the chopped chocolate. Stir with a rubber spatula until hom*ogenized. Next stir in the dark corn syrup and cold cream. Set this mixture aside until cool. If the mixture is too warm, it will melt the chocolate chips. You can stir to speed this along, or just wait.

  3. Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the reserved vanilla bean seeds, brown sugar, baking soda, egg yolk, and Frangelico. Stir vigorously to ensure the vanilla seeds are evenly distributed and no longer clumped together. Finally, stir in the dry ingredients all at once. Once the dough is smooth, fold in the chopped chocolate, reserving a few pieces for garnishing.

  4. Use a #60 ice cream scoop to divide the dough into 24 equal portions. If you don't have a scoop, each portion should be approximately 1 heaping tablespoon—just take care, Soft Batch cookies are really quite small. If you'd like cookies that look especially authentic, roll each portion of dough between your hands and into a perfect sphere. Arrange 12 on each cookie sheet, spaced evenly. Garnish each with a shard of chopped chocolate.

  5. Bake for approximately 6 minutes or until the dough has puffed but not fully set. You may need to experiment to find the perfect time, but the important part is to take them out of the oven when the edges appear fully baked, but the center still seems puffed and damp. Do not overbake.

  6. Cool the cookies directly on the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer to an airtight container while still slightly warm. Place a sheet of parchment or wax paper between each layer, as the cookies will readily fuse together if touching. Close the lid of the container and age the cookies for at least 24 hours. The cookies will stay soft and delicious at room temperature for up to two weeks.

Special Equipment

Digital scale, rimmed baking sheets, #60 ice cream scoop

Make-Ahead and Storage

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Read More

  • E.L. Fudge-Style Chocolate and Vanilla Sandwich Cookies Recipe
  • Homemade Oreo Cookies Recipe
  • The Food Lab's Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
  • Quick and Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe
  • DIY Hazelnut Liqueur Recipe
  • Cookies
  • North American
  • Baking
Better Batches (Soft Batch Cookie Upgrade) Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient to keep cookies soft? ›

If you enjoy your cookies soft and chewy, chances are likely the recipe contains a common ingredient that serves a very specific purpose. No, it's not granulated sugar, nor the butter. It's not the egg, all-purpose flour, or even the vanilla extract. The simple, yet oh-so-necessary component is cornstarch.

Should you refrigerate sugar cookie dough before baking? ›

Chilling the dough is a key step in making sugar cookies, especially when you're making cut-outs. Even if you're tight on time, make sure to get the dough in the fridge, or even the freezer, even if it's only for a little while. Skip this step, and the dough will be sticky, and much harder to work with.

Should you refrigerate chocolate chip cookie dough before baking? ›

As a general rule of thumb, you should refrigerate cookie dough for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. More than that, and you won't see a noticeable difference in the final product. Once the dough has chilled, let it warm up at room temperature until it's just pliable (about 5 to 10 minutes).

What makes cookies stay soft and chewy? ›

Use Brown Sugar

Add two tablespoons of light or dark brown sugar to your cookie recipe. Brown sugar can hold extra moisture because of its molecular structure (science!). The glucose and fructose found in it are hygroscopic, which means they suck up and hang onto moisture and moisture = soft, chewy cookies.

How do bakeries make their cookies so soft? ›

now, a few pro tricks:
  1. professional bakeries often substitute a little of the sugar for liquid glucose, making the cookies gooey and softer, and for longer.
  2. more brown sugar also usually = more softness on the inside and crispness on the edges.
  3. european butter.
Jul 25, 2020

What does adding milk to cookie mix do? ›

The moisture contributed by the milk will also increase spread and hydrate more of the starches in the flour. These hydrated (gelatinized) starches support the structure of the air pocket wall, keeping the cookies from collapsing once cooled. By holding more water, they also help keep the cookies softer over time.

Should I add an egg to my cookie mix? ›

Because egg yolks contain lecithin and fat, they enrich both the flavor and texture of chocolate chip cookies. If you prefer your cookies light and chewy rather than dense or crispy, adding egg yolks to your dough won't disappoint.

What happens if you don't chill sugar cookie dough? ›

It should still have a bit of a chill to it, if it's too warm or soft it can make the dough sticky and difficult to use. Check that your butter isn't melting (the outside of it shouldn't be oily).

How long should you chill sugar cookie dough before baking? ›

cookies | TikTok. Scooping then chilling your cookie dough for at least. 2 hours before baking. As you can see, this primarily affects spread and height, both of which significantly contribute to texture.

How long should sugar cookie dough sit out before rolling? ›

A few minutes at room temperature should make it malleable enough to roll out this enough for cutting, and the process of working the dough with a rolling pin will warm it a bit more.

What happens if you don't chill cookie dough before baking? ›

Sure, you can skip the chilling step and bake the dough right away, but doing so runs the risk of flat disks with dry edges and a brittle texture; a far cry for the plush, chewy cookies with fudge-like centers we all crave.

Can you leave chocolate chip cookie dough out overnight? ›

Eggs, butter, sugars, flour, baking soda, chocolate chips, vanilla extract mixture? Left out on the counter between 65 and 70 degrees F for about 9 hours? It should still be fine to bake cookies with that cookie dough. None of those ingredients go bad that quickly and the high sugar content helps keep it fresh.

Is it safe to bake cookie dough left out overnight? ›

Leaving the dough out at room temperature for an extended period of time can increase the risk of bacterial growth [1]. Changes in Texture: Leaving the dough out overnight and then refrigerating it can affect the texture of the cookies.

What makes cookies turn out hard? ›

the more you mix cookie dough. the more the gluten develops and they become hard and dry and an unfavorable texture. reason no 3 you're over baking them. make sure you take them out when they're just slightly golden brown.

What are 3 factors that contribute to a chewy cookie? ›

The ingredients you use and how you shape your cookies both play an important role in whether your cookies turn out crispy or chewy. The type of flour and sugar you use, if your cookie dough contains eggs, and whether you use melted or softened butter all factor into the crispy-chewy equation, too.

What makes cookies soft and flat? ›

WHY ARE MY COOKIES FLAT? HOW TO FIX FLAT COOKIES
  1. OVEN IS TOO HOT. Oven temperatures are a crucial factor in baking. ...
  2. INGREDIENTS MEASURED INCORRECTLY. ...
  3. BAKING SHEET IS TOO HOT. ...
  4. BUTTER IS TOO SOFT. ...
  5. BAKING SHEET IS OVER-GREASED. ...
  6. DOUGH WASN'T CHILLED BEFORE BAKING. ...
  7. DOUGH IS OVERMIXED. ...
  8. BAKING SHEET WAS OVERCROWDED.

What makes cookies stay fluffy? ›

Room temperature butter is just the right consistency to incorporate air when it's creamed with sugar. These trapped air pockets result in risen, fluffy cookies. If the butter is any warmer, it won't incorporate enough air and your cookies will have less rise.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Manual Maggio

Last Updated:

Views: 5721

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (49 voted)

Reviews: 88% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Manual Maggio

Birthday: 1998-01-20

Address: 359 Kelvin Stream, Lake Eldonview, MT 33517-1242

Phone: +577037762465

Job: Product Hospitality Supervisor

Hobby: Gardening, Web surfing, Video gaming, Amateur radio, Flag Football, Reading, Table tennis

Introduction: My name is Manual Maggio, I am a thankful, tender, adventurous, delightful, fantastic, proud, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.