The Crunchy Cookie Experiment

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! I have a reputation to keep, so before you go and start getting funky ideas about me in your head, I do NOT like crunchy cookies! I'd prefer to eat a bowl of raw cookie dough, but if they must be baked I say the chewier the better! This experiment is for my dad. He loooves him some crunchy cookies (I'm so glad I didn't inherit that psychotic gene). A few days ago over dinner he requested crunchy cookies. Not just any crunchy cookies. He described cookies with white chocolate chips and cranberries. Then he went on to specify the ratio of white chocolate to cranberries that he'd prefer. My dad makes it so easy to bake for him! So anyway, I woke up this morning and my brain was on cookies. I hopped on the internet and googled about this strange phenomenon that is the "crunchy cookie lover." I found there are actually a lot of people who enjoy their cookies burnt, excuse me, crunchy! I came upon a forum discussing the elusive perfect crunchy cookie recipe (kinda like how us cake people are always looking for the perfect vanilla cake recipe ...hmmm). I decided to compare the first three recipes I found. I started with King Arthur Flour's Classic Crunchy Cookie from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. The other two recipes come from this article about making the perfect cookie. I used the Thin & Crispy recipe and the Thick & Crunchy recipe.

Let's get started with the process, and I'll let you in on the results at the end of the post.

First, we have three bowls of add-ins, because what good is cookie dough with nothing in it???

White chocolate chips and cranberries (for dad), semi-sweet and peanut butter chips, and mini semi-sweet chips and pecans.Cookie dough for KAF's Crunchy Cookies, Thin & Crispy Cookies, and Thick & Chewy Cookies...


Scooped and ready for the oven...


Each cookie after 6 minutes of baking...


Cooling and looking gross... I mean yummy... if you're weird...

And that's the Crunchy Cookie Experiment!

And the results are in! Surprisingly none of these cookies are the kind of "crunchy" both I and my dad were expecting. Dad says in order to be the perfect crunchy cookie, they have to snap when you break them. These cookies merely bend then break softly. My opinion is that KAF's Classic Crunchy has potential to be the crunchiest cookie. A few minutes added to the baking time could equal success. My mom thinks the Thick & Crunchy is the best cookie she's ever eaten. That's probably because it has the most butter, and she was born in North Carolina! Dad thinks the Thin & Crispy is the crunchiest... But when I tasted it, it was almost stick-to-your-teeth chewy. Maybe keeping them in an airtight container is softening them... Hmmm?? I guess the conclusion I must come to is that my dad needs a burnt cookie in order to be satisfied. Or at least a package of Keebler Chips Deluxe! Now if I could only wrangle the recipe from that little elf......

* = my adaptations

• King Arthur Flour’s Classic Crunchy Cookies (halved) – (I got 15 cookies using a #30 disher)
  1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
  1/2 cup brown sugar
  1/4 cup granulated sugar
  1 teaspoon vanilla
  1/2 tsp. salt
  1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) white or cider vinegar
  1/2 egg (mix a whole egg with a fork and use half of it)
  1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  1 cup all-purpose flour
  1 cup (6 oz.) white chocolate chips*
  1/2 cup dried cranberries*
  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, shortening, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, salt and vinegar. Beat in egg until well combined. Reduce speed to low and add baking soda and flour, and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
  Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden brown. (I baked 2 pans at a time in the top and bottom 1/3 of the oven. I rotated them at 6 and 12 minutes. My total baking time was 17 minutes!) Remove cookies from oven, cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
  
  
• Thin & Crispy Cookies - (I got 14 cookies using a #30 disher. The cookies were HUGE. Next time I’d use a tablespoon to measure them.)
  1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp.
  1/2 cup brown sugar
  1/3 cup granulated sugar
  1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  3 tablespoons water
  1/4 teaspoon salt
  3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  1 cup all-purpose flour
  1/2 cup (3 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips*
  1/2 cup (3 oz.) peanut butter chips*
  
  Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
  In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well blended. Beat in 3 tablespoons water and the vanilla until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
  In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir or beat into butter mixture until well incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips and cranberries.
  Drop dough in 1-tablespoon portions, 2 inches apart.
  Bake until cookies are lightly browned, 18 to 20 minutes. (I baked 2 pans at a time in the top and bottom 1/3 of the oven. I rotated them at 6 and 12 minutes. My total baking time was 19 minutes.)
  Let stand on pans to firm up, 2 to 5 minutes; then transfer to racks to cool completely.
  
  
• Thick & Crunchy Cookies – (I got 29 small cookies)
  2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temp.
  1/2 cup brown sugar
  1/3 cup granulated sugar
  1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  1/4 teaspoon salt
  3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  1 cup all-purpose flour
  1 cup (6 oz.) mini chocolate chips*
  1/2 cup chopped pecans*
  
  Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper.
  In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla until well blended and smooth; scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
  In another bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir or beat into butter mixture until well incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips and cranberries.
  Dough will be crumbly; pinch into 1-­tablespoon lumps and drop about 2 inches apart. (I scooped mine out with a tablespoon and rolled them into balls.)
  Bake until cookies are an even golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. (I baked 2 pans at a time in the top and bottom 1/3 of the oven. I rotated them at 6 and 12 minutes. My total baking time was 18 minutes.)
  Let stand on pans to firm up, 2 to 5 minutes; then transfer to racks to cool completely.