For The Chewiest Cookies, Don't Skip This One Extra Step

Baking is more science than art. Each aspect of a cookie, cake, or tart is precisely calculated to yield exact results. Adding just a touch too much or too little of one ingredient could sour a whole recipe. So making any alteration whatsoever is risky business. This being said, sometimes risks are worth it, especially if you seek to bake a chewier cookie (perhaps of the chocolate chip variety). For many, achieving the perfect cookie texture is beyond difficult. A few too many minutes in the oven can result in hard cookies, and even slightly over-mixing the dough can ruin your baked goods and turn a soft cookie into a tough tooth chipper. So what can you do to ensure a perfectly chewy cookie? Well, you might want to look to your yolks. 

Adding one additional yolk to your recipe can yield a better and softer cookie. Now, yolks play a key role in baking. Not only to they work as a magnificent emulsifier, blending oil- and water-based ingredients to form a homogenous dough, but they are also high in fat and nutrients that keep your cookies from drying out. Additionally, yolks can make your cookies more rich in flavor. Now you'll want to make sure to not add too many yolks, as this can make your dough too wet to properly bake and will lead to dense, rubbery results. And this will not work for all recipes. Some cookies, such as gingerbread, especially the kind used to make next-level gingerbread houses, should have more structure, and should therefore not be tinkered with. Otherwise, you might want to give this tip a go.

So what, exactly, separates the yolk from the egg, so to speak? What, exactly, does egg yolk add that whites cannot? For starters, egg yolks are much higher in fat than egg whites, which consist primarily of protein and water. Egg whites help to stabilize baked goods. Meanwhile, yolks add richness and moisture to your recipe. Adding more egg whites can result in a lighter, more crumbly cookie. Many cookie recipes call for whole eggs to be added, which brings both the stability of the whites and the richness of the yolks. Adding an extra yolk would further amplify the cookie's chewiness. 

Now, what if you don't want to add in an extra yolk to your recipe, but still want the benefit of more yolks? Well, you can adjust the yolk to egg ratio. Simply put: If your recipe calls for two eggs, and you would like to add an extra yolk, you can substitute one whole egg with two egg yolks. This will keep the egg portion of your recipe approximately the same while also adding extra yolky goodness. It's a simple egg swap that also produces creamier brownies. So get cracking, and prepare for a seriously chewy cookie.