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    Home » Uncategorized

    Soften Butter Or Melt Butter For Cookies

    Published: Oct 14, 2015 · Modified: Oct 19, 2021 by Kim Strawn This post may contain affiliate links. 1 Comment

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    Part of the "What if" series. Question: What if we soften butter or melt butter for cookies? What will happen to the cookies?

    Soften butter or melted butter in baking cookies-the reason why

    Baking is a work of art. Sometimes it turns out beautifully. Sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it looks like picture Pinterest perfection and sometimes, well, it doesn't.

    My sad cake that did not turn out of the pan correctly. :-(

    Do you know what happens when you don't use butter correctly in baking cookies? You get sad cookies.

    Cooking is a lot of fun, as you don't have to measure everything accurately. You can add a little more broth here or garlic there. Perfect for someone like me (ahem!) because I typically dump the ingredients in the pan and eye the measurements.

    Baking is not that way.

    [Tweet "You can not just throw ingredients in a bowl and expect cookies to appear"]

    Baking requires measuring, somewhat precision. Okay, very precision. Which is why I am so liberal with the cinnamon. You can't ruin a recipe with cinnamon. Most of the time.

    Baking is more complicated because if you add sugar, flour and eggs, but no baking powder, you aren't going to get good pancakes. If you add chocolate chips, oil and pumpkin, the bread isn't going to turn out right.

    Same with butter. Now, butter is in many recipes and we can certainly have a discussion on butter vs. margarine. We aren't going to, just use your favorite butter (margarine) of choice for your recipes. Whichever works for the recipe and for you.

    Now when you go to soften that butter, how many of us simply sticks it into the microwave to soften it?

    Yes, I do that too.

    I'm sure you have found out, it just doesn't work that way.

    quote

    Or in our case, wrapper. My problem with the softened butter part of the recipe, is I never plan ahead enough to have the butter sitting on the counter to soften. I usually head to the kitchen to bake those cookies. I have then thrown the butter in the microwave to "soften" it, aka: melt it.

    This is the result of melted butter in a cookie.

    soften butter verses melted butter

    The cookies are flat and thin. They spread way too wide. They are still quite tasty, just doesn't look all that great. Has this every happened to your cookies? What to do, what to do?

    :: Plan ahead

    Walk by your fridge and pull out the butter and lay it on the counter. Then come back in a ½ hour. {This is for all of you who are planners. Good for you!} :-)

    :: Microwave it

    Just soften the butter in the microwave, don't melt it. I put mine in for about 15 seconds. That seems to be the perfect amount of time for the butter to soften a little, yet not melt.

    :: Get cookies from a bakery

    Just teasing! Don't! Here are some easy and delicious cookie recipes to get your started.

    Gooey Strawberry Cookies and M&M Cookies

    What is your favorite cookie to make? Tell me in the comments!

     

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    1. Beverly says

      November 18, 2019 at 9:58 am

      My cookies were a disaster! I melted the butter in the microwave till it was oil! As a result the dough was so oily, you could not work with i so I then added more flour the it was too dry, you couldnt move it so I added milk but the cookies tasted awful! It sort of turns you off! What to do???

      Reply
    Kim Strawn owner of Baking With Mom.

    Hey There, I'm Kim! I am the owner and recipe creator here at Baking With Mom. I'm also a mom to 4 growing kids so I understand busy! Here you will find recipes that are quick, delicious and can get on the table fast. Read more about me.

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