# How do I cut down the sugar in a chocolate chip cookie recipe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2018, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276 "2018-01-09T22:15:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/1 "2018-01-09T22:15:48Z")
I use the basic Toll House recipe that’s on the back of Nestles chips. However, that is too much sugar. Here’s what happens when I cut it down: The cookies do not spread out when baked. I drop them, they cook just like they were dropped. So, lumps. They taste fine. All I have done is reduced the sugar from a cup and a half to 3/4 of a cup. It’s half brown sugar and half granulated sugar.What else do I need to do to make the chemistry work? Need answer fast! ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/2 "2018-01-09T22:21:05Z")
If you want the cookies to spread out more, use melted butter. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/3 "2018-01-09T22:22:42Z")
Have you tried sucralose (i.e.: Splenda) instead of sugar and cutting the brown sugar in half? Brown Splenda is really one part brown sugar and one part Splenda. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/4 "2018-01-09T22:27:11Z")
Sorry, no splenda. I should have been clear, I want them to be less sweet. The current recipe is too sweet for the taste of my family. We are not worried about the calories. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/5 "2018-01-09T22:36:47Z")
[King Arthur Flour sez:](https://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2017/07/11/baking-with-reduced-sugar/)“Sugar attracts and holds water in cookie dough; but during baking, it releases that water, absorbing it once again as cookies cool. The result? Balls of cookie dough spread and flatten as they bake. The less sugar you use, the less cookies will spread.” Cookies on light-colored pans will spread more than dark pans. Like enalzi, my first reaction would be to try using melted butter or simply more butter. I might also try replacing the brown sugar with an equivalent amount of molasses or the white sugar with honey. These would change the flavor profile, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/6 "2018-01-09T22:37:04Z")
Would dark chocolate chips offset the sweetness of the sugar? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/7 "2018-01-09T22:54:05Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Here’s what happens when I cut it down: The cookies do not spread out when baked. I drop them, they cook just like they were dropped. So, lumps. They taste fine. If shape is your only concern, and they taste fine, just press them out with the bottom of a glass. They’ll stay where they are and be a traditional shape. You could also try a greased or parchmented cookie sheet to maximize whatever little spreading is happening. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/8 "2018-01-09T23:01:15Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Would dark chocolate chips offset the sweetness of the sugar? That was my first thought, but initially I was thinking of how to cut down the sugar content and not necessarily the sweetness. I imagine the sugar content of the dough would still make it too sweet overall. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/9 "2018-01-09T23:12:30Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > [King Arthur Flour sez:](https://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2017/07/11/baking-with-reduced-sugar/)“Sugar attracts and holds water in cookie dough; but during baking, it releases that water, absorbing it once again as cookies cool. The result? Balls of cookie dough spread and flatten as they bake. The less sugar you use, the less cookies will spread.” > > Cookies on light-colored pans will spread more than dark pans. > > Like enalzi, my first reaction would be to try using melted butter or simply more butter. I might also try replacing the brown sugar with an equivalent amount of molasses or the white sugar with honey. These would change the flavor profile, obviously. Oh dear, oh dear. This isn’t looking good! I guess I will try the melted butter thing, and if that doesn’t work, then I’ll just mash 'em down. The problem of course is that I won’t know with the first batch until they are baking. (But King Arthur FTW, I guess.) I am already using semisweet chips and baking on parchment paper. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/10 "2018-01-09T23:53:30Z")
Melting the butter will keep the butter from acting as an emulsifier. Samin Nosrat talks about this in her book, “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat”. Her mother stored butter in the freezer and never baked, so it was up to Samin to make cookies if she wanted them: > [@](#): > > I was never patient enough to wait for frozen butter to come up to room temperature, as every single recipe commanded…As a typical teenage know-it-all, I knew I was way more clever than any recipe writer. So I figured I could just melt the butter for my baking. > …What I didn’t know then was that by melting the butter, I was destroying any chance I had at working air into it. My cookies and cakes always emerged from the oven disappointingly flat and dense. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/11 "2018-01-10T00:28:51Z")
Well, SOMEBODY ate approximately 1/3 of the chips. :mad:So this batch will definitely not be as sweet. I cut the sugar down to 1 cup rather than 1.5 cups. They spread out a little bit…not much. I softened, rather than melted, the butter. So I have mashed down the last two sheets’ worth. They taste okay, still don’t look right. And I have this phrase going through my head: “The lunatic is at the stove…” ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/12 "2018-01-10T01:00:09Z")
This probably has little to do with scaling back the sweetness but, I notice you’re in Denver; do you follow [the directions for high-altitude baking](https://www.wikihow.com/Adjust-a-Cookie-Recipe-for-High-Altitude)? Step 2 is reduce the amount of sugar you’re using, and so on. Might be worth a look-see. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/13 "2018-01-10T01:13:42Z")
I’ll tell you what, when I first moved to Denver my chocolate chip cookies spread all over the pan. They turned into one rectangular cookie. I had no clue. And since that was one of the two things I knew how to cook at the time, it was kind of disheartening. And then suddenly, it stopped happening–I don’t know why, I didn’t change anything. I certainly didn’t follow the high altitude directions. When i did follow the high-altitude directions, I got cookies that didn’t taste like my expectations. So, no. Also, what’s up with this: the recipe says if you drop the cookies, approx. one tablespoon per cookie, on a sheet, the yield is approx. 5 dozen cookies. I have never gotten more than four dozen. And I don’t eat THAT much of the dough. I thank you all for your suggestions. I will keep working on it. I’d offer to mail you a sample, you know, for science, but I think they are too crumbly! ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/14 "2018-01-10T02:11:44Z")
I’ve never gotten the yield any cookie recipe claims. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/15 "2018-01-10T02:56:07Z")
I cut the amount of sugar when I made Toll House cookies and they came out find and no one notice the difference in taste or appearance . They got eaten right up . ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/16 "2018-01-10T03:28:14Z")
Are there alternate instructions for making bar cookies, for the same recipe? If so, I’d try that. Bar cookies don’t need to flatten or expand. [If it’s not on the bag here’s the official recipe.](https://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/29677/original-nestle-toll-house-chocolate-chip-pan-cookie/) (with 141 comments about how the recipe is wrong lol) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/17 "2018-01-10T03:58:00Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > {…} I want them to be less sweet. The current recipe is too sweet for the taste of my family. {…} Just MHO, but I think your doing it backwards. Instead of trying to tweak the Toll House recipe to be less sweet, find a less sweet cookie base and add chocolate chips. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/18 "2018-01-10T04:51:54Z")
Ha! Doing this backwards is practically my specialty. I will consider that. I did find a “low sugar” CC recipe, which was pretty much what I did except it wanted me to add 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of water. I may try that one next time, but at the moment I have approximately 4 dozen cookies so… ---
**Author:** ![I\_wasn\_t\_truly\_absent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4da419/32.png) [@I\_wasn\_t\_truly\_absent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_wasn_t_truly_absent)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/19 "2018-01-10T04:55:47Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Sorry, no splenda. I should have been clear, I want them to be less sweet. The current recipe is too sweet for the taste of my family. We are not worried about the calories. hiya I’ve used splenda to bake cakes not much of a cookie lover, generally it was always found to be perfectly nice but not as sweet, would flattening with wet fingers work on your sugarfee lumps? again cakes but aduki bean paste or applesauce can be used or actual sugar amounts can be cut by half? now I’m hungry! ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276/20 "2018-01-10T05:13:21Z")
I use a roughly 50/50 mixture of turbinado and coconut sugar in my baking–it makes the cookies behave properly but the sugar itself is less sweet than refined white or brown sugar. Use whole wheat flour as well and that more hearty flavor in the flour also damps down the sweetness from the sugar without affecting the texture of the cookie. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-cut-down-the-sugar-in-a-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe/806276.md?page=2)