# Why Are Some Cookies Chewy and Others Crunchy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 9, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790 "2009-03-09T01:15:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/1 "2009-03-09T01:15:10Z")
I buy chocolate chip cookies and some of them are chewy and some are crunchy. They taste similar (though not exact). So what exactly makes some cookies crunchy others chewy. I’ve notice it with peanut butter and oatmel cookies too. Heck I’ve even seen soft gingerbread cookies. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/2 "2009-03-09T01:25:03Z")
If you’ve got 20 minutes, Alton Brown explains it [in part 1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB-KVveLp3k) and [and part 2](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWoN0PtsIIQ). The abridged answer is it depends on the type of fat used and the baking powder/baking soda ratio. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/3 "2009-03-09T04:21:52Z")
also, a lot of people over bake cookies. I can use the same recipe but bake one pan 2 minutes longer than the first. Pan number two will be crispy, pan number one will be chewy. If you want chewy take them out when they look almost but not quite done. Let them cool for a minute on the pan. Result: perfectly chewy cookies. There’s also a tendency to put too much flour in a cookie recipe. Or not enough. Either one will change the texture of the cookie. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/4 "2009-03-09T06:10:11Z")
crunchy cookies are the ones some one screwed up making…at least in the chocolate chip department…ok I got nothin ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/5 "2009-03-09T06:26:54Z")
Another question nailed in one. I learned more about cookie texture in that AB episode than I knew existed. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Have\_Hippos\_In\_My\_Garden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4491bb/32.png) [@I\_Have\_Hippos\_In\_My\_Garden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Have_Hippos_In_My_Garden)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/6 "2009-03-09T19:34:31Z")
I think the kind of sugar that is used also makes a difference. Brown sugar produces a softer cookie whereas white sugar makes the cookie crunchie. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/7 "2009-03-09T20:09:01Z")
> [@I\_Have\_Hippos\_In\_My\_Garden](#): > > I think the kind of sugar that is used also makes a difference. Brown sugar produces a softer cookie whereas white sugar makes the cookie crunchie. That’d be because brown sugar has molasses added to it to make it brown. That’d mean more moisture in the cookie. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/8 "2009-03-09T20:46:17Z")
Does anyone really prefer a crunchy chocolate chip cookie to a chewy one? If you do you can NOT be friends with me. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/9 "2009-03-09T20:52:13Z")
This is one of the reasons I can’t stand Chips Ahoy. They’re not just crunchy (unless you get the special super-chewy ones), they’re crumbly! You can’t bite into one without causing the whole thing to avalanche into little crumbs. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Have\_Hippos\_In\_My\_Garden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4491bb/32.png) [@I\_Have\_Hippos\_In\_My\_Garden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Have_Hippos_In_My_Garden)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/10 "2009-03-09T20:52:18Z")
Ah yes molasses and moisture. I don’t know anyone who prefers crunchie cookies…they are mad if they do. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/11 "2009-03-09T20:59:58Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > That’d be because brown sugar has molasses added to it to make it brown. That’d mean more moisture in the cookie. I think brown sugar has the molasses in it to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/12 "2009-03-09T21:11:12Z")
Depends. > [@](#): > > Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by the addition of molasses to refined white sugar. > > [snip] > > Many brown sugar producers produce brown sugar by adding cane molasses to completely refined white sugar crystals in order to more carefully control the ratio of molasses to sugar crystals and to reduce manufacturing costs. > **[Brown sugar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_sugar)** > > Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or produced by the addition of molasses to refined white sugar. Brown sugar is 98% carbohydrates (95% as sucrose), containing no dietary fiber or fat, and negligible protein and micronutrient content. > The Codex Alimentarius requires brown sugar to contain at least 88% s... ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/13 "2009-03-09T21:26:46Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > This is one of the reasons I can’t stand Chips Ahoy. They’re not just crunchy (unless you get the special super-chewy ones), they’re crumbly! You can’t bite into one without causing the whole thing to avalanche into little crumbs. Chips Ahoy are good for dunking in milk. That is their one function: to serve as a milk delivery device. Plus, if you start off with a big enough glass and eat basically an entire sleeve of them, you wind up with chocolate-chip-cookie-flavored milk! ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/14 "2009-03-09T21:29:44Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Does anyone really prefer a crunchy chocolate chip cookie to a chewy one? > > If you do you can NOT be friends with me. Me, I dislike most chewy cookies, they seem undercooked to me, and especially so the store bought ones that all have this disturbing chewy yet grainy texture to them. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/15 "2009-03-10T04:57:12Z")
The average chewy cookies is better than the average crunchy cookie, but I have had some really good crunchy cookies. Although, the _best_ cookie is a chewy gooey fresh-from-the-oven still-warm cookie. ---
**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:** [March 10, 2009, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/16 "2009-03-10T13:22:42Z")
My dad prefers crunchy cookies, of the store-bought variety. Then again, he also likes his meat dry and well-done. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/17 "2009-03-10T13:39:49Z")
FWIW, I made the Alton Brown Chewy chocolate chip cookies last night. Once I got my oven temperature right, his recipe made some righteous cookies. As **Miss Woodhouse** points out, they are extremely easy to overbake. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/18 "2009-03-10T16:51:53Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > My dad prefers crunchy cookies, of the store-bought variety. Then again, he also likes his meat dry and well-done. Brother!!! 😃 Chewy is better for most, though some Christmas cookies my ex-wife used to make were better as crumblers (uppaka kakor was one, IIRC). ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/19 "2009-03-10T21:19:13Z")
There’s an old trick, of course: put a piece of bread (or pieces) in an airtight container with hard cookies. It will soften them. Or if you don’t want your soft baked cookies to get hard, do same. My faves are crunchewy. A hard shell, then chewy on the inside. No crumbs, please. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-cookies-chewy-and-others-crunchy/488790/20 "2009-03-10T21:21:53Z")
> [@BurnMeUp](#): > > Me, I dislike most chewy cookies, they seem undercooked to me, and especially so the store bought ones that all have this disturbing chewy yet grainy texture to them. I thought I was the only one in this thread. Everyone seemed to be criticizing the crunchies. I try to bake mine a little too long so they’ll be crunchy. Love them that way. Tate’s Cookies are one of the crunchiest of store bought cookies. God love them.