Message Boards

 Margarine tends to make cookies thicker and chewier, butter tends to make cookies thinner and crisper (unless you compensate with extra flour which often ruins taste).  Checking the oven/rotating trays can cause cookies to be flatter and not letting the pans cool completely before dropping and baking a new batch could also cause this.  I keep my cookies dough refrigerated throughout the whole baking process, check my temp and leave the cookies alone for the majority of their baking time.  Hope this helps.

Hello,

Actually, my mom taught me that the very best toll house cookies (the original name) are made with Crisco (you can use the butter flavor if you want but I don't) and the key ingredient is chopped pecans and not walnuts!  Don't let them get too crisp.  Give it a try.

I agree with the other post.  Never melt your butter, just leave out to soften.  Here are a few different things I have done to avoid the "pancake" cookie.

1.  Use 1/2 cup crisco butter flavor and half cup real butter

2.  I always use parchment paper instead of baking directly on the cookie sheet.  This seems to help a lot.

3.  I don't think it has anything to do with salt.  There are times I omit the salt and times I use it and my cookies vary.  I also think it may have something to do with the weather at times.  I can do absolutely everything the same way and I can get "pancakes" that taste great, but look terrible.

This could have something to do with my altitude, because I'm in Denver, at over 5000 feet. But I have the same problem, and I always have! :(

The one thing that I've found that really helps is adding more flour. For the TollHouse recipe that calls for 2 1/4 cups flour, I have to add 2 3/4 cups flour. This makes a thicker cookie that doesn't spread as thin, and is nice and soft. :)

~Brooke

If you are using margarine, make sure it has a 65 percent or higher oil quality in it (not tub of course), or try using butter instead of margarine, add 1 extra egg and increase vanilla extract by 1/2 tsp.  I too, had this problem, hope this helps.