Should You Age Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough?
Aged chocolate chip cookies…?
What is this, cheese or something???
For months now, I’ve heard over and over again that aging chocolate chip cookie dough before baking makes a big difference in the resulting cookie.
My first judgement was that this was a gimmick.
I mean, how on earth was I even supposed to find out if it wasn’t?
I can’t leave chocolate chip cookie dough in the fridge for 3 days.
It’s too tempting. Me want cookie.
Me want cookie now.
Not in 3 days.
But the time came when I finally had to test this out for myself.
This all started when I came across an article David Leite published in the New York Times in 2008.
Read the article for the nitty gritty details, but in a nutshell, chilling the dough in the fridge for a few days allows the dry ingredients to fully soak up the wet ingredients, which results in a better texture when you bake the cookie, and not to mention, better flavor.
So what’s my conclusion?
I went into this as a complete skeptic.
Mainly because like I said, I don’t want there to be a reason to wait 36 hours for cookies.
But I have to say, I think they are a little bit better.
And in hindsight, I shouldn’t be surprised.
I put pasta salad in the fridge to let the flavors meld, and I let yeasted bread doughs age in the fridge to develop a good texture and good flavor.
Is it worth the wait overall? If I have a major cookie craving, maybe not, but if I can plan ahead, it seems like a good idea.
I really didn’t make many changes from the recipe on Leite’s Culinaria, but will say that baking time makes a big difference in the resulting cookie.
This is what the 15 minute cookie looked like (the one my husband prefers) :
And this is what the 20 minute cookie looked like (the one I prefer):
Big difference, you see?
The “underbaked” 15 minute cookie doesn’t allow enough time to set the full texture of the cookie, resulting in a flatter but chewier, denser, and softer cookie.
The 20 minute cookie baked for long enough to set the texture of the cookie and is about twice as thick as the 15 minute cookie. It’s more crumbly, with a crisp exterior but a soft interior, and is much thicker.
The choice is yours! Have fun baking your cookies and share your thoughts with us in the comments section. How do you like your chocolate chip cookies baked? Do you age the dough?
62 Comments on “Should You Age Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough?”
I never make cookies right from the mixer as the batter is too soft to scoop nicely (and I like my cookies nice and pretty!). I always refrigerate my dough for a whole day in order to get a nice scoop. Often I let the dough sit in the fridge for 2-3 days and I found that the cookies had a nicer texture. Then I read about aging and I said to myself, “I’ve been doing that for years!!” Pat on the back 🙂
I found out about the ‘magic’ of refrigerating cookie from my sister’s chemistry teacher (gotta love a chemistry teacher who takes his knowledge into the kitchen!)Hands-down those chocolate chip cookies were and are the best I’ve ever made! It takes patience and self-control not to eat the dough, but it’s totally worth it!
Haha yes, I imagine chemistry knowledge would be awesome for baking and cooking!!
I let them sit overnight and they come out great. The last batch of chocolate chip I did sat longer because other things interfered with the baking and I didn’t really care for the way they turned out. The were a little flatter and didn’t have that chewy consistency that leaving them overnight gives me.
That’s wonderful, Lisa!
With a 4 and 5 year old, there is no way I can age the dough, however if I double the batch, and age half…
I do wonder about the leavener though. The initial lift would be dead and gone after 72 hours in the fridge, however since most leaveners are double acting I’d still get the benefit of the second lift when the cookie hits 170 degrees in the oven. Is that single lift enough to get the job done?
Once you start refrigerating your dough, you can’t stop… because you know how much better it could be in 24 hours. I’m not sure how much more melding of ingredients could happen after the first 24 hours. I haven’t waited that long to find out. I just know even an hour of refrigeration makes a difference!
I am new to fifteen spatulas and really love your website.
I love baking Oatmeal Raisin cookies and my friends in the office like it so much. I want to check with you whetgher this will also be fine to age the oatmeal cookies dough? as the basic ingredient is rolled oats. Thanks.
Hi Ida, wonderful! Welcome. Hope you enjoy the recipes!
I think aging the oatmeal raisin cookie dough would be interesting. You could even divide a batch in two, and age one half to see if you think it makes a difference.