Warm, gooey, and oh-so soft — the best chocolate chips come with a few key characteristics. Yet while bakers have ample options for making delicious chocolate chip cookies, recipes for the softest ones tend to include one pivotal ingredient. That ingredient is cornstarch, which may not sound consequential but actually makes a huge difference in a cookie’s texture.
The reason cornstarch works so well in cookies boils down to chemistry. In cooking, the starch typically works as a thickening agent, but in baking, it’s all about softening. That’s because the starchy powder works in tandem with a flour’s protein, softening said protein so as to obtain a lighter texture of your finished baked good; cornstarch lacks gluten, so it essentially helps doughs develop a short, crumbly texture. Consequently, cookies made with cornstarch end up tasting all the more tender and come with a lighter, airier consistency than those made without it. After all, cornstarch works wonders in fluffy buttermilk biscuits for the same reason.
In case that’s not enough to convince you to give cornstarch a try, consider the ease of incorporating the ingredient into your next batch of homemade cookies. As is the case with many of baking’s essential ingredients — we’re looking at you, baking powder and baking soda — you don’t need a ton of cornstarch to achieve the desired effect. Hold the baking cups and grab your teaspoons instead.
Add a few teaspoons of cornstarch to soften your standard chocolate chip cookie dough
Cornstarch may work wonders in softening your favorite baked goods, but a little of the starch goes a long way. As evidenced by Tasting Table’s own brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe, you only need roughly one tablespoon of cornstarch to soften a twenty-cookie batch of dough. In other recipes, you can get away with using even less; a teaspoon or two should be more than enough for a noticeable difference.
Of course, if you’re adding cornstarch into a recipe that doesn’t already call for it, it may take a few batches before you perfect the ingredient ratios … but extra cookies is never a bad idea. To integrate the cornstarch, try whisking just a few teaspoons into your dough’s other dry ingredients. You want it to blend with your flour, so it can do its magic in softening.
As for what kinds of baked goods work well with cornstarch? The ingredient is neutral, so it’s applicable across recipes, whether you’re keeping things classic with sugar cookies or making something with more flavor like snickerdoodles.Luckily, cornstarch is easy to find at the grocery store, though you can always order a bag of Bob’s Red Mill on Amazon. The ingredient not only works well to soften cookies but also assists brownies, cakes, and, of course, biscuits. It’s therefore a great ingredient to keep in both your baking toolkit and kitchen pantry.
