self rising, or regular

[ibcheft]

I made oatmeal raisin cookies today, but they turned out kinda flat. Tasted great as usual, I used regular flour like the recipe called for, but when I have made them in the past I think I used self rising flour and the cookies were fuller and plump. Would using the regular flour instead of the self rising flour do this ? and yes I used baking powder. I ain't no baker and as you can tell I don't pay a whole lot of attention to what type of flour I have been using. I was just wondering for future reference. thank you

[origcyn]

If your recipe calls for regular flour, use that. If it calls for self-rising, use that. I haven't seen a recipe for oatmeal cookies that calls for self-rising flour, but then, I tend to disregard recipes that call for self-rising.

That being said, there are several reasons cookies do not "raise". If you are using generic sugar, that could be the problem. Most store brands/generic brands are made with beet sugar instead of cane sugar. Beet sugar will cause cookies to spread. Same thing if you use margarine instead of butter that is called for - and never use whipped butter or margarine.

Also, the temperature in your kitchen can affect your dough.

It also helps if you refrigerate any cookie dough for a brief time before baking.

Over-mixing can cause some cookie batters to spread.

You might want to check your baking powder - it might be old. Add a spoonful to some water. If it foams up, your powder is fine. if it doesn't seem to be very active or simply does nothing - better pitch the container and buy yourself some new baking powder.

Hope this helps

[Kitchen Witch]

Any time your oven is not preheated to the proper temp you will run into the problem of having your cookies spread. Invest in a good oven thermometer - it's well worth it. Also fructose and sugar blends will cause your cookies to spread. The cookie sheets were greased too heavily. Diet margarine or vegetable oil spreads were substituted for butter or regular stick margarine (80% fat). Dark brown sugar was used instead of light brown sugar generally called for in recipes. The cookie sheet was still warm when the cookie dough was placed on the sheet. Just more reasons.


If homemade cookies did not spread enough during baking, the following problems may have occurred:
The cookie dough was over-mixed. The cookie dough was too cold. The oven temperature was too hot. Solid vegetable oil shortening was substituted for butter in the recipe.

If homemade cookies stick to the cookie sheet, the following problems may have occurred:
The cookie sheets were not sufficiently cleaned between uses. The cookie sheets were not greased and the recipe called for greasing. The cookies were under-baked. The cookies were left on cookie sheets too long before removal. The cookie batter is too warm (hot kitchen). The cookie sheets are warm or hot before baking.

We have many cookie baking hints and tips/procedures in our Cooking Tips forum - please check our search option.

I hope this helps.

[Kitchen Witch]

Test if your baking powder is still fresh - Add a teaspoon of the powder to half a pint of hot water, if it bubbles rapidly then it is still fresh.

Baking soda is not that easy to know if it is still fresh for baking - check the bottom of the box for the expiration date - or if you are like me and you use baking soda for other things - I always make sure I have a fresh box for baking.

[ibcheft]

was the baking powder, expired last year think I will check dates on the rest of my stuff, been awhile since I had time to do that. thanks !