How to Make the Best Cookie
How Do You Make the Best Cookie?
Who doesn’t love a good cookie? The quest for that melt-in-your-mouth, gooey, and blissful tasting cookie is a never-ending battle. My science experiment will answer the age-old question: Is it possible to make the perfect cookie? My science experiment is identifying the best method for making the most delicious cookie. If I vary the amount of time I refrigerate the cookie dough, then the batch that was freshly baked will be moister and ultimately taste better because the wet ingredients will not have been absorbed yet. To perform this experiment I will need to use three medium sized mixing bowls, an electric mixer, measuring spoons and measuring cups to correspond to the recipe, plastic wrap to cover the refrigerated cookie dough, a refrigerator, a standard sized cookie sheet, an oven, two wire cooling racks, four large Glad brand tupperware, ten taste testers, ten questionnaires and pens, graph paper for recording the data. This experiment will require me to bake four different batches of cookies: two batches of chocolate chip cookies, and two batches of sugar cookies. I will not vary the ingredients of the batches, however I will vary the procedure in which I make the dough. For the sugar cookies, I will make one batch of dough (Sugar A) and refrigerate it for 48 hours. I will also make one batch of dough for the chocolate chip cookies (Chocolate A) and refrigerate it for 48 hours. After the 48-hour period is over, I will the make the remaining two batches (Sugar B and Chocolate B) and immediately bake them. After those two batches are finished I will bake batches Sugar A and Chocolate A. I will then store them in separate, labeled containers and conduct a blind taste test with ten people. I will have my subjects taste Sugar A and Sugar B first and have them record which cookie they prefer and why, then I will have them taste Chocolate A and Chocolate B and have them record which the prefer and why.
Who doesn’t love a good cookie? The quest for that melt-in-your-mouth, gooey, and blissful tasting cookie is a never-ending battle. My science experiment will answer the age-old question: Is it possible to make the perfect cookie? My science experiment is identifying the best method for making the most delicious cookie. If I vary the amount of time I refrigerate the cookie dough, then the batch that was freshly baked will be moister and ultimately taste better because the wet ingredients will not have been absorbed yet. To perform this experiment I will need to use three medium sized mixing bowls, an electric mixer, measuring spoons and measuring cups to correspond to the recipe, plastic wrap to cover the refrigerated cookie dough, a refrigerator, a standard sized cookie sheet, an oven, two wire cooling racks, four large Glad brand tupperware, ten taste testers, ten questionnaires and pens, graph paper for recording the data. This experiment will require me to bake four different batches of cookies: two batches of chocolate chip cookies, and two batches of sugar cookies. I will not vary the ingredients of the batches, however I will vary the procedure in which I make the dough. For the sugar cookies, I will make one batch of dough (Sugar A) and refrigerate it for 48 hours. I will also make one batch of dough for the chocolate chip cookies (Chocolate A) and refrigerate it for 48 hours. After the 48-hour period is over, I will the make the remaining two batches (Sugar B and Chocolate B) and immediately bake them. After those two batches are finished I will bake batches Sugar A and Chocolate A. I will then store them in separate, labeled containers and conduct a blind taste test with ten people. I will have my subjects taste Sugar A and Sugar B first and have them record which cookie they prefer and why, then I will have them taste Chocolate A and Chocolate B and have them record which the prefer and why.
Cited: "Food Studies: The Science of Cookie Texture." Grist. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://grist.org/food/2011-10-06-food-studies-the-science-of-cookie-texture/>. "How Do You Make the 'Best ' Cookie?" How Do You Make the 'Best ' Cookie? N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/FoodSci_p014.shtml>. "Refrigeration and Food Safety." Http://www.fsis.usda.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FACTSheets/Refrigeration_>. "Safe Food Handling Fact Sheets." Safe Food Handling Fact Sheets. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. <http://www.fsis.usda.gov/fact_sheets/Safe_Food_Handling_Fact_Sheets/index.asp>. Smith, Terry L. Nutrition and Food Safety. New York: Chelsea House, 2011. Print.