RECIPE: Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookie Disaster

Crap!  I’m losing my baking touch!!!  Or am I??

I made some Chocolate Chip Cookies recently using the recipe on the back of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip bag and they absolutely SUCKED!!!  Once baked, the cookies turned out flat with the Chocolate Chips sticking up higher than the baked dough.

Ick!  I can’t stand cookies like this.

In an effort to save the remaining dough, I added more flour.  Bad idea! The cookies ended up being, as my 10-year-old daughter put it so eloquently, “Yuck, these cookies are drier than a desert!”

I can’t figure out why the cookies turned out so bad.  Was it the Ghirardelli recipe itself?  Was is because I substituted one of the two sticks of butter for shortening?  I don’t think it was my baking soda since I bought that only a couple months ago.  Or was it?

So here’s the Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip recipe I used:

Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened (I substituted 1/2 cup with shortening)
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups Ghirardellli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (I didn’t use these)

Preheat oven to 375*F. Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside. In large mixer bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mix on low speed until incorporated. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

And here’s how the cookies turned out…

The stacked cookies at the top of the picture are the “flat” ones.  The cookies in the bottom half of the picture have more flour added to them but tasted VERY dry.

I compared this recipe with the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip recipe and I see the Ghirardelli recipe calls for 1/2 cup more sugar. Do you think this could be enough to make the cookies “fall” and/or be flat after they are baked?

I’d really love to hear from you if you’ve tried this recipe. Did you have a similar experience or did they turn out OK for you?

HELP!!!

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6 Responses to “RECIPE: Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookie Disaster”

  1. Kim — April 12, 2010 @ 7:55 AM (#
    1
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    I think I remember similar experiences with Ghirardelli’s recipe. I thought it was me! Sometimes I do lack a knack for turning out a decent product. Now I feel a little relieved, though I’m sorry you had a frustrating time with the cookies.
    I guess the best option is to use the Toll House recipe with the Ghirardelli chips ??

    [Reply]

    • MsWonka replied: — April 14th, 2010 @ 4:47 PM

      GREAT solution Kim! I’ll try that! :)

  2. Allysia — May 17, 2010 @ 8:38 AM (#
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    I make these all the time & they turn out wonderful!
    Try not substituting anything and see how that works out :)

    [Reply]

  3. alissa — January 30, 2011 @ 6:51 PM (#
    3
    )

    I made this over this last Christmas and they turned out to be some of the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had.

    Maybe it had something to do with the way you mixed things together? :-/

    So sorry they didn’t work out for you!

    [Reply]

  4. Anonymous — March 25, 2011 @ 1:43 PM (#
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    )

    Substitute self-rising flour for regular flour in the recipe,
    just omit the baking powder and salt from the recipe, and use self-rising
    flour. Waaayyy better!

    [Reply]

  5. Cupcakeminx — December 22, 2011 @ 12:18 PM (#
    5
    )

    I used a similar ghirardelli recipe
    On the back onthe bag and it used
    3/4 cup granulated sugar and 3/4 brown.
    That might have created a
    Problem. Shortening shouldn’t have made them
    Fall at all because butter makes a flatter
    Cookie. Try 1/2 baking powder and 1/2 bakin soda
    And cut down the sugar. I love this recipe
    I hope you have better luck.

    [Reply]

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