How Bakeries Keep Cookies Soft For Days

I’ve written before about why, after trying dozens of brownie recipes, I’m now firmly in the no-melted-chocolate camp.

Of course, I still add squares to the batter once it’s mixed; I’m not a monster. But because cocoa butter is solid at room temperature, I find that melting it into the batter makes the dessert less gooey; they’re fudgier when the crumb relies only on butter (which is softer at room temperature) for its fat content.

But what about cookie dough, which usually includes butter as its base? How come some of those – especially those made by the pros – stay soft and chewy for days, while mine are always way too crunchy?

According to the chef and owner of Piping and Batter, Jennifer Wharton, this time, the secret’s in the sugar.

In an Instagram Reel, Wharton said the secret is not butter or bake time, “it’s chemistry”.

“When I worked in a bakery, inverted sugars were part of how we kept cookies soft and fresh in the case longer, without changing the bake or sacrificing flavour or texture,” she explained.

“Inverted sugars” include ingredients like molasses, honey, and syrups, like Golden Syrup. You can even make it at home by boiling sugar in water.

These sugars, the chef explained, “are hygroscopic, meaning they attract and retain moisture”.

She continued: “In cookie dough, this slows moisture loss and delays staling… which is exactly what you want when cookies aren’t eaten the same day.”

Regular sugar is hygroscopic too, but much less so than the inverted kinds.

Still, Wharton didn’t say we should switch out all of the granulated sugar in a recipe; it is key to ensuring a good texture and shape.

Inverted sugar also tends to taste sweeter, so you have to think about the sweetness balance, too.

Instead, we should “replace 10-25% of the granulated sugar with an inverted sugar”.

Molasses “works well in spice, ginger, chocolate, and brown sugar-based cookies,” the chef explained (in my experience, treacle is great for these too).

But for a lighter, usually paler biscuit, try Golden Syrup, honey, or maple syrup.

Don’t, however, use maple sugar, as Wharton warns this won’t work.