Here's What Happens When You Add An Extra Egg Yolk To Chocolate Chip Cookies

Whether you're a pastry pro or a newcomer to the kitchen, there's one common experience shared between all home cooks: the inevitable baking fail. Chances are, you've experienced one too many batches of thin and crispy cookies when you were shooting for soft and sweet, but don't count yourself out just yet! Baking blunders are part of the experience. After all, cooking is chemistry, and what better way to shake up the science behind your cooking than to experiment with your next batch?

When it comes to cookies, there's a lot that can go wrong (but a whole lot more that can go right). Even with a simple recipe based on a handful of ingredients, there are endless variations and swaps that can totally change the texture and taste of your sweets. You could add a tablespoon of honey to really kick your sugar cravings, or substitute butter for vegetable shortening for an extra moist cookie, says Bob's Red Mill. Another recommended mix-up to get bakery-quality cookies at home is to double up on your egg yolks. No matter what the back of the bag of chocolate chips says, just trust us on this one — with one little addition, your next cookie catastrophe could be avoided.

You might be wondering what an extra bit of egg will do for your cookie recipe. According to a little experiment conducted by Serious Eats, it makes for the perfect cookie. The outlet compared multiple different egg combinations, concluding that for a "light but chewy texture and a flavor that reminded me of French vanilla ice cream," two yolks is the way to go. But before you go cracking an entire egg into your batter, stop yourself. For the ultimate chewy cookie, you don't want the white of the additional egg. Instead, the secret's in the yolk.

Baking Kneads explains that egg whites typically dry out foods, which is why they're used for whipped and fluffy batters (like macarons). They have their place in the cooking world, but definitely not in the chewy cookie world — that spot is reserved for the yolk, which has a higher fat content and helps bind the batter. The protein in the yolk heats up and turns into a "gel-like substance," which allows for a super soft texture once fully baked. The more eggs you add, the more chewy and almost cake-like your cookie will be.

While the tedious act of separating your yolks from your whites may be a bit of a pain, a crumbly, dry chocolate chip cookie is probably worse, so we're in favor of giving this one a shot.