Chill Dough

As I follow the recipes of Amanda Hesser, the dough goes into the refrigerator for at least an hour. Having watched the Great British Baking Show, I knew that chilling solidifies the butter, an important part of flakey pastry and assumed that my cookies would be lighter for chilling; not so in practice. Turning to my web browser, I found this complete explanation of what happens when chilling cookie dough.

Chilling cookie dough - Flourish - King Arthur Flour

The cookies dry out a bit in the refrigerator and the flavors intensify, a plus in my search for chocolatiness, and the cookies spread out less, which prevents the thin, crisp bake I expected from the recipe title (flat and chewy, thin and crisp). The only recipe alterations I make pertain to chocolate and the third and last Amanda Hesser CCC dough (Thick-and-Gooey) I bake next will spend time in the refrigerator.  I'll let you know how it goes.