Cookies come in many different shapes and sizes. Most home bakers will bake cookies that are small-ish about 2 to 4 inches in size. And if you frequent your local bakery they may be baking cookies that are bigger than your hand or as big as your face! And that may be exciting in the moment, but it also may leave you wondering how many cookies equal a big cookie?
If you buy a big cookie, should you eat the whole thing in one day? Two days? All week? How many cookies did you actually eat, if you eat the entire big cookie?
When I owned my bake shop, I was very adamant about baking and selling desserts that were portion controlled. As Americans we have glutinous portions and it’s contributing to unhealthy people all across our country. I also believe it’s the reason that red meat and sweet treats are labeled as “bad for you” when that’s not always true, when the portions we serve them up as is the real problem.
I believe that food is fuel, medicine, as well as indulgence, and everything should be enjoyed in moderation. I wasn’t just selling organic desserts at my bake shop, I was trying to sell that organic lifestyle of being able to indulge in a sweet treat every day because the portion was right. And I wanted to be that haven for people who cared like I did.
I wanted people to stop in daily and get their sweet fix, even if it was to buy just one small cookie. I wanted everything to be fresh baked and encouraged people to buy for today, instead of stocking up, and come back tomorrow to see what we had.
When we opened I was ridiculed for a while about “how small my cookies were”. And sometimes people would walk in, take one look at my pastry case and say “is everything this small?” And then they’d walk right out when we all nodded our heads.
My staff would always say, let's make a big cookie because people ask for it. And my answer was always the same. No, I would say, they are not our customer. Because big cookies went against the big message I was trying to send with my business. I guess you could say, I was trying to convince people that less dessert could actually equal more dessert in the long run.
But now that I sold my bake shop and I’m just baking here on my blog, I have found myself baking big cookies. And I had to ask myself, what the fuck?
I made my Massive Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies for National Oatmeal Cookie day as a fun tribute. And in the post I tell you how many regular sized cookies you’d actually get from that batch, incase you want to bake them normal size or want to know how many cookies make up that one big one.
And I realized that they were so fun to make and even easier and faster because I only made 4 cookies when usually that batch would have made 24! I also realized that baking a big cookie at home may encourage sharing more than buying a big cookie at a bakery.
At home you’re with family and friends, so making a big cookie can seem like a fun afternoon and you’re more likely to share with the people in your home. If you’re out grabbing lunch, coffee, or a treat to head back to the office, you may be alone and picking up a cookie of an unhealthy size may lead to you eating the whole thing before you get home to share.
How many cookies equal a big cookie?
So, I want to talk about how many cookies equal a big cookie. When baking at home I want you to feel confident to create whatever size cookie inspires you. Whether it’s massive, medium, or small. But I also want you to feel empowered to be able to indulge in a healthy portion size so you can eat your dessert every day!
So, let’s use my Massive Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies as an example. This recipe makes 4 massive cookies (as the title suggests)! I also give notes in the recipe that you can make the normal amount, which would be 24 cookies and provide baking times for that as well.
So, if you do that math, my Massive Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are made up of 6 regular sized cookies! Now, I think 6 cookies is too many to eat in one day, I think 2 cookies is a healthy portion size if you’re having a treat. So, that means a third of my Massive Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies would be as much as you’d want to eat in one day. You could even eat a quarter of it and be indulged and happy!
So, back to my question of how many cookies equal a big cookie? This will vary from recipe to recipe or bakery to bakery, as you never know exactly because all recipes are different.
But a good gage for cookie recipes is to look at the amount of butter (or vegan butter) in the recipe. Half a cup to one cup of butter (113 to 226 grams) usually makes up a single batch of cookies (depending on the kind of cookie). And that batch of cookies should make a minimum of 24 cookies or as many as 36 cookies if they are portioned for healthy eating.
So, if you have a big cookie recipe, like my Massive Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies or my Vegan Funfetti Sugar Cookies, look at the amount of butter and then base your predictions off that. If a cookie recipe calls for 1 cup (226 grams) of butter and it tells you to get 8 cookies, those are going to be pretty big! Those 8 cookies may make up about 3 to 4 regular sized cookies!
Another way to look at how many cookies equal a big cookie is to imagine the cookie as pieces in your palm. This is a good trick if you purchase a big cookie at a bakery and are unsure what went into it! Break off a piece and place it in your palm. Imagine the piece you broke off is completely round. You should be able to hold a piece of cookie in your palm, and that should equal about 1 normal sized cookie. For most big cookies it will probably be one quarter of the cookie or less!
While I will always believe in small portion sizes for desserts, and especially cookies, I do believe in having fun in your own kitchen. I do believe that if you want to make Massive Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies because it’s fun, then you should! And I do believe you should share that cookie with family or friends or eat it over the course of a few days.
So, while I’m happy to share more big cookie recipes with guys here, I will always let you know how many cookies make up a big cookie. That’s my promise to you to keep the integrity of my mission to provide organic recipes that you can feel good about indulging in! And if you want even more cookie recipes, be sure to check out my book, Cookies for Everyone!
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