My sister told me my cookies were too dense, she was right about the butter

My sister said my chocolate chip cookies tasted like hockey pucks. I got mad at first but then I thought about it. I was melting the butter all the way and then creaming it with sugar. She told me to just soften it and cream it for like 3 minutes until it's fluffy. Tried it last weekend with the same recipe and they spread so much better and the texture is way lighter. Has anyone else figured out that room temp butter makes that big of a difference or was I just doing it wrong this whole time?

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the_rowan16d ago

Wait, have you tried browning the butter first and then letting it cool back to room temp before creaming it? That's the real game changer, you get the flavor of melted butter but the texture of softened. I went down this exact same rabbit hole a few years back and it took me way too long to figure out that the state of the butter is like 80% of the cookie's personality, not the recipe itself. The fluffy creaming step is basically building little air pockets that hold the cookie up, and if you skip it you end up with a dense slab every time. Now I always set my butter out for at least an hour, sometimes two if my kitchen is cold like a cave. And if I'm in a rush, I'll microwave it in short bursts but check it constantly, because melted butter is a one way street, no going back.