Let me tell you a secret: Instant Clear Gel it's a game-changing baking ingredient—in more ways than you think.
It is best known for fattening fruit pies and chips, giving it structure pie with cream fillingAND whipped cream stabilizer. But beyond being a thickener and stabilizer, this simple ingredient is incredibly versatile: I've added a spoonful to everything from Donut muffins THE Buttery Snickerdoodles recently.
Why? Because Instant ClearJel actually improves the texture of cakes, cookies, muffins and quick breads – and keeps them all tasting fresh and soft for longer. Some recipes, like our wonderful soak German Chocolate Sheet Cake, are already calling for ClearJel to take advantage of its benefits. But you can also add it to recipes that do not include it in their list of ingredients, such as Soft chocolate chip cookies to make them even softer and extend their life.
So don't let its “pie thick” label fool you—there's a lot more Instant ClearJel can do.
Photography and styling by Liz Neily
How Instant ClearJel works
Instant Clear Gel is a corn-based starch that absorbs and retains liquid, turning it into a gel-like substance with increased consistency. That's why it's so good for thickening fruit pies: it absorbs excess liquid and makes the filling stable enough to slice.
But this ability to hold liquid can also come in handy in other baking. By adding Instant ClearJel to cake batter, for example, you can increase the liquid without weakening the cake's texture. This extra liquid adds moisture, promotes soft texture and extends shelf life. (If you are familiar with tangzhong in super soft yeast bread, like Japanese milk breadClearJel performs the same function).
In cakes and similar baked goods, such as muffins and quick breads, this means a softer, smoother crumb and added moisture. In soft cookies, this means an even softer texture, which the cookies will keep significantly longer. Additionally, ClearJel is a great solution for cookies that spread a lot (read: baking in a big puddle on the cookie sheet): ClearJel will stop that spread in its tracks.
How to add Instant ClearJel to cakes, muffins and quick breads
For every cup of flour in your recipe, add 1 tablespoon of Instant ClearJel, increasing the amount of liquid in the recipe (water, milk, stock, etc.) by 1 tablespoon. To prevent possible clumping, mix the ClearJel with the flour in the recipe before adding it.
PJ Hamel
How to add Instant ClearJel to soft cookies
Cookie dough usually does not contain any liquid beyond that found in its eggs or butter, but it is essential to add liquid to the cookie dough when using ClearJel. Why? Because the liquid-free ClearJel creates a lot of structure, preventing the cookies from spreading into nice flat pieces as they bake. The added liquid solves it. Add 1 tablespoon of ClearJel and 1 1/2 tablespoons of water per cup of flour, mixing the ClearJel into the flour before adding it to the recipe and adding the water last.
If your cookies tend to spread too much while baking, add 1/2 tablespoon of ClearJel per cup of flour, skipping the extra liquid. Adjust up or down as needed (on subsequent bakes) to create a perfectly spreadable cookie.
PJ Hamel
And finally, are you trying a brand new recipe from an unknown source? No need to experiment with (and potentially ruin) a whole batch of cookies. Measure out a portion of the dough by weight: say, one-eighth of the dough. Use that dough for it bake some test cookies. If they spread too much, adjust with ClearJel as needed, doing a little math to calculate the amount of dough you've already baked.
To add, beat ClearJel right into batter; no need to combine it with anything else first. Clumping only happens when mixed with something quite runny, and any cookie dough that is stiff enough to clump will absorb the ClearJel without problems.
Looking for additional ways to improve your home baked treats? See our full guide: How to bake a cake.
Cover photo and food styling by Liz Neily.
