The 'one simple swap' ingredient to take homemade cookies to the 'next level'

Cookies are delicious treats that taste even better when homemade, and a food blogger has shared a surprising yet simple swap that all home bakers should try out the next time they make a fresh batch.

Louis Gantus shared the baking tip with his 1.5 million followers on TikTok, promising that it would take " your cooking game to the next level." While there are many common tricks, like softening the butter for a better texture or chilling the cookie dough to prevent it from spreading, Mr Gantus's trick might seem rather unfamiliar to many.

The food blogger says to make your cookies taste even better, all you need to do is make this "one simple swap, instead of a pinch of salt" he recommends using soy sauce.

He added: "It not only adds that much needed saltiness but also a subtle yet delicious aged umami kick. I've seen people do this with brownies before but never with cookies and honestly that's just a shame."

Mr Gantus also told home bakers that "the days are gone of using chocolate chips" and instead vouches for taking the extra time out to chop up a chocolate bar and add the pieces to the cookie dough.

He continued: "If you give these cookies to Santa this Christmas, you're kind of guaranteed a bonus present and you can trust me I asked him."

"I feel I have to make this disclaimer though if you eat one of these prepare to eat the rest and then make more and eat those. It's that good."

The 42-second clip gained over 91,000 likes and 495 comments.

Some users accused the content creator of only adding soy sauce because of a paid partnership, whilst others were intrigued by his recommendation.

One person wrote: "I know this is a sponsor but it actually seems like a really good idea."

A second commented: "It's okay twin I see the vision."

A third person questioned: "You put salt in your cookies?" to which another user explained that "salt brings out the sweet flavour and it doesn't taste salty."

They added: "[It] honestly makes it so much better."