Where the Cookie Crumbles

Everyone has their favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Who doesn't? Who didn't enjoy making the chocolate chip cookies from the back of the Toll-House package or some other recipe. Licking the leftover batter from the spatula was a highlight. Not one speck of batter was wasted, was it?! Raw eggs, who cared.

While Cook's Illustrated says this recipe is the best, and it might very well be, there are countless of wonderful mouth watering recipes. I haven't tried them all to say definitively if this the best but I love it. Cook's goal was to perfect the back-of-the-bag classic with a cookie that was crisp at the edges, chewy in the middle, and full of rich toffee flavor. I've been wanting to make these cookies forever! They made over 700 cookies to perfect this recipe! Given the butter content in these, their staff must have gained weight!

What did I love about this recipe? What's not to love. Butter is one of the main ingredients. Every cookie has almost 1 T of butter. If you believe butter makes everything better than you'll adore these cookies. The butter is melted and browned so that it can caramelize in the oven more which allows for crispy edges and toffee flavor. An added bonus is that you don't need a standing mixer to make these. I also love the nooks and crannies vs. the some times smooth texture that may occur.

I also enjoyed the technique of whisking and resting (read below in the recipe) which develops the deep toffeelike flavor without adding toffee. The high fat content allows these babies to freeze well. A lot are in the freezer now and will be shared with friends this weekend when they come over for an all Indian dinner. I can't wait. In the mean time, I'm trying to stay away from the freezer so there will be some left. We'll see! Can you see where I took a bite (around 10/11 o'clock)?!

Tell me, where does your cookie crumble?!

And before I forget, I want to thank Anu, at My Kitchen Skills, for giving me the Sunshine Award. It made my day brighter on our first fall day. Thank you! I need to pass the award and will do so in the next few weeks.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 16 cookies

Ingredients

- 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 14 T unsalted butter

- 1/2 cup granulated sugar

- 3/4 c packed dark brown sugar

- 1 tsp table salt

- 2 tsp vanilla extract

- 1 large egg

- 1 large egg yolk

- 1 1/4 c semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

- 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

1. Adjust oven rack to middle rack and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Heat 10 T butter in 10 inch skillet over medium high-heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir in remaining 4 T butter into hot butter until completely melted.

3. Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

4. Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 T (or use #24 cookie scoop). Arrange 2 inches part on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet.

5. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheets half way through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack, cool cookies completely before serving.

I'm Back Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

photo by TSW

I know, it's been FOREVER since I last updated my blog. At about the time I posted my last entry, I started a new job for which there was and still is a huge learning curve, and I just did not have the bandwidth to be creative in the kitchen. At the end of the day, all I did was eat cereal and crawl into bed which was nothing to write about. I cooked, just not new items. And my camera went MIA in March which left me more sad and defeated then I already was or would admit to. And while friends happily lent me cameras I couldn't impose anymore. Not that I got a new camera for this entry....But it's a new year, I'm in a better space at work, and I have the energy (almost too much some say) to blog about food again. Plus since I've doubled the number of miles I run a week, I'm constantly hungry and need to cook more to keep up with all my cravings. I can't keep enough food around anymore.

I've been wanting to write about this recipe for months. In October, Susie and I hosted our own hugely successful tea time in Chicago where these cookies were served to rave reviews. Joe, the man who rocks the shaved head look, Susie's husband, has a dairy allergy and this recipe met all of his allergy requirements with some substitutions. By their amazing taste you would never guess how healthy they really are. These are the truly guiltless cookie and they aren't fat or sugar free. So quick, so easy, so tasty, so not Chips Ahoy. And they freeze really well if one can manage not eat them all when they come out of the oven.

A lot of cooking is about making new memories and recreating old one's or at least capturing the sentiment behind the memory. For example, I remember that I both burned my left hand and sliced my left thumb for Chicago tea time. Was it worth it -- totally. Thank goodness I only remember the humor in it all. But in general, the scent of these cookies baking conjures images of autumns in all the great cities I've lived in, like walking into my warm home after a mid-afternoon walk through the leaves.

Ingredients
-1 c. pumpkin
-3/4 c. sugar (I reduced this to 1/2 cup -- think less is more)
-1/2 c. oil
-1 egg
-2 c. flour (I ground up 1 cup oatmeal to pack in more fiber -- think substance vs. fluff)
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1 tsp. cinnamon
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1 tsp. baking soda
-1 tsp. milk
-1 c. chocolate chips (semi-sweet is always best)
-1 tsp. vanilla
-Nuts (optional)

Preparation
Dissolve baking soda in milk; set aside. In large bowl add pumpkin, sugar, oil, and egg; stir. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda mixture. Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla. Spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees 10 to 12 minutes or until done.

While these cookies "look" perfect. They aren't -- they're missing cinnamon which is absolutely necessary since it enhances the taste of the pumpkin.

Indulge; cook and create your own memories.

Raspberry & Chocolate Scones

These scones were amazing, just amazing. Chocolate and raspberries are two peas in a pod. Good by themselves, even better together. The scones were crispy on the outside soft and moist on the inside. I did learn a trick about getting the outside of scones more crispy which is to sprinkle a little powdered sugar and broil for a few seconds after they've been baked. Do be careful because you could ruin a perfectly fine batch of scones if you're not watching closely. I was hosting a brunch and got distracted by the talking and while the scones looked like they're burned, they're not! They had perfect taste though they were not aesthetically perfect.

I'm not writing out the recipe because it can be found at the Joy of Baking (click on title to take you the recipe).

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

I've learned my lesson. I now share cupcakes. The last time I made cupcakes and blogged about it, I received a friendly scolding from Patti on the virtues of sharing such delectables treats with the neighbors (namely her and her husband, Patrick). I know! Patti and Pat! It kills me too.

I adore home made cupcakes; can't get enough of them; could eat them for every meal. I always love sharing my food with others but there's something about cupcakes that makes me a little selfish. Every tiny morsel brings back grade school memories when all the moms would bring cupcakes to school to celebrate their child's birthday. I greatly disliked my ugly little plaid uniform, knee high socks, and blue velcro tennies that I was forced to wear 5 days a week but lived for those birthdays and other school parties. Those moms, especially my own, were darn good bakers.

I decided to make chocolate. Having recently tasted chocolate cupcakes from the "hot" local bakery, I decided to make my own. I didn't think the ones I tried were all that -- they looked good but didn't taste like chocolate, kind of like a really attractive person with no personality. This recipe is kind of annoying with the whole X cup + Y T bit but you do what you have to do to get a good cupcake. You bring it! This recipe was great. Light, fluffy, moist, and chocolate-y. I loved the use of melted chocolate rather than cocoa powder.

This recipe is by Nancy Kux of Nancy's Fancies which was written up in the SF Chronicle.

Ingredients
-1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (use Pound Plus from Trader Joe's; inexpensive, high quality)
-1 cup +2 T cake flour
-3/4 tsp baking soda
-1/8 tsp salt
-2 1/2 ounces unsalted butter, at room temp.
-3/4 cup + 2 T sugar
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-1 large egg, at room temp.
-1/2 + 2 T water
-chocolate frosting (see July 2007 entries)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper cupcake liners.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over warm water. Set aside to cool slightly.

Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter with sugar for about 2 minutes, until fluffy. Add vanilla and egg. Beat on high speed for 4-5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl from time to time. Slowly pour chocolate into butter mixture, beating on medium speed until fully incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients alternating with the water in 3 additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Mix until fully combined. Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling each about three-quarters full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top of the muffins springs back when lightly touched in the center, and a wooden toothpick inserted in the cakes comes out free of uncooked batter.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.

Yields 12 cupcakes.