Cookie adventure...the journey continues...

As I mentioned, I'm putting together a little book of my chocolate chip cookie adventure for some friends for Christmas. 

This cookie is THE cookie as far as I'm concerned. 
1.  It came from Cook's Illustrated and they are the end all, be all when it comes to food.
2.  It has a complex flavor profile that no one appreciates. 

I've given this cookie to many people and they tell me it's a fine cookie.
"Do you taste the nuttiness the brown butter has added?"
No.
"Do you get the toffee flavor that the extra brown sugar provides?"
No.
"Could you tell the difference in the texture due to the prolonged mixing process?"
No.
But it's a nice cookie, they tell me.

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated

photos by me

1 3/4 cup ubleached flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

14 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used the whole bag - I like a lot of chocolate chips)

Heat oven to 375

Whisk together flour and baking soda

Heat 10 tablespoons of butter in skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Continue cooking, swirling constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 - 3 minutes. Remove skillet and pour into mixing bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into the hot butter and stir until completely melted.

Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl 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 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat that process two more times. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon stir in flour mixture until just combines. Stir in chocolate chips giving dough final stir.

Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons. Arrange 2 inches apart. Bake 10 - 14 minutes, until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, edges are beginning to set, but centers are still soft. Cool. Eat. Enjoy!

Best parts of September

1.  The return of cooler temperatures.
2.  The month of my birth.
3.  Apple Pie.

I love apple pie.  And several years ago while being bored in Shreveport, I embarked upon an apple pie adventure.  Similar to my more recent chocolate chip cookie adventure.  (I so wish I desired how to bake the perfect veggie burger or really, anything healthy at all.)

I used a new crust recipe this time.  Ina Garten's perfect pie crust.  And since Ina does no wrong, it was, as she said, perfect.  Make sure you pop the butter and shortening in the freezer for about 10 minutes to get it good and cold before throwing it into the food processor.

As for the filling on this pie go around, I winged it.  I wanted to see what came out when I just eyeballed a bunch of ingredients and poured it into this crust.  Here's about what went into the filling ~

8 green apples from the farmer's market
2 T flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

I've had bad run ins with too much vanilla and too much all spice in the past when I just play around with the pie so I left them both out this time.  I think the filling could have used a touch of vanilla.

Not that there's a bad apple pie.  Next up is Tyler Florence's Ultimate Apple Pie.  Or perhaps Alton's.  His has a lot more ingredients and requires cooking the filling prior to putting it in the pie.  Interesting...

Needless to say, I'll be stocked up on apples all fall.  They make excellent centerpieces between baking.

Cookie adventure...wrapping it up

I thought a great Christmas gift for some co-workers would be a small book chronicling my chocolate chip cookie adventure.  Over the last year I've made almost a dozen different chocolate chip cookie recipes looking for the perfect one.  I've had co-workers, friends and family taste test them, have gotten feedback and input, and have my own (completely amateur) opinion as well.

In order to put together the book I need to remake all the recipes, take photos and document the feedback.  So, here we go.

Cookie #1 came from If You Give a Girl a Cookie.  This one uses three types of sugar: white granulated, brown and turbinado (sugar in the raw) and has a sprinkling of sea salt on top.  My co-workers declare this one their favorite, the best ever.  This cookie bakes up crisp and chewy.  It is an all around delicious cookie.

Recipe from: If You Give a Girl a Cookie
Photos by: me

The Chocolate Chip Cookie
Adapted from Not Without Salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup Turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
1 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound chocolate, cut into chunks or 1 pound best quality chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars together until light. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the flour mixture in three additions, mixing until just combined. (Note: I had a heckuva time getting the last quarter cup or so of the flour mixture to blend in, but if you use a rubber spatula at the end to avoid over mixing, it will come together.)

Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate. (I used Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips, but it was a little sweet. Next rodeo - dark chocolate.)

Scoop cookies onto the baking sheet and sprinkle tops with a little bit of sea salt.

For 3 tablespoon scoops - bake for 12-14 minutes.
For 2 tablespoon scoops - bake for 8-10 minutes.

Let cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely. These cookies will keep in an airtight container for about 4 days, but they won't last that long. 

 

Evolution of a Trifle

Tale of Two Cookies

The chocolate chip cookie.  Few things are as perfect as a warm chocolate chip cookie.

On my unexpected day off last week I decided to make not one, but two different batches of chocolate chip cookies.  My friend Cyndi has been talking about this new cookie recipe that she has found on the blog Stephmodo that will be her standard recipe from here on out.  Last summer, I had made the "Perfect chocolate chip cookie" recipe according to Cook's Illustrated. 

Knowing that there were two conflicting "Best cookie ever" recipes - well, it seemed practical to make both of them and do some taste testing of my own and among my friends and family.

The recipes:

Recipe and photo From Stephmodo

Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs (room temp if possible)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (feel free to throw in the whole bag if you like them super chocolate-y)

Cream butter, brown sugar and white sugar together in a mixer. Then add the eggs, one at a time. Beat until creamy. Add the vanilla.

In another bowl mix the dry ingredients together before slowly adding them to the creamed mixture. When combined, stop the mixer and add the semi-sweet chips. Mix up and then drop by the teaspoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Mold them into a ball as best as you can with the spoon for a more shaped cookie.

Bake on 350 degrees for 8 minutes. Place on wire rack to cool. Enjoy! 

Recipe from Cook's Illustrated, photos by me

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie - Cook's Illustrated

1 3/4 cup ubleached flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

14 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used the whole bag - I like a lot of chocolate chips)

Heat oven to 375

Whisk together flour and baking soda

Heat 10 tablespoons of butter in skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Continue cooking, swirling constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 - 3 minutes. Remove skillet and pour into mixing bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into the hot butter and stir until completely melted.

Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl 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 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat that process two more times. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon stir in flour mixture until just combines. Stir in chocolate chips giving dough final stir.

Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons. Arrange 2 inches apart. Bake 10 - 14 minutes, until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, edges are beginning to set, but centers are still soft. Cool. Eat. Enjoy!

I made both recipes.  The biggest differences are the butter (one uses melted and browned butter, while the other is the more traditional softened butter), amounts of flour and size of cookie.  Also, the mixing method for the Cook's Illustrated cookie is different, requiring it to be mixed and then rest over a period of 10  minutes.  The difference in the baked cookie is that the Stephmodo recipe is softer overall, while the Cook's Illustrated cookie has a crisp edge, but a very soft and much chewier interior. 

Once the cookies were done baking and cooling, I prepared the samples to be given away.  I labeled bags or containers with A (Cook's Illustrated cookie) and B (Stephmodo cookie).  My test subjects included:

My grandparents

My friend Matt King and his wife Erin

three co-workers, 1 female, two men, if you think the male/female perspective is important

The results: 
My grandparents were split; Grandpa liked B, Grandma liked A.  Grandma may have just wanted to be fair and give both cookies a vote.
Matt and Erin both went B.
Two co-workers went A, one went B

It's fairly split down the middle. Clearly indicating there is no bad chocolate chip cookie.

My own opinion?  I'm with the Cook's Illustrated version.  The complexities of flavor that you get from the browned butter are subtle and amazing.  It's toffee like, caramel like and brings layers of flavor not found in other cookie recipes.