Soft & Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who can resist freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies? There are probably thousands of recipes out there, and I have a few myself, but this latest version shared by a friend (thanks, Jeffrey!) is my current favorite. I believe the difference is dissolving the baking soda in hot water and adding it directly to the dough before stirring in the dry ingredients. The result is a soft, chewy texture, and depending on how long you bake them, a crispy edge.

Recipe
3C unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2t kosher salt

2t baking soda
2t hot water

1C (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temp (softened but not melty)
1C sugar
1C light brown sugar
2t vanilla extract
2 eggs

2C chocolate chip or chunks 

Cream the butter until light & fluffy. Beat in the white sugar. Then the brown sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl often to make sure everything is incorporated. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla. Disolve the baking soda in hot water and stir into the dough.Stir in the flour until just incorporated. Stir in the chips.

Preheat oven to 350'. Line baking sheets with parchment. Use a 1.5" wide retractable scooper (or a spoon) to drop evenly-sized balls of dough on the sheet pan. I get 12 cookies on a standard 1/2-sheet pan. 

Bake until desired doneness (about 10-12 minutes). Cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container for up to one week. Makes about 40. 


                                             на здоровья!

Chocolate Almond Macaroons GF

My Mom discovered the recipe for these a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, and made them every year for Christmas. It was a BIG production. For the almond macaroon, we'd shell almonds, blanch them to remove the skins, dry them, and grind them to make the almond meal. The last few years, Mom was taking care of her Mom, and didn't have the bandwidth to make these. This year, I was fortunate to have a lot of time off around the holidays, so I volunteered to make them. And guess what? You can BUY organic ground almond meal at most stores with bulk sections. So that simplified things quite a bit to start. The rest may seem complicated or fancy, but most of these steps can be done ahead of time, allowing you to relax and enjoy time with your guests, while wowing them with these irresistibly delicious treats. 

If you make these ahead (which I recommend), do all the steps in one day, and freeze the macaroons, defrosting them about 20-30 minutes before serving (they're also really good frozen). As with any seemingly intimidating recipe, you have a greater chance of succeeding if you read through the recipe a few times first, and organize all your ingredients and tools ahead of time, visualizing each step. 

These (gluten-free!) macaroons have 3 components:
almond macaroon 
cocoa buttercream
dark chocolate coating

Let's start with the buttercream. I like the Neoclassic Buttercream recipe from the Cake Bible, as you don't need a thermometer for the sugar syrup, and it's a relatively quick and simple technique. We modified this recipe to use 3 egg yolks, so you don't waste any eggs, as the macaroon uses 3 whites. 

Before you start, make sure your butter is softened, but not melty. Here's what you'll need:

Cocoa Buttercream
3 egg yolks (I always use extra-large cage-free eggs)
1/4C + 2T sugar (only use white granulated sugar)
1/4C light corn syrup (you can find non-GMO at Whole Foods, etc.)
3/4C unsalted butter, softened (1 1/2 sticks)
3T cocoa powder, sifted 

Tools

• Hand or stand mixer (I prefer a hand mixer for this small batch). 
• Small sauce pan, preferably nonstick
• Measuring cups, spoons 
• Two small/medium mixing bowls, about the same size 
• Tray of ice cubes (optional)

Method
Beat the yolks on medium-high until pale yellow and thick (about 5 minutes). 
Heat the sugar and corn syrup in the saucepan, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heat-proof silicone spatula, until the mixture comes to a roaring boil with large bubbles on the surface. 

With the mixer on low, VERY CAREFULLY pour the syrup in a thin stream into the egg yolks. 
AVOID pouring the syrup into the mixing blades, or the syrup will splatter on the sides of the bowl, harden, and you'll end up with crunchy bits in your smooth buttercream. Not the end of the world, but avoid it if possible. Start with a little syrup at first to temper the eggs so they don't scramble from the heat. Then continue quickly but carefully to pour in the rest of the syrup while beating on slow-medium. At this point you'll need to keep beating the mixutre for about 10 minutes until it cools to room temperature. You can speed up the cooling process by nesting the bowl in another bowl full of ice. Just keep moving that mixer around to make sure you're cooling the mixture evenly. Test the temperature by putting a dab on your lip. If it feels a bit cooler than your body temp, you can start adding the butter, 1T at a time, making sure it's completely mixed in before adding the next lump. Continue until all the butter is incorportated. 

Sift the cocoa powder over the buttercream, and mix in on low. You did it! Now you can set the buttercream aside while you make the macaroons. 

Preheat the oven to 375'.

Macaroons
3 egg whites
1.5C ground almond meal
1.5C powdered sugar, sifted

Tools

• Stand mixer fitted with whip (or hand mixer). If you're using the same mixer as you did for the buttercream, be sure to wash it thoroughly with soap and hot water. Any oils left on the bowl or beaters can prevent your whites from firming up. You can also just make the macaroons first, and the buttercream second. 
• Pastry bag (or gallon ziploc bag) fitted with a coupler (or you can use a teaspoon).
• Baking sheets
• Parchment sheets

Sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl. Whisk in the almond meal until there are no lumps. 
Beat the egg whites until stiff, wet peaks form (just until the peak holds). 
Fold in the almond sugar mixture 1/3 at a time. 

 

Immediately pour the batter unto your pastry bag. I use a binder clip to keep the batter from running out until I'm ready to pipe. If you're using teaspoons, line your baking sheets with parchment, and start dropping teaspoons of batter about 1" apart. 

Bake at 375' until deeply golden. Depending on your oven, you might want to turn the sheet around halfway through for even baking (my old oven has a hot corner).  You want the cookies good & golden because they are about to encounter a lot of moisture, and need that crunch to stand up to it. Ovens vary, but each batch should take about 15-18 minutes. Cool the cookies on cooling racks. Then gently peel each cookie from the parchment, and flip it over so the flat side is facing up. 

Assembly
Using a teaspoon, spread a mound of buttercream on each cookie, leaving a smooth-ish surface. Once all the cookies are all coated, freeze them for about 30 minutes. This way the buttercream won't melt into the chocolate when you're dipping them. 

Melt about 5oz finely chopped dark chocolate in a double boiler, or as I do, boil a couple inches of water in a sauce pan, and set the bowl of chocolate over it to melt. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. The steam will gently melt the chocolate, but DON'T LET ANY WATER GET INTO THE CHOCOLATE. It will seize up and harden. (If that happens, you can add 1T of honey to help remelt it.)

Once the chocolate is melted, remove the bowl from the heat, and set it on the counter next to your macaroons. Now, dip away! Hold onto the sides of the macaroon, dip it into the chocolate, then lift it up, bounce it on the surface of the chocolate, and shake of the excess. Set the dipped macaroons back on the sheet with parchment. Once they're all dipped, but them back in the freezer. Store macaroons for up to a month in an airtight container. 

Христос рождается!

Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms

Why gluten-free, you ask? Not for me. I love the wheat. I love to bake with the wheat. But it makes me sad when people can't eat the wheaty baked goods, and so I GF. 

This batch is made with Bob's GF baking flour. There are different varieties, but I chose the one below because it has xantham gum, which helps add chewiness that's otherwise missing with GF flours, and it doesn't contain garbanzo bean flour, which has an unpleasant aftertaste. 

The cookies have a light, delicate crumb, and are softer if you underbake them just a bit - take them out when the edges just start to turn golden. 

Recipe
1 1/4C light brown sugar
1C peanut butter (sadly, the crappy Skippy variety with shortening works best)
1/2C butter, softened (that's 1 stick)
2 extra large eggs, room temp
1t vanilla extract 
2C GF flour (I sifted it because it can get clumpy, but you don't have to)
[1/2t xantham gum - only if your GF flour doesn't have it]
1t baking soda
1/2t sea salt or kosher salt (I use kosher)
36 chocolate kisses, unwrapped 
white sugar for rolling

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar together until light & fluffy. I prefer using a good old hand mixer for these, but a stand mixer or brute force and a spoon will work just fine. Mix in the eggs and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture, wrap with saran, and refrigerate for at least an hour, or overnight. 

Preheat oven to 375'. Line baking sheets with parchment. Use a small ice cream scoop or spoons to scoop balls of dough, roll lightly in your hands, toss in sugar, and flatten a bit. Place 12 per sheet, spacing them out so they don't touch when they spread. Bake 8-10 minutes. 

Slide the parchment onto a cooling rack. Immediately push a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie (the sides will crack a bit). Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container, or serve after about 10 minutes of cooling. 

*Note: the kisses will melt but hold their shape as they cool and harden. Eating the cookies while still warm & melty is pure heaven! 

На здоровья! 

Snickerdoodles

Back! By popular demand...Snickerdoodles!

A sugar cookie with a crisp edge and chewy center, rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking. My secret? Add a bit of cardamom to the mix. 

Recipe
1C unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8oz)
1C granulated sugar
2/3C brown sugar
2 eggs
1t vanilla
3C flour
1/2t salt
1t baking soda
1/2t cream of tartar 

extra sugar, cinnamon & cardamom for rolling 

Make the Dough
Using a hand or stand mixer, cream butter and white sugar. Add brown sugar. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Mix in vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl, and mix until combined. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Use a sieve to make sure the baking soda and cream of tartar are lump-free. Stir in dry mixture to wet mixture until just combined. Scrape together into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least one hour.  

Shape the Cookies & Bake
Preheat the oven to 300'. 
Combine about 1C sugar, 1t cinnamon, and 1/4t ground cardamom in a medium-sized bowl. 
Using a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon, scoop out balls of dough about the size of a golf ball cut in half. Do one sheet at a time, keeping the rest of the dough in the fridge between batches. Place a sheet of baking parchment on the baking sheet. Roll each ball in the sugar mixture and space the balls evenly on the baking sheet. Most sheet pans will hold 12 cookies. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the edges are just starting to become golden. Slide the parchment onto a cooling rack. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for about a week (yeah, right!). Sift out any bits of dough from the leftover cinnamon sugar, and store sugar for later use. 

Makes 36 cookies. 

Scooped dough ready to roll around in cinnamon sugar. 

Gently flatten the cookies before baking. 

Best. Cookies. Ever.

or just really good cookies that someone brought a lot of to work. people like lots of free cookies. I like to bake cookies. here we go.

this is a very basic "chocolate chip" cookie recipe. you can add about 3C of assorted goodies to the basic dough. a mix of dried fruits, chocolate and nuts is a typical "cowboy" cookie. oats soak up a bit more of the moisture, so you'll get a denser cookie with oats.

you wanna eat a cowboy? giddyup. 

1C unsalted butter
3/4C each, white and light brown sugar
2 XL eggs
1t vanilla
2 1/3C unbleached white flour
1t salt
1t baking soda

and in this case...
3C total of semisweet chocolate chips, dried cherries, shredded coconut, and toasted pepitas. When dry toasting the pepitas on the stove, I add about 1/2t of kosher salt. Let them cool before stirring them into the dough.

Butter works best when cool room temperature. Better to cream it a bit longer when cool than let it get greasy. Once beaten until fluffy, add the white sugar...beat...then the brown...beat some more. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in one egg until combined and the dough is fluffy. Beat in the 2nd egg until the dough is as combined as its gonna get. Stir in the vanilla, then stir in the flour mixture. If using a stand mixer, pulse the switch between "off" and the lowest setting to "pulse" in the flour. If you just let 'er rip, your flour will fly out of the bowl and all over you and your counter.

Barely stir in the flour. Then add your goodies and stir a bit more. Turn off the mixer, scrape the dough off the paddle, and use a spatula or wooden spoon to give the dough a final stir to incorporate the ingredients.

At this point you can chill the dough, or scoop & chill the dough, or just scoop and bake the cookies, then systematically eat them until you want to die a happy, chocolatey death. Using a golf ball-sized ice cream scoop will yield evenly-sized cookies. Scoop and level the dough to fit 12 cookies to a standard baking sheet.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper for even baking and easy clean-up. Bake at 350' for anywhere from 10-14 minutes, depending on your oven. Slide baked cookies' parchment onto cooling racks, and store cooled cookies in airtight containers for up to a week.

#nomnomnom

Babushka's Apricot Bow Ties

Some of the simplest cookies to make may also be the first ones I tasted as a little Russian rug rat. My grandmother always had these "бантики" for us, and taught me to make them. She's getting on in years, so once in a while I surprise her with a batch, making her eyes light up as they did over 30 years ago when she began to share them with me. 

This dough contains only 3 ingredients: butter, cream cheese, and flour, yet it creates a puffy, crisp, tender cookie that's a perfect nest for your favorite jam. I prefer apricot. The organic brand Cascadian Farms makes the best apricot jam I've tasted, and ensures these cookies have no refined sugar, just loads of sunny flavor. 

The only challenge for the less-experienced baker would be cutting even squares from the dough. Using a ruler, a pizza cutter, and following my step-by-step photos, your cookies should look as sharp as mine. 

Make the Dough a Few Hours Ahead (or the Night Before)
4 ounces cream cheese (not whipped - use the old school box)
4 ounces (1 stick) softened butter (if you use salted, don't add salt later)
1 1/4 cups flour (+ more for rolling) 

Your butter and cream cheese should be softened, but not warm or greasy. Cream them together in a bowl using a wooden spoon or a mixer. Stir in the flour until just combined. If using unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt to the flour. Scrape the dough into 2 portions onto sheets of plastic wrap, flatten into an even squarish shape, wrap tightly, and chill for at least 1 hour. 

Rolling with the Homies...
2 sheet pans lined with parchment
a ruler or tape measure
a pizza cutter or sharp knife
a rolling pin
jam & a spoon
1 beaten egg for eggwash & a pastry brush (you can also use your finger)

When the dough is firm & cold, roll out one disc on a floured counter or rolling surface (you can use a large cutting board - something you can cut the dough on without damage). If you don't have a rolling pin, use a large glass bottle or jar. Use sure, even pressure to roll the dough out from the center toward the corners to keep the square shape as much as possible. Once the dough is about 1/8" thick, get out your ruler or tape measure and trim the edges of the dough to create straight edges. 

Cut the dough into 2" squares using a pizza cutter, using a ruler as your guide. Press scraps into a flat disk & store in the fridge for later. Spoon a small amount of jam onto the center of each square. Fold one corner into the center, dab with the beaten egg, and then bring the opposite corner into the center and pinch firmly together to seal the corners. With a thin spatula, transfer the cookie to the cookie sheet. Repeat the process with the remaining dough.

Bake at 400' for about 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden. Transfer to a cooling rack. Once almost cool, sprinkle with sifted powdered sugar and serve immediately. Store extras in an airtight container for about a week. 

Warm Clouds of Heavenly Chocolate: Gluten Free!

Even after baking for over 30 years (yes, I count my childhood cookie baking as experience), I never fail to be amazed by what eggs+chocolate+sugar can produce. These cookies have no flour, and the only fat is from the chocolate (bittersweet has less than 12%), but they are surprisingly rich and cakelike.

This recipe is very basic, and success is imminent if you follow my tips. As usual, my instructions are detailed, and for beginner/ intermediate cooks. More experienced bakers can skim over the details if they wish.

MISE EN PLACE
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely
2 large egg whites
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. You can make your own double boiler by fitting a bowl over a pot of about the same width. Fill the pot with about 2" of water. Place the bowl of chocolate over the pot. The bowl should sit inside the pot, with plenty of room between the bottom of the bowl and the water. DO NOT GET ANY WATER IN THE CHOCOLATE. It will make the chocolate seize up and harden, rather than melt smoothly.

Once the water in your double boiler comes to a boil, turn down the heat to a simmer. There will be enough heat from the steam under the bowl to melt the chocolate. Once the chocolate is melted, turn off the heat, and stir the chocolate to melt any lumps.

When dividing your eggs, make sure not to break the yolks. If yolks or any fat gets into the whites, they will not beat into stiff peaks, which you need for a successful cookie.

Beat the whites in a clean, dry bowl until foamy. Add a pinch of cream of tartar to help stabilize the whites. Continue beating until soft peaks form when you lift the beater out of the whites. Sprinkle the sugar over the whites, and continue beating until the whites look glossy and the beater forms stiff peaks when lifted out of the whites. (Slowly lift the beater straight up out of the whites. The whites should make a point that doesn't droop over - see photo.) Overbeating the whites will dry them out, giving you a drier, airier cookie. Beating the whites to just the right point will result in a soft, cake-like center. This is a technique you will learn over time.

TIPS FOR "PEAK" EGG WHITE SUCCESS

• Keep your eggs at room temperature (at least 1 hour before baking).

• Be careful when separating the yolks from the whites. Don't break the yolks!

• Add a pinch of Cream of Tartar to help stabilize whites.

• Use a medium-high setting on your mixer, and be patient. Before you know it, you'll have stiff peaks!

Stir in the vanilla extract. Use a folding motion to combine the chocolate with the whites, and always move the spatula in the same direction (down through the whites, and around the bowl). Fold the ingredients until just combined (when you don't see any more white streaks).

For best results, line baking sheets with parchment. Do not grease the baking sheets. Use a small ice cream scoop (a little smaller than a golf ball) with quick-release handles for ease, and evenly sized cookies. If you don't have a scoop, use 2 spoons - 1 to scoop the batter, and the other to scrape the batter onto the sheet.

Bake at 350' for about 12-15 minutes. All ovens seem to bake differently, so check after 12 minutes. Gently touch the top of a cookie. If it feels set & has a crust, it should be done. Taking the cookies out too early might make them collapse (they're like meringues in that way).

If all goes well, your cookies should have a light, cakey texture inside. Store cooled cookies in an airtight container for up to one week. They are delicate, so transport them in a structured container rather than a bag.

For a variation, replace the vanilla extract with peppermint, orange, or almond extract. These tend to have a much stronger flavor, so use 1/4 teaspoon or less.

You can double the recipe, but may loose some volume in the process. I get better results by making the recipe twice. One recipe makes about 24 cookies.