I’m Gonna Shoyu a New Chocolate Chip Cookie

I know you all know I am a city girl at heart.  Give me skyscrapers, bridges, cars, museums, and bright lights any day.  Not that I don’t appreciate mountains, forests, and nature, but I prefer the urban jungle.  Whenever we get the chance, we head into The City for the day, Chinatown, the Ferry Building, and Hayes Valley are my favorite areas to wander around.  There is always something going on.  Last weekend we headed to the City for the Hallyu exhibit at the Asian Art Museum.  A look at Korean culture & K-Pop that has taken the world by storm. (Check out my video on IG, for a glimpse at the exhibit).

Lucky for us, the Asian Art Museum also hosted its annual Artisan Fair that weekend.  They had a variety of vendors including crafters, cosmetics, books, and food.  I rarely leave empty-handed.  One of my favorites is the Taiwanese soy sauce from Liv Cook Eat.  Brewed with black soybeans, these soy sauces are sweeter with a nice rounded flavor.  We are hooked on both their Finishing Soy and Delicate Soy.  They’re a bit pricy but we are worth the splurge. LOL.  Next to the soy sauce sat a row of  Soy Sauce Infused Chocolate Chip Cookies by Eating with Edmund.  You know I had to try one.  The cookies were delightful, crispy-edged, buttery, and chocolatey. The flavor was nuanced and subtle.  It leaves you wondering, what is that mellowness in this cookie?  I think it’s the soy sauce.

Soy Sauce Me Up

Soy Sauce:  This is a classic chocolate chip cookie with a tweak, the soy sauce.  Although any soy sauce would work there are distinct differences between soy sauces.  Liv Eat Cook is Taiwanese and is made with black soybeans. It has a richer, rounder flavor than soy sauce made in China or Hong Kong.  It usually has sugar which makes it a touch sweeter.  Chinese Soy Sauces generally have more sodium, so a bit saltier.  Use Dark Chinese Soy Sauce (Lao Chou) which is less salty than the light soy sauce and has a touch of molasses as a sub.  Japanese soy sauces are generally lighter, and a touch sweeter.  I assume that would be fine. Tamari would work also.

Flour:  The OG Cookie from Eating with Edmund was soft and delicate.  I increased the flour by 10% (330 grams) for a sturdier cookie.  If I browned the butter, I would use his original 300gms of flour since moisture is lost when browning butter.  Browned butter would give the cookies a nice toasty flavor, worth a try.  I used King Arthur flour AP which has a higher protein content than Gold Medal. If using GM flour I would increase the amount of flour by 5-10%.

Sugar: Light or dark brown sugar will work.  I used light brown sugar.

Chocolate:  Chocolate chips can be used but I prefer chopping up a bar.  Mainly for presentation, different-sized & shaped pieces seem to look better. Reserve enough pieces to be pressed into the surface of each dough ball right before baking.  Puddles of chocolate on the surface of each cookie, a nice look.

Toffee:  Toffee and soy sauce complement each other.  I used TJ’s Toffee Bars, chopped into pieces for 1/2 of the chocolate.  Delish.

Bang-a-Pan;   A couple of minutes before the cookies finish baking, rap the pan to deflate the cookies to create ridges. Optional.

The Swirl:  Chocolate pieces, toffee, and marshmallows tend to melt and ooze creating funny-shaped cookies.  No worries, invest in a 3-4 inch round cookie cutter (or a glass will work too).  As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, place your round cutter over those cookies and swirl, voila’ perfectly round cookies. Of course, if you don’t mind them not being perfectly round…skip this step!

The Finish:  I love finishing these cookies with a sprinkle of flaked salt like Maldon.

Enjoy!