Tag: cookie recipe
Chocolate Chip Cookies as Stress Busters

Chocolate Chip Cookies as Stress Busters

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Whoa, Nellie, it has been a crazy 12 weeks. I knew with a second Trump term, the guardrails that were in place during his first term would be gone, but did I think we would get to Def Con 5 so quickly? Nope.  TFG has brought out the absolute worst in folks.  I underestimated how many sycophants and folks there are willing to sell democracy down the river for a fistful of dollars and a pocket full of power.

Apolitical-Smaypolitcal

I know a few of you are probably thinking, Gurl, stay in your lane; this is supposed to be a food, travel, and sports blog.  We can’t ignore what is happening in our country. Has there ever been a person more woefully unqualified to be a president?  Devoid of the temperament, decency, and intellect it takes to be in public office, any office for that matter, even dog catcher.  At this moment,  he and Elon Musk, I’ve coined them the Douche and Doge Bro, are taking a sledgehammer to everything we hold dear, public education, public libraries, National Parks, Public Lands, and federal agencies like the NIH, FDA, FBI, DOJ, and Homeland Security.  He has fired career non-partisan civil servants and replaced them with hacks.  A complicit GOP Senate has installed woefully unqualified and corrupt nominees to lead all our institutions.

What a nightmare.  All under the guise of waste and fraud in the government and an anti-DEI policy (racism).  Tell me how firing Inspector Generals who oversee waste and fraud works to eliminate…waste and fraud 🤦🏻‍♀️.  They are dismantling our system to privatize it and put money into their grubby little hands.  Not to mention the cruel, illegal, indiscriminate mass deportation of folks to El Salvador, which is basically like sending folks to hell. NO due process?

Gettin’ Judgey With It

Though the SCOTUS has been bought and paid for, there are still judges, even Republican-appointed ones, who are trying to stem the tide.  They know these outrageous, unjustified firings are illegal.  This is how unserious the current administration is.  50 years of progress is being dismantled under the guise of anti-wokeness and anti-DEI.  A vindictive slash-and-burn policy is not a tool of governance.  It is wielding power with a scepter of cruelty.

Hands Off Protest New York City

What Can I Do?

There is a sense of helplessness that has come from this massive attack by the rich on everyday Americans.  There are steps we can all take to hopefully stem the tide, save Democracy, and counter that feeling of hopelessness.  Take action, we are the ones who will save democracy, this is empowering. So let’s get to it.

Engage in our political process and do some research and reading on your own.  Join grassroots political organizations in your area.  Create a network of folks to whom you can bounce things off and who will provide sanctuary for you.  Start with Indivisible and find your local chapter. Fight the fight you are passionate about. If you are in Los Gatos, check out TWW Los Gatos, a local group under the Indivisible banner.

Call your representatives.  Use 5calls.org, the app finds your reps by your address and provides scripts and guidance on issues to call on.  Your rep  needs to hear from you.  Go to their Town Hall meetings or demand that they have one during the recess.  All we have is our voice and our vote; use them both.

Rallies, Protests, and Marches.  A single voice is not heard, a hundred voices are barely a whisper, but a million voices are loud and clear.  Show up.  Do it for your family and friends.  Bring them along.

These are stressful times. Don’t forget to take time for yourself, your family, and your friends.  We are in this for the long haul, so breaks are required to rejuvenate.  Balance is necessary.

Who You Gonna Call? Stressbusters

In between calling reps, attending rallies and political meetings, I de-stress by BAKING, cooking, rowing, and venting.  The perk of letting me vent to you in a post is a recipe to make something delicious to nosh on while having to listen to me.  I recently picked up the cookbook from the team at Republique in LA; it was on sale and contained their amazing Buko Pie (Coconut Cream Pie) recipe.  Before tackling the pie, though, I made her Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I’ll get to the pie yet.

Chocolate Chip Cookies AKA Constitutional Crisis Cookies

The instructions are clear, and the photos of the finished cookies and other recipes in the book are gorgeous. These fall into the category of classic chocolate chip cookies.  No nuts, just chocolate pieces surrounded by a buttery, crisp-edged, slightly chewy, soft center cookie.

That’s enough, the batter should not get to the fluffy, light stage.

The key to these cookies is not over-creaming your butter and sugar. My mantra when making cookies is, Don’t overmix and don’t overbake!  Err on the side of less time in the oven.

More Tips

I used my big-ass Kitchen Aid mixer to make these cookies.  Trust me, you don’t need to.  Less is more.  The problem with my behemoth is that it is way too easy to overmix.  I find this true for quick breads and cakes, too.  My theory is that horsepower inadvertently leads to beating too much air into the batter, causing it to deflate and sink.  It screws with the structural integrity and weakens it.  Try making these cookies by hand or with a portable hand mixer to avoid overbeating.

This dough is ready to be scooped.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Process

The recipe specifies a #40 scoop.  I love details like that.  Conversely, if you don’t have one, it is equivalent to 2 tablespoons of dough, roughly 30- 35 grams in weight.  Finally, use 30 gms if you have reserved chocolate pieces to press into each dough ball.

Make sure to chill the dough thoroughly.  These cookies will spread and result in a pretty thin cookie; chilling stops them from spreading too much.

Pull out your hand-dandy round cookie cutter or a glass.  Some of the cookies will spread unevenly while baking.  As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, use the round cutter to corral the cookie into a circle…this applies to y’all with ORCD (obsessive round cookie disorder).

Watch the cookies like a hawk; the edges should be golden brown, and the middle should not look shiny.  It will look soft and slightly underdone.  Take the cookies out and let them rest on the sheet until cooled.  This is subjective; cooled can mean still warm but easy to handle, cause who can wait till they are cool?  Then devour.  Everyone needs a cookie in the middle of a hostile government takeover.

These are thin and delicious cookies.  If you like thicker cookies, reminiscent of Mrs. Fields, try these.  Soft and chewy? I swear by these.

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République’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Another Chocolate chip cookie recipe, cause you can never have too many. From the Republique in LA, a crispy-edged, tender, chewy center cookie with dark chocolate pieces-that is it, no nuts, no nothing else, just plain delicious.
Course cookies
Cuisine American
Keyword buttery, chocolate chip cookie, chocolate pieces, drop cookies, Republique
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 1-1/3 cups plus 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour 175gms
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda 5 gms
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Creamed Mixture

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter 110gms pliable but still cold
  • 3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp light brown sugar 130 gms
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar 100 gm
  • 1 large egg

The Star

  • 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp chopped dark chocolate 150 gms 60% to 72% cacao

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Sift the flour into a bowl and set aside.
  • Place the butter and both sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the mixture on medium speed until just incorporated—but no longer. Scrape down the bowl, add the baking soda, salt and egg, and mix until just incorporated. Feel free to make the dough by hand or using a portable mixer, less chance of over mixing.
  • Add the flour to the butter mixture all at once. Again mix until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate just until evenly distributed. Reserve ~12 pieces of chocolate to press into the top of each cookie dough ball. This insures you will have a nice piece of chocolate showcased in each cookie.
  • Using a #40 (2 oz) ice cream scooper, scoop the dough onto a small baking sheet lined with parchment, press a piece of chocolate in each one, then wrap with plastic wrap, and chill overnight. This helps prevent cookie spread, it is still a pretty thin cookie.,
  • Remove the cookie balls from the refrigerator and bake until the edges are crispy and golden, 8 to 10 minutes. (Bake for less time if you like your cookies chewy and longer if you like them crispier.) Cool on the baking sheet or serve warm. The cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Notes

The scooped dough can be frozen until solid and then transfer to a resealable plastic bag and kept in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Bake straight from the freezer adding a minute or two/
I’m Gonna Shoyu a New Chocolate Chip Cookie

I’m Gonna Shoyu a New Chocolate Chip Cookie

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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!

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Soy Sauce Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from Eating with Edmund, Soy Sauce Chocolate Chip Cookies. Buttery, crisp, delicious chocolate chip cookies with a soy sauce twist.
Course cookies, desserts
Cuisine Asian-American
Keyword chocolate chip cookie, soy sauce, soy sauce chocolate chip cookies
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

Creamed Mixture

  • 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar 150 grams
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar 165 grams
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons Liv Cook Eat Finishing Dark Soy Sauce or your favorite dark soy sauce
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract optional

Dry Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use King Arthur Flour) 300 grams
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Adds

  • 1 cup bittersweet dark chocolate chips, chunks, or chopped
  • 1/2 cup Chocolate Toffee bar, I use TJ chocolate toffee chopped, sustitute for 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips (optional)
  • Sea salt flakes like Maldon for sprinkling on cookies

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375F and line baking sheet with parchment paper
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda and set aside
  • In a separate bowl cream together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, soy sauce, and (optional) almond extract
  • Add eggs one at a time to the wet mixture and cream together
  • Add 1/3 of the dry mix into the wet at a time and fold together. With the last third of the dry mix, add in the chocolate & toffee if using. Tip: Careful not to overmix or you’ll end up with tough cookies. You can be a tough cookie, but don't want to eat one.
  • Use a medium cookie scoop (#40) or ~roll 2 tablespoons of cookie dough into balls with spoons and place on a lined baking sheet, min of 2 inches apart
  • Bake at 375F for 8-10 minutes
  • Remove from oven, sprinkle with flaked salt and swirl with cookie cutters to bring them into round.

Notes

Suggestions for best results with more complex flavors and textures:
Chop bars of baking chocolate into chunks
The varying sizes of the chocolate chunks and flakes incorporated into the cookie make every bite unique
Brown the butter ahead of time! Melt the butter in a small pot until it turns a deep amber color. Stir and scrape the bottom/sides constantly to incorporate the milk solids. Let cool and solidify to room temp
The browned butter makes for a nuttier, more complex flavor profile
Chewy Brownie Cookies CTT-Cookie Testing Time

Chewy Brownie Cookies CTT-Cookie Testing Time

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The weather has taken a definite turn so I am pivoting from stress cooking to cookie baking.   It’s windy, cold, and wet, it’s time to crank up the oven and test a few cookie recipes.  Which new cookie will reign supreme and star in this year’s holiday cookie box?  I usually don’t start this early, generally opting to wait for NYTcooking to publish their holiday cookie spread, but a couple of recipes caught my eye, a Chewy Brownie Cookie and a Soy Sauce Chocolate Chip Cookie.  I thought to myself, I might as well start now.

Let the Cookie Games Begin

The first one that caught my eye is from New York Times Cooking, Vaughan Vreeland’s Chewy Brownie Cookies.  Before I sing the praises of this cookie, have you all watched any of Vaughan’s videos? They’re not only instructive but entertaining and downright hilarious.  Check out his wedding cake video, a classic.

The Cookie Lowdown

The cookie batter comes together quickly and is baked right after it is made to achieve the shiny tops.  It’s best to have everything ready before you start combining and mixing the ingredients.  Mise en place pays here.

Measure and pour flour into a small bowl. Set aside.

Chocolate:  Use your favorite chocolate.  I like Guittard’s Semi-sweet chocolate.  For serious chocolate folks, bittersweet would give a more intense, less sweet cookie.

Cocoa Powder:  I don’t think it matters what cocoa powder dutch-processed or natural will work.  King Arthur’s Triple Cocoa Powder combines Dutch-process, natural, and black cocoa and can be used in recipes that call for either.  My default.

Espresso Powder:  

For the first batch, I used King Arthur’s espresso powder and you could taste the coffee.  I used Medaglia d’Oro for a second batch and could not taste any coffee.  Although the intent is for the espresso powder to enhance the chocolate flavor, I liked the flavor the King Arthur espresso powder added to the cookie.

Once the butter is melted, remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate, espresso, and cocoa powder into the saucepan.  Let it sit a couple of minutes to melt the chocolate then stir until smooth.

Eggs:  Bring the eggs to room temperature to maximize the air bubbles.  There aren’t any leavening agents so it’s the eggs that provide lift.  Whisk the eggs and sugars together, increase the mixer speed to medium-high, and beat for 3-5 minutes until light and ribbony.  Whisk in the vanilla, then reduce the mixer speed to low  and slowly add the chocolate mixture.  Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.  Beat until well blended.  Add flour and mix until only a few streaks of flour are showing.  Finish folding the flour into the batter by hand to avoid over beating.

Working quickly, plop batter onto a parchment-lined baking sheet using a #40 scoop.  Leave 2 inches between each cookie.  Bake at 350 degrees.  At the 8-minute mark take the sheet out and rap on the counter to create the crackle pattern on the cookies.  Sprinkle flaky salt, like Maldon, on each cookie and return the sheet to the oven for an additional 2- 3 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.

With crisp edges, a gooey center, and chocolate flavor throughout, this Chewy Chocolate Brownie Cookie is a winner and so deserves a spot on the holiday cookie list. 🎄🎄🎄

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Chewy Brownie Cookies

Chewy Brownie CookiesBy Vaughn Vreeland, NYTCooking
Course cookies
Cuisine American
Keyword chewy, chocolate brownies, chocolate cookies, NYTcooking
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes

Ingredients

Chocolate MIxture

  • ¾ cup finely chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (113 grams)
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (42 grams)
  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder
  • ½ cup unsalted butter (113 grams)

Whisked Mixture

  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
  • ½ cup packed dark brown sugar (107 grams)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour (90 grams)
  • Flaky sea salt for finishing

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Melt butter in a skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat until bubbly but not browned, about 3 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and add chopped chocolate, cocoa powder and espresso over the chocolate mixture. Without stirring, let the mixture sit so the residual heat can melt the chocolate thoroughly while you whip the eggs and sugar. Stir and set aside.
  • Put the eggs, both sugars and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. (If using a hand mixer, a large bowl will do.) Whisk on medium-high speed until the mixture is pillowy and the sugars have begun to dissolve, 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Stir the chocolate mixture until glossy and smooth. (If any solid pieces of chocolate remain, you can microwave the mixture in 10-second bursts until everything is melted.)
  • With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla extract and then the chocolate mixture. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the chocolate is evenly distributed, then add the flour and mix on low speed until only a few streaks of flour remain. To avoid overmixing, use a spatula to finish folding in the flour. The dough should be glossy and resemble a very thick brownie batter.
  • Using a 2-tablespoon/1-ounce scoop, scoop a heaping amount of the dough into mounds directly onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, with each portion at least 2 inches apart, yielding about 18 cookies. Work quickly to ensure the cookies stay shiny once baked.
  • Bake for 8 minutes until the cookies have started to spread and take on a shiny outer surface, then remove the pans from the oven and whack them on the countertop a couple times to create a cragged top. (This also helps create a fudgier consistency.) Top with flaky sea salt and return to the oven to finish baking, for another 2 minutes until shiny and slightly puffed. Cool for a couple minutes directly on the baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
In the Big Apple, Dim Sum & Then Some…Levain Chocolate Chip Cookies

In the Big Apple, Dim Sum & Then Some…Levain Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Yay. Back to my second favorite city in the world…New York.  In the immoral words of Tony Bennett, I left my heart in San Francisco and it will always be first.  But wow, New York, I love you.  Every time I return to this amazing city I am in awe of its energy.  The number of people that converge to live, work and play in Manhattan, all at the same time, is intimidating but oh so amazing.  Blaring horns, wailing sirens, screeching tires, rumbling subways trains, people yelling, music playing, dogs barking, the sounds of vibrant, urban life.

Home Away From Home

We are staying in LES (Lower Eastside) which exemplifies NYC.  We are within walking distance of neighborhoods that represent every economic strata.  Much like San Francisco, it is not unusual to walk a couple of blocks in any direction and see, homeless folks on the streets, millennials with their backpacks or totes making their way to the FiDi, the down and out struggling with addiction, to folks decked out in designer wear enjoying a latte and 8 dollar croissant.

The Daily Grind

Frequently, we walk Moose to Chinatown to pick up my favorite breakfast, rice roll noodles filled with bbq pork and veggies, slathered with chili oil, peanut sauce, and hoisin.  Sitting on a stoop we wash it down with Milk Tea.  Other mornings,  we’ll walk down Ludlow to BBF, a Japanese Taverna where  I pick up a coffee and an onigiri (a generous, warm ball of rice topped with pork belly or mushrooms). Our daily walks, navigating the streets through the LES, Chinatown, Ukranian Village, and Little Italy, are all reminiscent of growing up in San Francisco.

Left top corner BBQ Pork Pineapple & Siu Mai Bun Mei Lai Wah 🥟🥟 🥟 🥟 Clockwise dim sum assortment from Royal Seafood, Big Chicken Bun Royal again 🥟🥟 🥟

I am keenly aware of how lucky I am to enjoy a life built by the hard work and struggles of those who came before me.  Gung Gung, my grandfather, left his wife and my dad in China and sailed to America looking for a way to support them. My dad, a Paper Son, came to this country at 16 and lived with folks who took him in because he came from the same village in China. This made them family.  My mom, the eldest of 6 kids, started her own hair salon at 17 but continued to study to become a businesswoman and real estate broker.  Their focus was always on the future and a better life.

In Search Of…

We headed to midtown today, in search of shoes.  In particular, Hokas.  I developed plantar fasciitis, so to keep doing what I love best in Manhattan, WALKING.  I needed new shoes. Not to mention, I can hardly shirk my Moose-walking duties since this is my “excuse” for spending time in the Big Apple.  Mission accomplished, my feet feel infinitely better.  This calls for a celebration…coincidentally, there is a Levain Bakery close by.  We stop for one of their scrumdidilyumptious chocolate chip cookies.

On our last visit we sampled a variety of CCC in NYC, so you wouldn’t have to (tough job, somebody’s got to do it).  Our winners included Levain’s, best described as a ginormous chocolate-filled, scone-like warm cookie, and Jacques Torres’s, classic CCC, oh-so-delicious. Not surprisingly, the chocolate in his cookies is amazing.

Levain Blueberry Muffin 🥟🥟 🥟 🥟 Chocolate Chip Cookie 🥟🥟 🥟 🥟 +

The hubs tried Levain’s popular Blueberry Muffin to compare it to Hummingbird’s version, which we make at home. Honestly, our homemade one is just as good if not better.  This got me thinking, is there a recipe out there for Levain’s CCC so I could make my own and avoid spending 5 dollars for a cookie, lol?

Pancake Princess to the Rescue

I turned to a favorite site, Princess Princess to search for a Levain knock-off.  Not familiar with Pancake Princess?  Best described as a one-woman version of America’s Test Kitchen.  She will test a slew of different recipes, in this case, Levain CCC knock-offs, and invite tasters to help her select the best of the bunch.  Her top two included Stella Parks’s from Serious Eats, and one from Hijabs and Aprons.  I perused both and decided to try Hijabs and Aprons as the recipe looked simpler and did not require resting the dough for 12 hours before baking (total dealbreaker). I’m all about the path of least resistance.

It’s a good thing I picked the simpler recipe…rummaging through our home away from home kitchen, I found a gorgeous red ceramic bowl, one big spoon and a rubber spatula, a small cookie sheet, and a tiny (almost worthless) whisk.  I get the feeling very little baking goes on here.

Tips for Baking in a Tiny, No Baking Tools Kitchen

I made sure the butter was room temp soft but not melty, after all, I only had a spoon to mix with. Then, I ran downstairs for Guittard chocolate chips, a tiny bag of Gold Medal AP Flour (4 dollars!), vanilla extract, and dove in.

I muscled through beating the butter and sugars (unless you are lucky enough to have a mixer handy in which case, don’t overbeat).  Next, add eggs and vanilla, then sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt over the creamed mixture.  Finally, fold the dry ingredients in and add chocolate chips and nuts last.

Voila’ that’s it. It took significantly longer than if I had a mixer but at least I got an arm workout. Use classic chocolate chips, not chunks, and don’t bother cutting up a chocolate bar.  These cookies depend on a nice, even distribution of chips throughout the cookie.

The OG cookies call for walnuts but feel free to use pecans or another nut.  If you like that tannic, slightly stringent  bite, use walnuts.  Best to make these cookies as directed, BIG, 5-6 ounces of dough.  The cookies will be crisp with browned edges on the outside but moist and buttery on the inside.  You can make them smaller but the textural difference between the exterior and interior won’t be as pronounced.

When scooping out dough, don’t smooth the dough into a ball.  The craggy edges give the cookie character so plop the dough on the sheet, trying to keep the overall shape round.

Bake until the edges are a nice deep golden brown.  Serve WARM, really, so much better warm and gooey.  I zap next-day cookies in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up before eating.

These easy-to-make cookies will satisfy your Levain Chocolate Chip Cookie craving and save you a couple of bucks.

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Levain Style Chocolate Chip Coookies with Walnuts

From Hijabs & Aprons, a delicious Chocolate Chip Cookie that comes oh so close to Levain's famous Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts.
Course cookies, desserts
Cuisine American
Keyword chocolate chip cookies, chocolate chips, Levain Bakery
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Servings 8 cookies

Ingredients

  • ½ cup butter, slightly softened 112g
  • 1 cup light brown sugar 200g
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar 50g
  • 2 eggs cold
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2½ cups all-purpose flour, sifted 300g. (Gold Medal works)
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt or 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 cups walnuts, roughly chopped 250g , if omitting walnuts, you can add roughly 50g extra AP flour
  • 2 cups dark chocolate chips 325g Use a dark or semi-sweet that you like, I like Guittard’s chips

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 375ºF. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • In a medium sized bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  • Beat the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until creamy smooth (about 3 minutes).
  • Add the first egg and beat on low-medium speed until fully incorporated. Repeat with the second egg. Add vanilla. MIxture will be soft and creamy
  • Add flour mixture to the mixing bowl. On low speed, pulse a few times to blend flour into creamed mixture. Low speed to prevent flour from exploding in your face.
  • Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips.
  • Form and place eight 6-ounce rough/messy balls of cookie dough into your lined baking sheet. If you have a scale, weigh the dough then divide into 8-12 cookies. Each one will be approximately 4-6 ounces, as a general goal/guideline. Also, if the edges of the cookie dough ball are rough/not smooth, that’s better. I use 2 tablespoons In my experience, if you like craggly crispy tops, it’s best if you barely mush it together and smack it onto the pan.
  • At this point, if your dough seems like it has softened due to your kitchen's temperature or too much handling with hands, refrigerate the dough-balls for about half an hour before baking. Because of the relatively high flour content in this recipe, the dough tends to be pretty stiff and doesn’t require chilling.
  • Pop the pan(s) into the oven for 12-16 minutes. This time variation depends on your oven (I’m using conventional top and bottom heat, not convection) as well as whether or not you chilled your dough (and for how long). I recommend checking (look, don’t touch) the cookies every minute after hitting the 11 minute mark. Ideally, you want patches of deep golden brown and lighter golden brown.
  • No matter what, you need to let these cookies set! Similar to steak, you’ve gotta take the cookies out while they’re technically a bit undercooked, and let them finish cooking in the still-hot pan in order to achieve the cooked-but-gooey center. The amount of walnuts/chocolate chips will make it hard to really check the inside without just breaking a cookie in half.
  • If you need to reuse your baking sheet for the second batch of 4-cookies, you can do so. Just make sure the pan is clean of grease and has cooled down before you place the dough-balls on it.

Notes

FREEZING DOUGH: If you’d like to freeze the dough for later use, go right ahead! To be completely honest, I don’t know how long the dough stays good in the freezer (at least a month for sure from my own experience). Wrap the dough balls individually in plastic wrap and freeze them. You can thaw them for about 20-30 minutes prior to placing on a parchment lined sheet and baking them.
SMALLER COOKIES: The only alternative size I’ve tried for these cookies is 3oz (half of my original). I would bake them at 375ºF for 10-12 minutes. Again, the time will depend on the oven. When baking a single chilled dough ball in my toaster oven, 375ºF for 11 minutes is perfect. Any more time and the center is overbaked.
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie, Soft & Chewy

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie, Soft & Chewy

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I’m not sure how many chocolate chip cookie recipes I have but it seems you can never have too many.  I came across yet another CCC from Sturbridge Bakery, a delightful blog from Jess Italiano.  Initially, it caught my attention on Instagram., the photos and the title just popped out at me, Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I am usually not one for soft and chewy but I was determined to try this one.  Why?

Let Me Tell You Why

We just returned home from our road trip to Salt Lake City.  We were bringing Moose, my kid’s dog, back to them.  😢😢😢 We have been taking care of him since they made the big move from Houston to New York City.  Now they were ready to take him to the Big Apple.  I’m gonna miss that little pup, despite the fact that he doesn’t listen, runs away, and hogs the bed.  He is just so damn cute, you immediately forgive him any transgressions.

We dropped him off with Sam in Salt Lake City and said our goodbyes, he was visibly traumatized, NOT, just me.  The following morning, bright and early, we headed back to California…sans doggo. 😢

We stopped at a Raley’s Supermarket to load up on consolation, I mean road goodies, including Pepperidge Farms Soft Baked Santa Cruz Oatmeal Cookies.

BLEAH

Okay, maybe I was depressed but I took one bite and wanted to hurl it out the window!  It just tasted so FAKE to me.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not a cookie snob (well, ok maybe I am), I LOVE PF’s Mint Milano, Bordeaux, and Chessman cookies. I guess I’m just not a fan of their soft-baked line.

So when Sturbridge Bakery’s Chewy BBCCC popped up, I thought I’d give it a whirl.  After all, gazillions of folks, like my hubby, love soft, chewy cookies.  I couldn’t let him continue buying Pepperidge Farms Soft-Bake, nope, nope, nope.

Holy jumpin’ chocolate catfish.  They’re REALLY good. Soft, slightly chewy, filled with chocolate, two kinds, dark and semi-sweet, with a rich buttery, caramel-ly cookie.  Damn delicious.

The Secret of Sucess, for Soft, Amazing Cookies

Brown the butter.  Everyone has been jumping on the brown butter wagon.  It intensifies the butter flavor and gives the cookies a nutty, caramel flavor. YUMMO. This is an added step but replaces having to cream the butter and sugar.  Not a bad trade-off.  Keep your eye on the pot, it goes quickly.

When browning the butter use a light-colored ceramic pot or a shiny stainless steel pot so you can see the browned bits easily.

Light (golden) or dark brown sugar.  I used golden but I’m sure dark would work too.  Brown sugar adds those yummy caramel overtones and moisture.

Sour cream makes up for the moisture loss by browning the butter and also tenderizes the cookie.

Two kinds of chocolate.  Dark, or bittersweet and semi-sweet are combined for a nuanced, complex cookie.  If you are making these for kids, skip the dark chocolate and use just semi-sweet.  Your kids will thank you.  You will have plenty of time to make these with dark chocolate when they are older. 😉.   Don’t let chopping a bar of chocolate stop you from making these cookies.  Don’t feel like chopping?  By all means, use chocolate chips.  I like the Guittard’s Super Chip or TJ’s Chocolate Chunks.  Nowadays the percentage of cacao in chips is provided, and you can tailor the sweetness or boldness of the chocolate in your cookies.

Pretty Little Cookies, Tricks of the Trade

Don’t put all of the chocolate chunks into the batter.  Reserve a chunk or two for each cookie.  After scooping each ball of dough, press a reserved chocolate chunk into the top of each cookie.  Portion the dough using a #24 scoop (~3 T/50 grams) ice cream scoop.  Give them plenty of space on your cookie sheet, they will spread.

Here’s the Scoop-Invest in a couple of different sized ice cream scoops like these.  This helps create uniform sized and round cookies.

The Sarah Move-If you like cookie crinkles.  A couple of minutes before the cookies are done baking, rap the sheet on the oven rack.  This causes the cookies to deflate creating the rippled edge.

Cookie cutters-If they are unevenly shaped, using a large cookie cutter, surround each cookie and swirl the cutter molding the cookie to a circular shape.  Ta-da perfectly round cookies, and you thought they baked that way.  This also creates more ridges for textural interest as you have compressed the cookies.

No Overbaking Zone-Don’t overbake these cookies.  Remove cookies from the oven when the edges look solid, slightly golden and there is still a little shine at the center of the cookies.  The cookies will continue to bake.

Salt but no Peppa Move-Sprinkle a bit of flaky salt or Maldon Salt on the cookies when you pull them out of the oven for that sweet-salty vibe.  Optional.

PSA-If you like to bake, invest in a scale, my mantra.

There you have it, soft cookies so you don’t need to buy “those” commercial cookies ever again.

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Soft & Chewy Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

A soft, chewy, caramelly chocolate chip cookie made with brown butter and no nuts!
Course cookies, Dessert, drop cookies
Cuisine American
Keyword chewy, chocolate chip cookie, soft
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 11 minutes
Servings 18 cookies

Ingredients

Butter, Sugar & Wet Stuff

  • 211 grams 15 tablespoons unsalted butter browned you should have 170 grams or ¾ cup* after browning
  • 150 grams ¾ cup brown sugar light or dark is fine
  • 50 grams ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 20 grams 1 heaping tablespoon sour cream room temperature Weigh if possible
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 225 grams all purpose flour about 1 ¾ cups + 1 tablespoon

The Star

  • 100 grams semi-sweet chocolate coarsely chopped Kid's cookies, use all semi-sweet Chocolate chunks or pieces
  • 100 grams dark chocolate coarsely chopped

Instructions

  • If using bar chocolate, chop your chocolate into chunks and set aside.
  • In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. It will start to crack and sizzle - let it do this while stirring occasionally. After a few minutes or so, the butter cracking/sizzling will subside and the butter will begin to foam up in the pan.
  • Every few seconds or so, swirl the pan around until you can see that the butter is golden brown. You should also be able to see some of the brown bits swirling around in the butter. Watch it carefully, you don't want it to burn. Once golden brown, immediately remove from the heat and pour the butter into a large bowl on a scale. You should have 170gms of brown butter or if you don't have a scale measure out 3/4 cup. Pour the measured amount into a bowl and put it in the fridge to cool for 10 minutes.
  • After 10 minutes, take the butter out of the fridge and add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
  • Add the egg and whisk well until completely combined. Add the sour cream and blend.
  • Add the baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt, and whisk until incorporated.
  • Add the flour and fold it into the mixture using a rubber spatula until there are only a few streaks of flour remaining. Add the chopped chocolate and fold until evenly incorporated and the flour is fully mixed in.
  • Cover the bowl tightly and chill the dough for 3 hours. Once the three hours is almost up, preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Scoop the dough using a cookie scoop (use a 1.5 oz scoop #24, about ~3 tablespoons or ~50 grams) and space them 2-3 inches apart on your baking sheet.
  • Bake for 10-11 minutes until the edges are set and the centers still look slightly underdone. Rotate pan halfway through baking. Let cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then enjoy warm or transfer to a baking sheet to cool completely. See post for notes on perfectly round cookies with ridges.

Notes

You will need ¾ cup or 170 grams of browned butter for the recipe. Water from the butter evaporates during browning and we need to account for the lost moisture which is why we start with more butter and add sour cream.
 
Molasses Snickerdoodles: Walking for Cookies

Molasses Snickerdoodles: Walking for Cookies

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More rain, more gray…will it ever end?  Of course, it will but when?  Last week, the high winds took out our power at home so we escaped to San Francisco for the day.  Luckily, we had a brief, much-welcomed break in the weather and made the most of it.  It was too gorgeous not to take a walk and hit some of the scenic spots in The City.

Polk Gulch-Polk Street

There are a couple of streets that come to mind for me that define life in the city, and Polk Street is one of them. If you haven’t visited this area of the city, put it on your list.  Polk Street stretches from the  Civic Center area near City Hall, the gritty Tenderloin, all the way to the tony Russian Hill area, Aquatic Park, and Fisherman’s Wharf. To walk from Aquatic Park, the northern end of Polk to Civic Center, the southern tip, encapsulates San Francisco.

How can one street be home to Michelin-Starred Restaurants, trendy coffee kiosks, and French Bakeries, but also drug addicts and homeless sleeping in doorways or living in tents?  City life is uncensored and chaotic, where you see Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

We made a beeline for Polk Street which is only 2.5 blocks away…uphill.  The perfect way to start a walk since we’ll inevitably end up at one of the many bakeries on or near Polk.

We stopped at Batter Bakery for a cup of coffee and some cookies.  Known for their cookies, I had a tough time choosing what to try.  As much as I love shortbread, which they have so many permutations, we decided on their Sand Angel and a Sesame Cookie that looked scrumptious.  The Sand Angel had me at first bite.  A molasses cookie with a crispy edge and soft, slightly cakey center, best described as a cross between a Snickerdoodle and Molasses Cookie.  Yummy on the cookie meter, 🍪🍪🍪🍪

Grabbing our coffee and cookies we continued on our walk.  I pointed out spots of interest to the hubster.  Places that were part of my childhood-my elementary school, Victor’s Pizza (still there!), and the corner my favorite dessert cafe, Blum’s occupied (sadly not there).  We passed Bob’s Donuts and Swan’s Oyster Depot, SF icons that have been around for as long as I can remember.

On our walk back we stopped to take a peek at a new neighborhood park, Francisco Park. Built on top of an old reservoir, it’s a nice respite with gorgeous views.  With a community garden, playground, picnic tables and a doggy-run on street level, the park is worth a visit.  Just a note those two highrises, the Fontanas, led to the restrictions on building heights in the city. 😉

So, after a fun day in the city, I returned home with one thing on my mind, Molasses Snickerdoodles.  Adapted from Grandma’s Molasses, it isn’t quite the same as the Batter Bakery cookie, but it’s pretty darn good!

Key points: Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  This will give this cookie a cakier texture in the middle. If you prefer a less cakey texture and a chewier center, two things, beat only until smooth and creamy, and during baking when the cookie puffs, pull the pan out and bang the sheet on the oven rack. Do this a couple of times.  More on this later.

If the dough seems too soft to work with, chill it for 10 minutes.  A #40 scoop (2 tablespoons) will yield a 2.5-3 inch cookie.  Perfect dunking size.  The dough balls are rolled in a mixture of cinnamon and granulated sugar.  Substitute turbinado or raw sugar for a crunchier finish.

Variations on a Cookie

One dough, two different bakes.  The cookies on the left received Sarah Kieffer’s pan-banging baking treatment.  This means about two-thirds of the way through baking, when the cookies are puffy, rap the pan on the oven rack to deflate the cookies. Repeat this a couple of times.  The result is flatter, chewier cookies with crisp edges.  The cookies on the right were allowed to bake undisturbed, they puffed and fell naturally creating cracks.  This results in cookies that are a little thicker and cakier than the pan-banging cookies.

Enjoy!

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Molasses Snickerdoodles

A rift on Snickerdoodles, adding molasses gives these cookies a nice earthy flavor. Crispy-edged, tender, slightly cakey, cookie.
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Cookie recipe, cookies, Molasses Snickerdoodles
Prep Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

Dry Stuff

  • 1 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Creamed Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C. unsalted butter room temperature
  • 3/4 C. granulated sugar
  • 1/4 C. Light or mild Molasses
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Dredge

  • 3 Tbsp. granulated, raw or turbinado sugar
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375° F.
  • In a bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt until well blended. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Add molasses and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  • Add egg and vanilla and mix until smooth.
  • Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until incorporated and no dry flour remains.
  • In a small dish, mix raw sugar together with cocoa powder and cinnamon until well blended.
  • Drop dough by the tablespoonful into sugar mixture, rolling until completely coated. (Dough will be sticky, but the sugar mixture should keep it from sticking to your hands.).
  • Arrange on non-stick or parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving 2 inches of space between cookies. Repeat with remaining dough.
  • Bake for 9 to 10 minutes or until cookies are just set on top and bottoms are lightly golden brown.
  • Let cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Love at the Bellagio
Day 2 Holiday: I Heart Bravetart Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookie

Day 2 Holiday: I Heart Bravetart Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookie

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Dratz! I missed National Cookie Day yesterday!  I spent my time not baking cookies, but going thru my posts to find which cookie post was the most popular one on 3Jamigos.  I am so going to have to figure out how to use Google analytics efficiently.  So after a time consuming search of all my posts, I found the cookie post with the most hits.

So without further adieu because I really do need to start baking-
drum roll please, I present…

Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies! 

It wasn’t even close.

The recipe is from the book Bravetart by Stella Parks (Serious Eats).  An absolutely wonderful book that pays homage to classic American desserts. Stella manages to reinvent and update many iconic desserts while staying true to the essence of the original treat.  This is her take on the classic peanut butter cookie, it is delicious.  The book is chock full of fun stuff-the history behind the recipes and fun facts like the Girl Scouts, leveraging National Cookie Day, outsourced their “casual bake sale” into a legitimate vehicle for world domination”…gosh I love that description.  Oh and Ah-mazing recipes too.

Of course, I made the trek up to the City when Stella and Irving Lin were at Omnivore Books.  Both were engaging, friendly and more than happy to recount their funny baking stories and pearls of wisdom to all of us.

Me and Stellio down by the bookstore!

For Day 2 of the 12 Days of Cookies, I give you the most popular cookie post on 3Jamigos. Here is the original post, which contains tips for making them, Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookie from Bravetart.

Enjoy!

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2 from 1 vote

Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies from BraveTart

Stella Park's Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies, just make them, you'll thank me
Course cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies, stella parks
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes

Ingredients

Dry Stuff (Flour Mixture)

  • 1 cup AP flour 4.5 ounces USE Gold Medal flour
  • 1-1/4 cups honey roasted peanuts 6 ounces

Next Step: Butters + Leavening Agents

  • 1-1/4 cups creamy peanut butter 10 ounces
  • 1 stick unsalted butter 4 ounces,soft rt cool (65 degrees use an instant thermometer)
  • 1.5 cups granulated sugar 10 ounces
  • 3/4 tsp kosher salt or half that amount if using regular table salt
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder

Wet Stuff

  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg straight from fridge, well beaten
  • 3 Tbsp milk 1.5 ounces

Instructions

  • Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Sift flour into bowl of a food processor (scoop and sweep method if not using a scale)
  • Add peanuts and pulse until fine (approximately 1 minute) almost like flour
  • Combine peanut butter, butter, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and vanilla* in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. I'm lazy, I add the vanilla to the milk and add it later.
  • Mix on low speed to moisten then increase to medium and beat until soft and light ab out 3 minutes
  • With mixer running add the egg in 2 additions, mixing untile ach is incorporated
  • Reduce speed to low and add peanut flour, followed by milk, mixing to form a very soft dough
  • Divide into 34-2 T (1.125 ounce) portions
  • Arrange on parchment lined baking sheet, 2 inches apart
  • Bake until the edges are firm and just beginning to brown but cookies are still puffy and steamy in the middle about 16 minutes
  • Cool on baking sheet until cookie is set about 10 minutes
  • Store in airtight container for up to 1 week at room temperature.