Best Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Best Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies - last made June 18, 2010 from allrecipes.com

I have 2 go-to recipes for chocolate chip cookies. These are my ultimate comfort food and have the added advantage of being super easy to make. I've blogged about one of them before(http://pastrychefbaking.blogspot.com/2009/09/chocolate-chip-cookies.html) but realized I never included the recipe. The other one I haven't blogged about at all simply because all this time I thought I had already posted it but a search revealed nothing. So I'm about to correct one of those mistakes (will fix the other one later by adding the recipe).

I got this recipe from someone on one of my fitness boards who posted the link from allrecipes.com. At the time I first tried it, I was on my never-ending quest for a chocolate chip cookie recipe that could be baked in a non-convection oven and not spread too thin. I wanted thick cookies a la Specialty's (http://www.specialtys.com/) with great flavor and texture. This one had it. And it's even easier to make than my other go-to recipe because you melt the butter, add the rest of the ingredients, stir it up, and you're done - no messing with a lot of creaming and mixing. What I do after the dough is mixed is portion them out into cookie dough balls, line them on a plastic lid/cover and freeze in the freezer until firm. Once they're firm, I put them in freezer bags and bake them off whenever I need to. Now, these do spread so don't line them up too closely together. You can make the dough balls as small or as large as you wish but when you make them for the first time, I recommend making gigantic cookies just to get the full effect :).

These cookies come out crisp at the edges and chewy moist goodness in the middle. For the ones I made for our family picnic last weekend, I coarsely chopped Hershey's Kisses to use as the chocolate chips and that worked really well (not the same ones pictured here). No need to chop the kisses too small since you want nice big chunks. Here's the link to the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Big-Fat-Chewy-Chocolate-Chip-Cookie/Detail.aspx. I don't know who ElizabethBH is but kudos to her for a fantastic recipe.

Family picnic - June 19, 2010

(thanks to Camille for the cake)

June 19, 2010 - We had a family picnic with my mom's side of the family to celebrate my maternal grandfather's centennial. He died in 1986 at the age of 76 but had he lived, he would've been 100 last month. To honor him, we gathered together. My mom's family turned out several good cooks and when we get together to eat, we eat. And it's all good. I didn't cook except for a few desserts but here's the pictorial of some of the dishes just to give you an idea. There were 24 of us and we made a good dent in the food.

My cousin Christine brought appetizers - these were filled with cream cheese and artichokes.

My mom made ribs

And pancit palabok

In addition to the centennial cake, Camille & family brought fried chicken

And chow mein

My cousin Ellen brought chicken satay that we grilled

And Korean barbecue beef that she grilled

Ellen's dad, Tito Mimil, grilled an 8-lb trout he had caught in the lake of the same park we were picnicking at - marinated in lime, cilantro and other good things

And there was more but I didn't get a picture of it all: Tita Helen made a peanut-sauce noodle dish, Tito Lito brought Goldilocks mamon and cupcakes, someone brought bibingka, Tita Girlie and Ken brought pecan pie tarts, and I made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, Best Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip cookies, and the aforementioned pecan tassies. Which, according to everyone else, I was wrong about those being just "okay". Everyone who tried them liked them and the only complaint I got was there either wasn't any left to parcel out after the picnic or they went home with someone and the others didn't get a taste. My parents liked them better than my butter pecan tarts (huh) and I had to make another batch this morning to bring for them since demand exceeded supply. Fortunately I still had the leftover filling so it was just a matter of making more tart dough and toasting more pecans.

All in all, a good day and lots of good eats.

Pecan Tassies

Pecan Tassies - made June 18, 2010 from The Practical Encyclopedia of Baking by Martha Day

We have a family picnic tomorrow and naturally, I'm bringing desserts. I made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting already and I'm going to bake chocolate chip cookies first thing in the morning tomorrow. I asked my cousins what they'd like me to bring and my cousin Christine asked if I made "those pecan tarts with the cream cheese crust." As soon as she said cream cheese, I knew she meant pecan tassies. They're like my butter pecan tartlets but with cream cheese in the crust. I'd never made them before so this seemed like a good opportunity to try something new.

Unfortunately I've been packing up my baking books in preparation for a move sometime this summer so I didn't have a lot of books to sift through looking for a recipe. Fortunately, one of the baking books I hadn't packed yet was the Practical Encyclopedia of Baking. I've had this book for so long that I don't remember when and where I got it or even why. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever made anything from it. Not that I recall anyway. But it did have a recipe for pecan tassies so this was my chance to finally use the book.

They were easy enough to make. I didn't bother rolling out the dough since I'm used to making tarts and it was easy enough to shape by hand in the mini muffin cups. The dough recipe makes the right amount of tarts but the filling recipe makes too much filling - you could probably halve the filling recipe and still have enough for 24 tarts. I toasted the pecans first like I always do when I bake with nuts then let them cool while I chilled the tarts. The recipe said to bake them for 20 minutes but I confess I forgot and left them in for an extra 4 minutes (I was blow drying my hair and lost track of time - oops). But the tarts survived my neglect and were a nice golden brown when I took them out.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed in them though. They tasted okay but my butter pecan tartlets are better. The crust was light on these and the filling wasn't too sweet. Which is fine unless you like a more dense shortbread crust (which I do) and a sweeter filling (which I do). They're not bad and hopefully they'll be all right for tomorrow's picnic. But I have to tell Christine someday I need to make her the butter pecan tartlets and see if she likes them better.

4 ounces cream cheese
½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup flour

For the Filling
2 eggs
¾ cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup pecans

1. Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 350˚F. Grease 2 12-cup mini-muffin tins.
2. Cut the cream cheese and butter in pieces. Put in a mixing bowl. Sift over the flour and mix to form a dough.
3. Roll the dough out thinly. With a fluted pastry cutter, stamp out 24 2 ½-inch rounds. Line the muffin cups with the rounds and refrigerate while making the filling.
4. For the filling, lightly whisk the eggs in a bowl. Gradually whisk in the brown sugar, a few tablespoons at a time, and add the vanilla, salt and butter. Set aside.
5. Reserve 24 undamaged pecan halves and chop the rest coarsely with a sharp knife.
6. Place a spoonful of chopped nuts in each muffin cut and cover with the filling. Set a pecan half on the top of each.
7. Bake on the hot baking sheet until puffed and set, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve at room temperature.

Gooey Baby Ruthy Brownies

Gooey Baby Ruthy Brownies - made June 15, 2010 from Brownie Mix Bliss by Camilla V. Saulsbury (or as I call them: Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Snickers Brownies)

I'm diametrically opposed to brownie mixes. I used to bake with them when I was first learning how to bake and thought they were great. But once I started baking from scratch, I turned up my nose at mixes. When my friends tell me how much they're enjoying a Duncan Hines brownie, my baking soul shrivels up (yeah, Kendra and Rebecca, I'm referring to you two). So why, you ask, did I buy a book called Brownie Mix Bliss when all of its recipes use a brownie mix as a base? I don't know. Something about it being a baking book and I have a sad addiction to cookbooks.

In any case, I have tried a few recipes from this book and they've been okay. Nothing spectacular so far and they all have the same basic ingredients with the recipes varying by the add-ins. In this particular case, the add-ins were a cream cheese swirl and Baby Ruths or Snickers. I used Snickers. I also substituted buttermilk for the water and, since I was out of milk and wanted more of a peanut butter flavor to complement the Snickers, I added a few spoonfuls of smooth peanut butter to the cream cheese layer.

It all sounds like it should make a killer brownie, right? Unfortunately it didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped. The peanut butter add-in to the cream cheese layer wasn't enough so there wasn't that strong of a peanut butter taste after all. The Snickers chunks were a little too heavy with the texture of the brownie as the texture was soft and almost cakey as opposed to something more dense that would go well with Snickers. So for me, this was just okay. People at work seemed to like them but we know how picky I am. These were just average to me.

1 19.5 – 19.8-ounce package brownie mix
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup water
3 large eggs
3 2.1-ounce chocolate-covered peanut-caramel nougat candy bars (e.g. Baby Ruth or Snickers), coarsely chopped
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons milk

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F (325˚F for dark-coated metal pan). Position a rack in the lower third of the oven. Spray the bottom only of a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray (or foil-line pan).
2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the brownie mix, oil, water and 2 of the eggs with a wooden spoon until just blended and all dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in chopped candy bars. Reserve 1 cup of the batter. Spread remaining batter into the prepared pan.
3. In a medium mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and brown sugar with an electric mixer set on medium until blended and smooth. Beat in milk and remaining egg. Spoon and spread over brownie batter in pan (need not cover completely). Dollop reserved brownie batter over cream cheese layer. Use the tip of a knife to swirl the batters for a marbled effect.
4. Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out clean or almost clean (do not overbake). Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Cut into squares. Store in refrigerator.

Makes 24 large or 36 small brownies

Cookie Jar Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Cookie Jar Oatmeal Raisin Cookies - made 6.14.10 from The Family Baker by Susan G. Purdy

Trying to make some time to bake, especially as I'm trying to use up ingredients before I move sometime this summer and because I have some dinners coming up and baking for friends that I'm meeting is as natural as breathing. This is a quick and easy oatmeal cookie recipe from Susan G. Purdy that turned out pretty well. The edges are crisp, there's a hint of cinnamon in each bite and it's chewy with oatmeal like a good oatmeal cookie should be. With my aversion to raisins, I left them out and added semisweet chocolate chips instead. Chocolate and oatmeal are a great combination. Although let's face it, chocolate and cardboard would probably be a good combo too. As would chocolate and anything. You get the picture.

I substituted 1/2 cup of butter-flavored shortening for 1/2 cup of butter. That kept the cookies from spreading too much and gave them crisp edges. The taste wasn't really altered but you could make the recipe as is with all butter and I'm sure they would taste good like that too.

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups uncooked old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats (not instant)
1 cup packed seedless raisins

1. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat it to 350˚F. Leave the cookie sheets ungreased or cover them with baking parchment or wax paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.
2. In a large bowl using a sturdy spoon or an electric mixer with paddle attachment if available, beat together the butter and sugars until smooth and well blended. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Stirring slowly or with the beater on the slowest speed, work in the flour mixture completely, then the oats and raisins. The batter will be very stiff. You can make the batter several hours ahead, cover and refrigerate it at this point.
3. Drop the batter onto the cookie sheets by heaping tablespoons about 2 inches apart and bake 12 to 16 minutes, or until the cookies are golden brown (the longer they bake, the crisper they will be). Cool the cookie sheets on a wire rack for 2 or 3 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer the cookies to the rack to cool; or slide the baking parchment onto the wire rack to cool the cookies. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: 50 to 55 cookies (2 ½-3-inch diameter)

Chocolate Making: From Conching to Tempering to Molding - then Eating

Things have been crazier than usual lately so I haven't had much time to keep up with this blog. But I want to finish the chocolate making process I started writing about. I left off at the milling stage. After milling (or juicing as Julie from Cotton Tree Chocolate called it), the chocolate paste is transferred to a conching machine which kneads and smooths the chocolate, improving the texture and flavor. Here's what a conching machine looks like sans the chocolate:

But of course it looks better with chocolate in it:

Chocolate is typically conched for 2-3 days at a temperature between 140 - 167 degrees, depending on the company's process. ETA: oops, forgot to note that this is the step where the other ingredients are added to make the final chocolate product: emulsifiers, sweeteners, milk products for milk chocolate, etc. It isn't just pure chocolate that gets conched.

After conching, the chocolate must be tempered in order to work with it properly. Tempering refers to bringing chocolate to a certain temperature in order to stabilize the crystals. From conching, you'd need to cool it down to 104 degrees. If you're starting with solid chocolate bought from retail, you'd need to melt it first, get it to the proper temperature then cool it down to its working temperature. Dark chocolate has a higher working temperature than milk and milk higher than white. When I was in culinary school, we would melt the chocolate and heat it to the proper temperture then stir it to cool it down and add the "seed" chocolate which was a solid piece of the same kind as the melted chocolate (i.e. semisweet chocolate seed into melted semisweet chocolate). The melted chocolate "copied" the stable crystals in the solid chocolate and aligned themselves correctly.

Chocolate has to be tempered correctly in order to keep its smooth texture and avoid bloom. If you ever see a grayish-white film on chocolate, it's not mold but likely the chocolate has bloomed, meaning it melted at some point and when it hardened again, the chocolate was out of temper so the fat rose to the top - that's the grayish stuff.

At Cotton Tree, they had a small tempering room that was kept chilly and boy did it feel good to be in there out of the heat and humidity. Annika (pictured below) works at Cotton Tree Chocolate and showed us what to do with the tempered chocolate.

This is the melted chocolate in the chocolate tempering machine. The machine keeps the chocolate in motion by stirring a paddle through it and keeping it at its working temperature. It's at the right temper for it to be molded into bars without blooming when it solidifies.

Annika gave us a "syringe" that we plunged into the pool of tempered chocolate in the chocolate tempering machine and once we filled the syringe, we emptied it into the molds. Each syringe had to contain a certain amount so that each bar is made with the same amount of chocolate. The molds are placed on a vibrating machine so as they're filled, the vibrations even out the melted chocolate so the molds fill evenly.

Once the molds are filled, they're left to cool then are packaged up. As part of our tour, we each got to fill 3 chocolate bars worth of molds which we marked with our names. Annika packaged them up once they were cool and we got to take them home with us.

The finished product - Cotton Tree Chocolate. I was hot and sweaty so clearly I wanted to go back into the tempering room :).

Chocolate - Fermenting to Roasting to Milling

To continue about fermentation - in our demonstration, Alex, from Taza Chocolates, lined a wooden box that had holes in the bottom with banana leaves and we all helped crack open the cacao pods and empty the beans into the box. The banana leaves "contain bacteria that enhance the fermentation process, liquefying the mucilage [that slimy white stuff covering the beans] so it can drain away, leaving the beans." (Source: The Chocolate Connoisseur by Chloe Doutre-Roussel)

When the beans were first put in the fermentation box

How they looked 2 days into fermentation

Once the beans are fermented, they’re then dried. Drying prevents them from getting moldy and enables them to be shipped and stored without spoiling. The dried beans are what farmers like Eladio take to market to sell. At the time we were there, they were getting $1.15 USD per pound of beans. Doesn't sound like much, does it? That's because it isn't. Eladio said a few years ago he was selling up to 800-900 lbs of cacao beans but in recent years, he's only been able to harvest around 400 lbs of beans. He wasn't really clear about why the drop in production but I think some of it had to do with a bad tornado that blew through his farm and damaged his cacao trees.

We were given demonstrations of what to do with the dried beans both at Eladio’s farm and at Cotton Tree Chocolate which had a little “factory”, aka a room, a back porch and a small tempering room. First you roast the beans. At Cotton Tree, they roasted the beans in a coffee roasting oven. And yes, they smelled as good as you might imagine.

Second, you take the (cooled) roasted beans and grind them to break up the shells and the nibs within the shells. You only want the nibs and not the shells so to separate them, Cotton Tree winnows the shells by blowing through the bowl of cracked nibs and shells with a hair dryer. Yes, a hair dryer. It was pretty effective too, once you know how to do it. There’s a certain skill in having the hair dryer in one hand aimed at the bowl and mixing up the nibs and shells with the other hand. Done properly, the hot air blowing from the hair dryer will blow out the lighter shells while keeping the nibs in the bowl. Done improperly, Kendra and I discovered our hair blowing (or nibs/shell blowing) techniques were metaphoric for our lives and personalities. Kendra was told by the Cotton Tree chocolate maker than she was blowing too hard and therefore causing the nibs to fly out of the bowl along with the shells. I had the opposite problem in that I was so afraid of losing the nibs that I wasn’t aggressive enough and left some of the shells in the bowl. Hmm, read into that what you will of each of our personalities.

Me with my careful, cautious dryer blowing

Kendra going for it with the hair dryer - nibs, shells and all :)

Once we had the bowl of shelled nibs, we put them in what was essentially a juicer and fed the nibs into it at one end and out the other came a wet mass of processed cocoa nibs, aka cocoa liqueur, which more or less had the consistency of peanut butter. Nibs have a lot of fat (cocoa butter) in them and you could see the oil as it was being processed through the juicer. Julie, the Cotton Tree Chocolate manager, called it juicing. My chocolate books refer to it as milling.

The last remaining steps to follow....