I am forever in search of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. It must be moist, chewy, slightly crisp on the outer edges, not overloaded with chips, and have a good cookie base flavor. I also don't want to bother with a small, dinky sized cookie. I have tried recipes on the back of both fancy and store brand chocolate chips and chunks. I have tried recipes from old cookbooks, magazine clippings, and food blogs. I've tried cookies with oatmeal added, banana puree, and even applesauce. Nothing quite hits the spot, though you'd never know that based on how fast they are all consumed.
After reading a recent article about the top chocolate chip cookies in the Seattle area, I realized the panel of judges in the write-up have a similar goal as me. Finding the perfect cookie. But where to go...
Thats when I thought about the spots that serve my fave cookie. Specialty's Cafe & Bakery is at the top of my long list. Their cookies are very extra thick, moist, and usually warm from the oven. But how do I achieve this cookie at home, and probably make an entire batch for around the same price as one cookie at a Specialty's shop? This is when some serious experimenting happens. A great thing for cookie lovers in my house. A bad thing when you screw up and need to adjust ingredients.
After reading a recent article about the top chocolate chip cookies in the Seattle area, I realized the panel of judges in the write-up have a similar goal as me. Finding the perfect cookie. But where to go...
Thats when I thought about the spots that serve my fave cookie. Specialty's Cafe & Bakery is at the top of my long list. Their cookies are very extra thick, moist, and usually warm from the oven. But how do I achieve this cookie at home, and probably make an entire batch for around the same price as one cookie at a Specialty's shop? This is when some serious experimenting happens. A great thing for cookie lovers in my house. A bad thing when you screw up and need to adjust ingredients.
If you attempt to Google and find a specific restaurant's recipe, you'll get all sorts of answers or guesses. I wasn't going to make a few hundred batches to decide which was best. So I started with a tried and true recipe, a few hints and tips I found on the web, and went from there...
My fave cookies from the cafe are typically more square than round making me think they are cut off a big flattened, rectangular bar of dough...
My fave cookies from the cafe are typically more square than round making me think they are cut off a big flattened, rectangular bar of dough...
I chilled my dough for two hours before popping it in to a 400 degree oven for five minutes. Ooops. This trial was a major failure. Cookies as flat as can be and super soggy in the center. And of course I tried a taste and they were actually good for a flattened disaster. (Actually, I couldn't stop eating them - same with the husband)
And then I lowered the oven temperature a bit more and chilled the dough overnight and baked without parchment paper. I think I'm on to something. Thicker than usual cookies that were chewy yet firm on the edges. They still aren't to my ultimate cookie hopes, so stay tuned for future installments of my ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe!
Do you have an ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipe that you'd like to share? If so email it to me and I'd be happy to feature it on the site. Happy baking!
No comments:
Post a Comment