Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Chewy chocolate & peanut butter chip cookies




You may have noticed I am not a big cookie baker. Cookies are fickle, they never seem to turn out exactly the way I want them to or expect them to. Cookies are time consuming, with all those different batches to prepare and cool and I just don't have enough of it these days. I had a big bag of chocolate and peanut butter chips that I bought in NY hanging out in my cupboard, patiently waiting, but I was just not inspired and did not want to begin the quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, the endless search it seems every blogger starts at some point in his/her blogging history. Should  I use the NY Times Torres recipe or the Toll House recipe? What chocolate is best? How long should I chill the dough?


 And then I saw the recipe for Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies posted just the other day by Sing for your Supper and the photographs were so enticing I just couldn't resist, I had to try it. Oh my, those pictures...


I made a batch of larger ones and a batch of smaller ones. The result was great, I finally baked a wonderfully chewy chocolate chip cookie.



But...

There is always a 'but' when  baking cookies, something that needs to be changed or improved. Despite my cookies being good enuogh to become a staple household recipe, they looked nothing like the cookies in the pictures. Where were those fat, chunky cookies? Those pictures will haunt me until I succeed.





  

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 salt
1 cup butter (melted and cooled)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cups chips

Preheat oven to 325°F and line cookie trays.
Combine and sift flour, baking soda and salt.
Cream together the butter and sugars in a separate bowl. Then add in the vanilla, the egg, the yolk and mix until light and creamy. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just belended. Stir in the chips by hand. At this point I chilled the dough for about 24 hours, because I had to pick the kids up from school and because I had read this ensures chewiness. The following day I put the cookies about 3 inches apart on the trays and made a few larger batches and a few smaller ones. I baked the larger ones for about 15-17 minutes as suggested. I baked the smaller batches for approximately 10 minutes. Let them cool on tray and then cookies rack. 

I don't know if the variations in sugar amounts (I used packed brown sugar and normal brown sugar and less white sugar than called for because I was at the end of all three packs) or the chilling were the culprits of my not-as-chunky cookies. But they were scrumptuous anyway.




Oh, by the way, I was in such a rush to go out and enjoy my day to myself on Friday (which I did, although once again 99% of my shopping was kid-oriented...why is that?) that I didn't realize I was publishing my 100th post. Have I actually made 100 different recipes in the past months? Did I actually write 100 hundred stories about my cooking adventures and life? I just wanted to thank you all for sticking around and joining in on the fun, for reading, for commenting, for supporting me.

21 comments:

  1. I get obsessed with recreating recipes from pictures too! But if it counts, your pictures induced a chocolate chip cookie craving in me! :)

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  2. I too find making cookies a bit of a nuisance to make. With cakes you just flop them into one cake pan and your done. Although I might grumble before getting down to task, I'm really glad once there made. Nice to have when craving a little something sweet with a cup of coffee.

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  3. These look fantastic! Cookies are one of my favorite things to bake.

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  4. Congratulations on making it to 100!

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  5. OK, you say they don't look like the other picts but this cookie you have made here is just how I like them! These look beautiful, chewy and melt in your mouth perfect!

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  6. I was just going to make these and saw your comment over at singforyoursupper's blog. Your cookies look yummy, but you are right, they look nothing like the other pictures. It is weird that the same recipe could produce such different looking cookies?

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  7. I'm glad I'm not the only one who ends up with flat cookies. At least they still taste as good! You're not alone.

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  8. Lorraine - yeah, best not to get fixated on the picture I guess, especially if the result is satisfying.
    Anna - Once they are made, you wonder why you don't do it more often. And since it is one of the few baked goods my daughter eats, I guess I will have to start making them more often
    Candy Girl - I appreciate the compliment from an expert.
    Anonymous - thanks!
    DD&W - they were good, I just alawys get amazed at how the same recipe can give such different results.
    Jenn - very weird...if not to say annoying.
    Claire - its is good to have a "flat cookie" companion. Welcome on board.

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  9. I have to admit that I am not very interested in cookies...but you got me with those beautiful pictures of cookie dough. God they look so tempting. I wanna lick the bowl of dough! What I hate most about cookies is that I always seem to burn the bottoms...and I also find the individual portioning troublesome.

    hey, you can send a batch to me whenever you like though! ;-p

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  10. I have made cookies by the thousands and not tired of it yet! To me they are a lot easier than making a good cake! That is why this recipe is a keeper and would be a hit at my house!

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  11. Congrats on your 100th post! Those cookies look amazing. Now I have visions of warm cookies and cold milk dancing in my head. So hungry.....Your cookie photos are really good too.

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  12. I totally agree. Cookies are always a challenge, especially at the altitude I live at. Looks like yours came out just right!! I'll take one.

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  13. They may not look like mine, but I think they look BETTER! I love flat, chewy cookies! It could be a number of things- altitude, oven temperature (some ovens don't actually bake at the actual temperature you set- it helps to have an actual oven thermometer to see if your temp is correct), the size of your eggs, etc. If it makes you feel any better, this dough is a different consistency for me every time I make it. Sometimes it's thinner and sometimes not. I know that doesn't help you, but I thought it might make you feel a little better. If you do try making them again, try reducing the butter by half a stick. They shouldn't spread as much.

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  14. These look divine... (I have nearly lost my mind over the years trying to get those big thick awesome cookies that never spread out...My sister, who doesn't even enjoy cooking, ALWAYS has them turn out that way!!!) I have finally decided it has to do with the weather, as I have tried every combination of butter, flour, egg and sugar... I think days with humidity tend to make them spread, and dry low pressure days make a plumper cookie... That is my current theory and I am sticking with it!!! These seriously look delicious!

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  15. I personally like the thin chewy version of these cookies! You did a great job!

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  16. Yum, those cookies look so good! They just look so utterly warm and fresh.

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  17. Sophia - I seem to remember you are not a cookie lover, a post about what cookie you would want to be...I also love the dough. And my bottoms tend to burn too. This time I sat like a hawk in front of the oven watching them. Any time you wanna hop over, there will some cookies waiting.
    ToB - Maybe you could hold a cookie workshop? Wouldn't mind...
    Kelly - mmmh, cookies and milk. Something so comforting about it.
    MyKintheR - oh gosh, yes, altitude triggers a whole set of new problems!
    Amy - thanks, that is a compliment from someone who can bake and photograph a cookie like you do. I agree, there are so many variables. It however is good to know that you also get different results with this recipe. I will try decreasing the butter, that will definitely make a difference, a make the cookie a little less guilt-free.
    UrMC - I have heard the humidity factor reatly influences bread baking, so it makes sense. That is frustrating about your sister...maybe we should get her recipe? ;o)
    Peggy - it really is a matter of personal taste. Objectively, they were pretty darn good
    Indie - thanks!

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  18. Yum! I love the photo that has a glass of milk. That really looks so perfect. I can’t wait to make some of these cookies and dipped it in a hot glass of milk. YUMMY!

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  19. These look sooo good! I am definitely in a cookie mood now!

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  20. Yummy! Milk and cookies is such a perfect match for my kid’s breakfast. I miss being a kid that my mom usually serves a glass of milk and some cookies. I think I need to make some for myself. LOL.

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  21. Wow, these cookies sound so fantastic and so flavorful. I have a sweet treat linky party going on at my blog and I'd like to invite you to stop by and link your cookies up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/03/sweets-for-saturday-7.html

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