NOTE: I spend my Wednesdays Unplugged from appointments. It's my day to stay home, enjoy cooking and welcome our kids and grandkids for dinner in the evening. We end our meal with quotes from the Norwegian 'Quote Cup' passed on to me from my grandmother. I share a quote and a recipe here each week, and sometimes some photos of family fun. I love trying new recipes...and love getting recipes you would like to share!
"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." ~ Robert A. Heinlein
We have been having a beautiful fall, but with the short days we can feel that winter is coming. When the sun goes down it gets cold outside... I walked out the door last night and turned around and came back and put on my winter coat! We just got pictures back from a recent family photo shoot... what beautiful grandchildren we have!
RECIPE OF THE WEEK
This week's recipe was published in the New York Times in 2008. It calls for a mix of cake and bread flour. From what I could figure out from researching the two flours it seems both of these flours produce cookies that tend to spread less. Bread flour has higher gluten and protein, can get tough if beaten too much which is likely why the recipe calls for beating only 5-10 seconds after adding flour. Cake flour has lower gluten and higher starch, makes dough lighter.
It calls for flat bittersweet chocolate disks or feves rather than chips, which are supposed to melt more into chocolate threads rather than chunks. Interesting touch to sprinkle the tops with sea salt (I used kosher salt), my husband really liked that. Another difference in this recipe is its idea of resting the dough overnight. This concept is supposed to open up flavors and enhance carmelization during baking. The chilled dough was pretty stiff, and I formed the cookie 'balls' with my hands.
NY Times PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE
Recipe adapted from Jacques Torres
- 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons cake flour
- 1 2/3 cups bread flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or feves, at least 60% cacao
- Sea salt
Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5-10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them.
Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24-36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
Scoop mounds of dough about the size of generous golf balls onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontallys any chocolate pieces that are poking up. Sprinkle light with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18-20 minutes.
Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Can be baked in batches on different days. Eat warm, with a big napkin.
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results - HomesMSP.com
