chocolate chip – TasteFood

Chocolate Chip Cookie Therapy

August 7, 2012August 7, 2012by Lynda Balslev16 Comments

Sometimes, life gets busy and a few curveballs come our way. Best laid plans are, well, put to rest. So, we go with the flow, chin-up, and carry on. In honor of life’s little bumps and interruptions, I offer this simple gift. It’s nothing new, but, rather, something familiar, comfortable, and oh-so sweet. You’ve seen these cookies here before in a 24-hour version, but this batch requires no such waiting, because there is a time and place for instant gratification, too. Especially when chocolate is involved.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 30 cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons, all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped dark chocolate

Heat the oven to 375 F (190 C). Combine the butter and sugars together in a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat at high speed until light and creamy. Add egg and yolk. Continue to mix until thoroughly combined. Add the vanilla and mix again. Whisk the flour, salt and baking soda together in a small bowl. Add to the butter and sugar and mix until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips and chocolate. Drop rounded tablespoons of the batter onto baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake until tops are light golden, 10 to 12 minutes.

Baking, Cookies

24 Hour Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

January 16, 2012August 16, 2014by Lynda Balslev22 Comments

You will have to trust me on this. This chocolate chip cookie recipe does indeed require more than 24 hours to make. Most of the time it’s simply sitting in the refrigerator, where the batter will be in lock-down, off limits to sneaky fingers looking for a swipe. It won’t be easy. Especially if you are like me, and sadly accustomed to instant gratification when chocolate is involved. Well, here is a little exercise in self-restraint – consider it a late New Year’s challenge. Summon your will power and tip your hat to the process. Wait the full 24 hours between preparing the batter and baking the cookies. The results are what I consider the best* chocolate chip cookies I remember tasting. You can then congratulate yourself and your family on your discipline and proceed to eat as many cookies as you like.

24 Hour Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I discovered this technique in the fall issue of the wonderful e-magazine Made with Butter. The following recipe is adapted from Jennifer Kaplan’s Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Makes about 30 – 1 1/2 inch cookies.

3/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Sea salt for sprinkling

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Divide the butter in 4 pieces and add to the pan. The butter will begin to melt and foam. Continue cooking the butter until it becomes golden brown and the milk solids sink to the bottom, resembling small dark brown particles, 5 – 10 minutes. (It took me 7 minutes. Watch the butter carefully because it can burn very quickly.) Remove from heat, and cool for several minutes to lukewarm.
While the butter is cooling, whisk flour, salt and baking soda together in a large bowl. Set aside.
Once the butter has cooled, add both sugars to the skillet. Mix thoroughly to combine. Add the egg and egg yolk, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and stir to combine. Stir in the chocolate chips. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 24 hours.
To bake the cookies, preheat oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchement. Scoop a heaping tablespoon of dough (it will be stiff) and place on baking sheet, leaving enough room for the cookies to expand as they bake. Lightly sprinkle with sea salt. Bake cookies until light golden in color and just cooked through, about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack. If you are using the same pan for another batch of cookies, first allow the pan to cool completely. Enjoy!

Cookies, Desserts

Tweaking a Classic: Chocolate Chip Cookies

October 7, 2010July 12, 2019by Lynda Balslev9 Comments

When I cook I cannot resist the urge to tweak a recipe – even when it’s a classic. Yet, I also believe in the motto that if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. The following recipe for chocolate chip cookies is a compromise. We all know the familiar tollhouse recipe we grew up baking and eating, and there is no denying its perfection. However, over the years I have tweaked and experimented, adding oats, an extra egg, using more brown sugar, less brown sugar, fiddling with light or dark brown sugar. Tiny tweaks, but enough so that I have a recipe that satisfies me.

I combine both semi-sweet and dark chocolate in these cookies. The dark chocolate is grated or finely chopped, so that the small pieces fleck the dough, imparting a hint of chocolate without extra sweetness in every bite.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 36 – 2 inch cookies

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet (60%) chocolate chips
3.5 ounces dark (72%) chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. (180 C.) Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and mix well. Place butter and sugars in a bowl of electric mixer with a paddle attachment. Cream until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Stir in flour and mix well. Add chocolate and stir to combine. Place rounded tablespoons of the batter on baking trays lined with parchment paper. Bake in oven until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool on rack.