Chocolate Chip Cookie Comparison

With the new oven I am finally getting to enjoy baking again.  One of my favorite baked treats is homemade chocolate chip cookies.  Even with my old, cranky oven I had risked making cookies a year or two ago.  At that time I tried a Martha Stewart recipe that was really good.  But not long after that the Food Network magazine did a feature on chocolate chip cookies and listed various recipes depending on how you like your cookies' texture.  I have always loved chewy cookies so I decided I would try their chewy chocolate chip recipe and at the same time I would repeat the Martha Stewart recipe to decide which recipe I liked best.  Both recipes had amounts that were easy to half (even number of eggs makes a big difference) so last week I spent a few hours baking.  For those who might want to try other versions of chocolate chip cookies I suggest you check out the three recipes in that Food Network magazine from February 2012: recapped via their blog here.

The Martha Stewart recipe is the one known as Lexi's Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies.  You may also see it listed as Alexis's Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies as it was first published in 1998.  If you look up that printing of this recipe you will see that it warns that this recipe makes very flat cookies that spread a lot on the baking pan.  It is really good to know that because I think this recipe is flawed in telling you to only space the cookies 2 inches apart.  I recommend spacing them at least 3 inches apart and be prepared if you do use the recommend 2 to 3 Tbsp drop of dough per cookie you are going to have very large, hard to handle cookies.  I have found in one reviewer comment that when this recipe was demonstrated on the show, Martha chilled the dough for an hour and baked the cookies for 12 minutes.  I do not know if that left the cookies less flat or not. 

For me these cookies turn out very chewy which I love but I find that they need to go longer than 8 minutes and there is that fear of burning them.  But there is a lot of brown sugar in this recipe (I did use light brown as indicated) which causes the cookies to appear darker as they cook so they look like they might be burning but they are not.  It is best to let these cookies cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack otherwise they bend and tear all apart.  As for flavor they are very buttery and have a great almost molasses flavor from all the brown sugar.  Of the two recipes this one remains both mine and Brad's favorite and is definitely a ** YUM.

Lexis Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies**
(Makes: 30 - 4 inch cookies)

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugars, and beat until combined and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well blended. Add flour mixture, and beat on low speed until combined. Add the chocolate chips, and beat until combined.

 

Drop 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter at a time onto baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until golden brown, about 8 minutes, rotating halfway through. Remove the cookies and the parchment paper from the baking sheets, and let cool on a rack.

 

Lexi's Famous (left) are almost like a lace cookie
while the Chewy Food Network (right) are classic chocolate chip

The Food Network recipe uses a good bit less butter and brown sugar and actually calls for dark brown sugar (and since I happened to have both I used the dark brown in this recipe). I only chilled the dough for one hour and had no problems with them staying fluffier versus flattening out too much and they were nicely done exactly at 12 minutes.  They turned out beautiful and tasted really good (** Yum), so good that if I had not also made the other recipe at the same time I might consider this the ideal recipe.  But the above recipe is so different in terms of flavor it wins out.  But If I wanted to make perfectly yummy cookies that would pack better I might chose this recipe just for that reason. 

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies**
(Makes: 30 - 2 inch cookies)

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together into a large bowl. Beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes (use the paddle attachment for a stand mixer). Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the dough and refrigerate at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until the cookies are golden around the edges but still soft in the middle, about 12 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

 

 

 

Resolution Recap 2012: Salads

Salad is probably not the correct descriptor for this post since I am not talking about the leafy green lettuce type of salad.  Instead of am talking about those wonderful cold picnic style dishes, like potato salad.  I made two new potato salad recipes last year and one was such as big hit it has become the item of request for the guys in our little group gatherings (definite YUM rating).

That first recipe I found when searching for new potato salad recipes from the Idaho Potato Commission.  Potato salads are tricky for my group of friends since we have one that won't eat onions or raw peppers and also just hates cold salads because they are served cold and then two others that are very traditional and are hesitant to try something "unusual".  Well when you leave out the green onions this recipe has nothing in it the picky ones don't like and it is best served room temperature or slightly warmed versus ice cold.

Loaded Baked Potato Salad**
(Serves: 2 qts)

• 4 pounds Idaho® potatoes, peeled
• 1 pound bacon, crisply cooked, and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (fat reserved, if desired)
• 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 2 cups grated or shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream (regular or low-fat)
• 1 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

Cook whole potatoes in boiling, unsalted water until tender. Refrigerate until chilled, then chop into one-inch pieces. Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl along with the remaining ingredients and thoroughly combine. Add some of the reserved bacon fat if desired.  Chill at least 2 hours before serving. Adjust the seasoning prior to serving. Note: Any condiments or toppings typically added to a loaded baked potato may be used for this recipe.

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The next potato salad recipe from Martha Stewart magazine wasn't as big of a hit and only ranked a "pretty good" rating.  It is a nice change but not yummy enough that anyone really wanted leftovers, certainly not like the recipe above.  But for anyone looking for another way to serve fresh green beans this is a nice choice.

Potato and Green Bean Salad*
(Prep Time: 25, Total Time: 25, Serves: 4)

• 6 ounces green beans
• 2 pounds peeled small potatoes
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 teaspoons lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
• Coarse salt

Simmer green beans in salted water until barely tender and bright green, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or wire-mesh skimmer, and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain, and pat dry. Add potatoes to the same pot of salted water, and simmer until tender, about 12 minutes. Drain potatoes, and halve them. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, and thyme in a large bowl. Add potatoes, beans, and red onion. Gently toss. Season with salt.
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The final "salad" recipe was once again one of those random Brad requests.  He decided he was in the mood for a ham salad.  For those who aren't familiar with ham salad it is very much like a tuna or chicken salad but uses ham and slightly different flavorings.  Turns out there was a recipe for it in an issue of Southern Living.  This is more of an appetizer spread for crackers or even for use as a sandwich meat spread but I am grouping it under the salad section. This recipe was also "pretty good" by our rating system.

Ham Salad*

(Total Time: 20 min, Serves: 6 cups)

• 2 pounds fully cooked boneless ham, cut into large chunks
• 1 cup sweet pickle relish
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon celery seeds
• 1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon refrigerated horseradish
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon seasoned pepper
• 3 to 5 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and chopped
• Toasted French bread slices (optional)
• Garnishes: fresh parsley leaves, small sweet pickle halves

Process ham, in batches, in a food processor until coarsely ground, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Place ground ham in a bowl; stir in pickle relish and next 6 ingredients. Fold in chopped eggs. Serve on toasted bread slices, if desired.