A Classic Cookie

I fought these cookies for a long time. I just couldn't come to terms with the thought of baking from the back of a package. I refused to believe that a recipe that public, that un-secret, could really be the best.




But since Nic is about to leave for a few months for work, I felt like I should indulge him and make the Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies. I drew the line at making Bisquick pancakes though. That was asking too much.

I don't know if these are the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had, but they are definitely a classic taste. I resisted the urge to alter the recipe this time, but I think that next time I would like to try to make them with a bittersweet chocolate chip for a richer taste or a little extra salt to balance out the sweetness.


Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
From the back of the bag.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips (or try the bittersweet chips)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
-In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
-Cream together the butter, sugars, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer (or by hand). Add the eggs one at a time until completely incorporated.
-With the mixer on low speed (or your arm moving slowly), slowly add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until completely combined.
-Stir in the chocolate chips and nuts if using.
-Let the dough rest for an hour or up to overnight in the refrigerator. (The package does not say you have to do this, but I think most cookies benefit from this little trip to fridge.)
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
-Scoop tablespoons of dough onto and ungreased baking sheet.
-Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until cookies are set in the center. Let cool on baking sheet for two minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.
-Store in an airtight container. (If the cookies start to get hard, you can throw in a piece of white bread, they will get softer again. Again, the back of the package does not include this helpful hint. I include it free of charge.)

Delightful Ginger Cookies, One Month Late

Well the long, long weekend is winding down. Soon all the tourists in town for inauguration will go home, and D.C. will quiet down to the normal gray, late winter humdrum. Sad. I liked the excitement in the air for the last week. D.C. was even on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations last night! And for those of us who live inside the Beltway, but over the river, Bourdain spent about as much time in Northern Virginia as he did in the District itself. (And no time in the Maryland suburbs.)

These cookies cheered me up a little tonight as I braced myself for the grueling three day work week. I mean Christmas was only a month ago, but I finally found a ginger cookie I like! And they're non-fat, which makes them perfect for January. (Is there anyone out there still resolutioning? There is a guy at my gym still coming to walk on the treadmill at 1 mph. No joke. He's very resolute.)

These cookies, from the awesome David Lebovitz, pack a punch. They're not for people who don't like a little spice in their cookie. The minced candied ginger gives them a stronger ginger flavor than most ginger cookies, and the black pepper gives you a good kick in the tastebuds at the end. David calls them gingersnaps, but they don't really snap. They're more of a soft, pillowy cookie, which I prefer so that works out pretty great. I made a few changes to the recipe, based on what I had on hand and to compensate for the fact that I have the strongest molasses known to man, which I figured out during a failed gingerbread experiment last month. Next time I'm definitely going to add some grated orange zest to the batter to compliment the spiciness with a little zing.

My one tip for this recipe: chop that ginger like mad. I mean just destroy it with your heaviest chef knife. You want really tiny bits. Unless you love eating big chunks of candied ginger, which I don't.


Non-fat Ginger Cookies
Adapted from David Lebovitz

Ingredients:
1 cup, packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup molasses (1/3 cup if it is mild-flavored)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp.ground dried ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper (dial this back to 1/4 tsp. if you want it less spicy)
1/4 tsp. salt
zest from one orange (I haven't tried it yet in these cookies, but have in others)
2 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/2 cup very finely-chopped candied ginger
granulated sugar, mixed with cinnamon for rolling cookies

Directions:
-In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the brown sugar, applesauce, and molasses for five minutes at medium speed.
-Meanwhile in a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, spices, salt, and zest if you're using it.
-When the sugar mixture is done beating, scrape down the sides, and add the egg whites. Beat another minute.
-With the mixer at its lowest speed, add the dry ingredients until completely incorporated, and mix on medium for one minute more.
-Fold in the chopped ginger.
-Chill the batter very well, for a few hours or even better overnight.
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
-Pour the cinnamon sugar on plate or into a wide bowl. Scoop the cookie dough in heaping tablespoons, quickly roll into a loose ball in your hands, then roll in the cinnamon sugar. Move quickly so the dough doesn't get too warm. It will be a little sticky, but the sugar roll will make it easier to shape.
-Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets about 3 inches apart. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the center is just set. They should be soft cookies, so don't overcook.

Chai Biscotti

Has this been the longest week in the history of the universe for anyone else? Just checking. Anyone want more hours in the day for Christmas this year? I'll settle for just two more, I'm not being greedy. Ok, I'll get to the point now.

This is my second batch of chai biscotti, and they are definitely my new favorite holiday cookie. I know I have said this a hundred times, but I'm not into sweet sweets, which seems like an oxymoron, but that is why I love these cookies. They are the perfect balance of bready, crunchy, coffee-dipping goodness. I haven't been having too much luck baking lately (why does every gingerbread I make taste funny? o there is more than one type of molasses, and I'm using the nasty, dark dark dark one? duh.) So when I decided to marry the spices from my favorite quick bread (chai-spiced bread) to my favorite biscotti dough (pecan and brown butter biscotti*), I just crossed my fingers. I had seen other recipes for chai biscotti on other blogs, but they all called for ingredients I didn't have or spice combinations that didn't remind me of chai at all. And so I forged bravely on. After a slight adjustment to the amount of flour, my idea worked! Unlike the gingerbread, these turned out great. The spices are warm but gentle, not overpowering like some spiced-cookies can be. Nic (who told me he doesn't like biscotti last week) loves these and almost ate all of them before I could send them to friends and coworkers. This weekend, I'm going to make another few batches. And leave the gingerbread for more skilled hands.

*Thanks to Poppop who sent me a batch of the pecan and brown butter biscotti, and Aunt Ellen who gave him (and me) the recipe, and Aunt Kristen that gave her the recipe! (whew, they came a long way, as all good recipes do.)


O and I couldn't resist taking a picture of these holiday goodie bags for my co-workers. My mom should be proud of how crafty I got. (Although she would prefer I call it artsy. She doesn't do crafts, she does art.) I am much more creative at 1 AM for some reason, I think the exhaustion frees my mind...or something like that. The cute little packages are hiding the not-so-fabulous gingerbread sticks. On Iron Chef they get points for presentation, so I should too, right? Just so you don't think I'm too on the ball, because I'm not, the greenery was ripped off my centerpiece and the stringy stuff came on a package of fake leaves I bought for Thanksgiving that I saved by wrapping it around a candle.


If you have never cooked with cardamom before, you should give it a try. The whole seeds add a delicious, exotic flavor when added to stews or rice or when you are brewing tea. A lot of Middle Eastern recipes call for cardamom pods. And the ground cardamom can be added to pretty much any baking recipe that calls for cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, all spice, ginger, or some combination of those. If you want a pronounced, chai-like taste, make sure there is more cardamom than any of the other spices. If you want a more subtle flavor, add it in about equal amounts to the other spices. Don't be thrown by the fact that it smells like cleaning solution before it is cooked, it won't taste like cleaning solution, I promise.


Chai Biscotti
Makes about 16 large biscotti or 30 small.

Ingredients:
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus another 1/4 cup as needed
1 1/2 tsp. loose chai tea (about one tea bag)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (You will need two baking sheets if you want to make smaller biscotti.)
-Cook the butter in a small saucepan over moderate heat until brown and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Pour the butter into a bowl or baking dish to cool and harden. (This is what brown butter should look like.)
-In a medium mixing bowl, wisk together 2 3/4 cups flour, tea, baking powder, salt, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves.
-In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a separate bowl with a hand mixer, cream together the sugar and the butter (it doesn't have to be completely re-solidified, but it should at least be completely cool and starting to harden). Add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla.
-Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing on low until combined.
-The dough should be somewhat sticky, but possible to form into a loose ball. Add another 1/4 cup of flour if necessary and mix to combine. If you aren't sure, add the 1/4 cup, it won't hurt.
-Scrape the dough onto the parchment lined cookie sheet. (Divide the dough in half between the two cookie sheets for smaller biscotti.)
-Form the dough into a long, narrow log (about 3 inches across for one log, 2 inches across for two smaller logs). Pat the log down so it is about 1 inch thick.
-Bake for 25-30 minutes (20-25 minutes for two smaller logs). The dough should be slightly browned on top and cracked.
-Remove the log from the oven and use a serrated knife to cut the dough into 1/2 inch thick slices while still hot. (Use an oven mitt on the hand that holds the dough.)
-Arrange the slices on their sides on the cookie sheet, and bake for another 20 minutes or until the biscotti are golden. (The side touching the sheet will brown faster than the side facing up.)
-Transfer the biscotti to a wire rack to cool.

Sesame Seed Cookies

Sesame seed cookies were always my favorite on my poppop's cookie platter. No one else ever seems to make these little guys! I don't know why. In my opinion they are the perfect holiday cookie. They are just a little sweet and have a nice crumbly texture--great with a cup of coffee or tea. I was really surprised when I saw them on the round-up of Gourmet magazines favorite cookies from 1941-2008. They were Miss 1955, although they were disguised as Biscotti di Regina (Queen's Biscuits). Even Gourmet says, "You may have forgotten about this Italian take on sesame seed cookies, but their cakelike texture and sweetness will remind you why they're an old favorite." Cakelike is kind of a stretch in my opinion, unless you make some really dry cake, but they are too good to be forgotten.


When I was in high school, I tried to make them from a copy of the recipe Poppop wrote on the back of an envelope for me. Thank goodness he lived five minutes away, because about half way through the recipe I had to call him for help. He came over and fixed the mess I made. This time around Poppop was 200+ miles away so I was on my own. Luckily, I have had a little more baking experience. Unluckily, I couldn't find my envelope with the recipe on it. I thought about calling Poppop for the recipe, but it was late, so I decided to use the Gourmet recipe for the ingredient proportions ::hanging my head in shame::

I started to follow the technique in the Gourmet recipe, and about one hand-made cookie ball in, I said to myself, "This is the most tedious way I could do this. Clearly the 1950s-era baker had a thing or two to learn about efficiency. I'm making them Poppop's way." So the technique is family tradition. And the ingredients are Gourmet.

I have to say, to me they tasted a little bit different than what I am used to, but I find I never like anything as much when I make it myself as I do when someone makes it for me! Convenient, I know. By the time they got to California, however, my aunt said they were great. She was probably just being nice. Either way, this is a 9/10 for a sesame seed cookie recipe. And when I get back to good-old PA next week, I will get you guys the original. Hopefully on an envelope again.


Sesame Seed Cookies
Adapted from Gourmet
Makes about 5 dozen cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tbs. vanilla extract
5 cups flour
3/4 tsp. salt
2 tbs. baking powder
1/2 lb. sesame seeds

Directions:
-In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand held mizer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, then gradually add the milk and the vanilla.
-In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
-Make a hollow in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Gradually incorporate the dry ingredients from the edges into the wet ingredients in the center. If the dough it too dry to shape into a loose ball, add a small amount of milk.
-Shape the dought into a ball and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
-Wash, drain, and dry the sesame seeds and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
-Take a baseball size chunk of the dough and gently roll into a log shape about 1 inch across. The dough may start to separate as you roll it. Use your hands to press it into the shape. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 1 inch long pieces, at a bias. Roll the pieces in the sesame seeds and place them on the parchment paper. (Do this immediately after finishing cutting each roll. The seeds stick better right after the dough has been handled.)
-Repeat with the rest of the dough.
-Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Soft and Crispy Chocolate Cookies

Nic says he's not a picky eater, but at least once a day he says, "I don't really like..." This week that sentenced ended in "bready cookies." I have no idea what that means, but apparently he doesn't like biscotti or italian sesame seed cookies or gingerbread cookies. So basically he didn't like any of the cookies I was already baking. But I was feeling generous so I agreed to make a batch of his favorite chocolate cookies from his mom's cookbook. The oven was already preheated, I guess.

This was my second time attempting to make these. They are not the easiest cookies to make, but they are ridiculously delicious and chocolately. I think getting them to turn out is dependent on three major factors. 1) Let the dough get really cold. The recipe says to let the dough chill in the fridge until "firm, about 1 hour." Just leave it in over night. That's the only way I can figure to be sure it is cool enough. If it's not cool enough, these will not turn out. 2) Make the cookies into small balls. The recipe says 1 inch in diameter. Don't go over that size or the cookies don't spread out and cook evenly. 3) Make a small batch the first time to test your oven. These cookies are perfectly done for about a 1 minute window. The first batch I put in was not cooked enough and ended up soggy. The second batch was perfect, crispy and wafer like on the outside with a slightly soft center. The recipe says to bake 8 minutes on 350, but in my oven it took 12 minutes for these to be done. Maybe I should go buy that oven thermometer Alton Brown keeps telling me I need...


Well here's the recipe, good luck. As a funny aside, after making these I saw a little note at the bottom that the recipe originally came from Martha Stewart! I haven't made a Martha Stewart recipe since my mom and I almost killed our family with toxic decorations she told us to put on gingerbread cookies (apparently the cookies were only intended as decorations...). I also got a kick out of the fact that Martha apparently named them "Grammy's Chocolate Cookies." I can't picture Martha having a Grammy.

"Grammy's" or Soft and Crispy Chocolate Cookies
Apparently adapted from Martha Stewart via Miss Andrea

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar, plus more for dipping
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
-In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
-In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until fluffy, then add the eggs and vanilla.
-Turn the mixer on low speed and gradually add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.
-Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge at least one hour, but preferably overnight.
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
-Pinch off a small piece of the dough and roll into a 1 inch ball. Dip the top of the ball in granulated sugar. Place on baking sheet. Leave 1 1/2 inches between cookies, they will spread out a lot.
-Bake cookies 8-12 minutes, or until spread out and slightly puffed in the center. (The cookies will "fall" after baking, which gives them the appearance pictured).
-Cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Gingerbread Stars

Another installment of my holiday package breakdown. Last night, I baked two more types of cookies and packed up the boxes. Today I'm off to the post office. Then I'm done! For a while at least... I can't believe people do this every year.

These gingerbread cookies ended up being my favorite item in the boxes, which was very surprising for me because I thought I didn't like gingerbread. I have no idea why I thought that, but I was obviously wrong. Now that I have discovered my new love for gingerbread, I'm going to try making a loaf.

These were great because they were not too sweet (you know me, I don't really like sweet things... except for those sour patch kids), but they had lots of flavor from the extra spices and the orange zest I added to the Paula Deen recipe, which I picked as the starting point based on the fact that it used molasses, since I have a big bottle of it for some forgotten reason. The decorating part of these was extremely trying. As you can see, I have not pictured the truly horrific looking ones. (There were many. The really ugly ones are a great excuse to eat some while you decorate.)

Gingerbread Stars
Adapted (spiced up) from Paula Deen

Ingredients:
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (she suggested dark)
1 stick butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/4 cup molasses
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting work surface
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/8 tsp. ground all spice
1/2 tsp. salt
zest from one medium orange, very fine

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbs. milk
2 drops vanilla extract
food coloring

Directions:
-Cream the butter and the sugar in an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, then the molasses, and mix until combined.
-Sift together the dry ingredients (flour through salt) then add the orange zest.
-Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a spoon to combine.
-Remove the dough from the bowl, form into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Put it in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
-Let the dough sit at room temperature for 15 minutes or until it becomes pliable.
-Take about a quarter of the dough and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Cut into shapes. Reroll scraps, repeat.
-Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes until just brown on the edges. Cool on wire racks before icing.
-Mix the powdered sugar with the vanilla and milk for the icing. This does not make very much icing, so two batches would be a good idea. Color as desired.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies w/ Coconut

I'm supposed to be gearing up for marathon training this winter, so I really need to stop this whole baking experiment I started a little while ago, or at least shift to whole wheat, flax seed, no-butter baking, i.e. cardboard manufacturing. But I felt like these cookies were at least a step in the right direction since they had oatmeal in them (and everyone knows oatmeal is a runner's best friend).

I got the inspiration for these cookies from Potbelly's. On the rare occasion when I buy my lunch (like today) I always go to Potbelly's. The sandwiches are fantastic, even if the lines are ridiculously long. And every time I go I have to summon all my willpower not to buy one of their oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Sometimes I lose this battle. Oatmeal is definitely my favorite breakfast food, but I never really liked oatmeal cookies until I tried the ones at Potbelly's. Probably because I never had an oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips in it, always the ones with those nasty little brown raisins (I reaaaaally dislike regular raisins, white raisins and craisins are great though.)

This is my attempt at a close approximation to their cookies, although I'm sure it's not exactly right, and of course I added coconut which is not--as far as I can tell--in theirs. The coconut helps to keep the cookies moist and chewy and adds a little sweetness. Now I have to admit this is the third time I made these. The first time, I didn't have very much oatmeal left so I tried to make these with only 2 cups of oatmeal. The result was paper thin crunchy cookies. Poppop makes something like them that he calls lace cookies, but mine were not nearly as good. The second time was pretty tasty, but a little too-oatmeally and dense. The third time was perfect. (I feel like Goldilocks.) This is what I did the third time.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies w/ Coconut
Yields 25-30 cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
2/3 cup dark chocolate chunks
2/3 cup shredded, sweetened coconut

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread parchment paper on baking sheets or spray with non stick cooking spray.
-Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
-Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low until incorporated, then raise the speed to high and continue until the mixture is fluffy. Add the brown sugar to the mixture, beating with the mixer, then add the eggs one at time. Mix in the vanilla.
-Add the flour mixture slowly, using the mixer to combine the dry and wet ingredients.
-When the flour is fully incorporate, fold in the oatmeal using a spatula. Stir in the chocolate chips and the coconut.
-Spoon about a tablespoon of dough onto the baking sheet for each cookie, leave 2 inches between cookies. Bake for 12-15 minutes in the middle of the oven, or until the cookies are just brown on top but still spongy. Let the cookies cool slightly on the baking sheet, then transfer to a rack. Store in tupperware so they stay moist.

(If you're cookies start to get hard, put a piece of sliced white bread in the tupperware with them. They will get moist again. I learned that from an innkeeper in Gettysburg.)