Cookie Carnival: The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Just when I think I've made the best chocolate chip cookie yet, along comes another fabulous recipe. I'm starting to think maybe there's no such thing as a bad chocolate chip cookie.

The lovely, Kate, from the Clean Plate Club, and our fearless Cookie Carnival leader has chosen The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies as this month's cookie. It comes from "In the Sweet Kitchen", by Regan Daley.


Mmmm, these were soft and chewy throughout. They held their shape and didn't flatten out, no doubt due to the large percentage of flour. These cookies contained the same basic amount of sugar, butter, and eggs as the famous Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies, but they have almost a cup of flour more.

Anyway, they were delicious and perfect for dunking into an ice cold glass of milk. I sent most of them to one of the soldiers for Operation Baking Gals (I'll post about that later). I hope the soldiers enjoy them as much as I did.

(I'm not usually one to fall for nick-nacks and do-dads, but I couldn't resist buying this chicken, er, rooster (thanks, Vera!).)


The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
16 oz. flavorful bitter or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly butter them, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or a large bowl if mixing by hand, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

3. Using your hands, shape knobs of dough about the size of a large walnut and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Stagger the rows of cookies to ensure even baking. Bake 12-15 for smaller cookies, 14-17 for larger ones or until the tops are a light golden brown. If the cookies are neither firm nor dark when they are removed from the oven, they will cool chewy and soft. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. If somehow they don't get inhaled immediately, they may be stored airtight at room temperature for up to one week.

TWD: Kugelhopf

In general, I try not to turn this blog into my personal sounding board. I know everyone has problems and hardships and they don’t need to take on my burdens too. Plus, I don't even like to listen to myself whine. However, I have a beef I feel like talking about. And I’m wondering, am I the only one who feels this way? Maybe I've turned into one of those old farts who’s got romantic notions of how much better things were in "the good old days"?


Here's what gets my goat... Hollywood and the entertainment industry bombarding my kids with its lack of values. For example, advertising of the movie, “Sex and the City”.

I don’t mind that the movie exists, but dag-nabit, do they have to advertise it everywhere? At every turn, I see that larger than life poster (and more to the point, my kids see it) with the word “SEX” in all caps, in hot pink rhinestones on a black background. Very glamorous, very glitzy, lots of visual appeal… and there it is at the theater, the mall, TV commercials, at the bookstore for crying out loud. It’s fine for adults, but when I take my kids to the bookstore and end up having to have “the talk” with my 7 year old? Oy vey!

You may be thinking, “but you could just tell them when they're older”. Yeah right, you try not explaining something like that to a curious elementary school kid and you will be hounded every waking minute, I guarantee you. At that age, they just can't stand being left out of a secret. And saying nothing isn't an option... you risk them using their fun, new word at school, at their friend's house, or wherever, because they don't know what it means.



And it's not a matter of "well, if you don't like it, just don't look at it." Because you just can't escape it. It's everywhere.

Here’s another example. Our family goes to the bowling alley, middle of the week day, we’re among a handful of groups bowling. Another nice wholesome outing, right? Right. Guess what song starts blaring on the juke box? “I Kissed a Girl and I Liked It” (which is sung by a girl, in case you didn't know). Niiiiice. Then some goon plays it AGAIN! And I see the sweet faces of my 7 and 10 year olds, looking at me and their dad with a “what the... ?” look.

What I dislike is when society forces me to have these discussions with my kids before I feel that they’re ready. OK, maybe the 10 year old is ready. But the 7 year old? Does he really need to know that? Will the world not let me keep him innocent for just a little while longer?

Wishful thinking, I guess.

Believe me when I tell you I am not a prude. I’m not holier than thou, not one to preach to anyone about my beliefs or be judgemental. And I don’t get all wigged out when I do explain the grown up parts of life to the kids. I tell them matter of factly, as much as I think they need to know, or can handle. But damn, let me do it when I think the time is right! Not as a result of a trip to the bookstore or the bowling alley, for pete’s sake!

Sigh.

So anyway, the kids are finding out (too young) about sex and the options for partners, and the Tuesday's with Dorie crowd and I are finding out about Kugelhopf. Sigh.

Here's a shout out to Yolanda of All-Purpose Girl for this week's recipe selection.

Kugelhopf is a European “cake” made from slightly sweetened yeast dough and typically contains raisins. It’s baked in a ring type pan and has a distinct look. Leite’s Culinaria has a real nice description and a beautifully made example, along with Dorie Greenspan's recipe.

I’m guessing I won’t be alone amongst the Tuesdays with Dorie crowd when I say that it seemed more like bread than cake. Albeit, a nice, light, soft bread.

Here is the dough in the molds, before it's had a chance to rise.


I don’t have a Kugelhopf pan, and I wanted to cut the recipe in half, so I used some cute little metal molds I have to bake it in. I added mini chocolate chips because I thought the recipe looked like it could benefit from some chocolate. (What, in life, couldn't benefit from a little chocolate?)


Some had problems with the yeasted dough rising. Mine rose to the tops of the molds before baking (I filled the molds about ¾ full to start with) but they rose even more in the oven and seemed to turn out just right.


Alone, they were OK. Warmed up, slathered with butter and jam, they were pretty good. I’m guessing the full sized loaf, sliced and toasted with butter and jam would be downright tasty.

All in all, it was a new and fairly successful baking adventure. Now, if I could get Hollywood to messing around in my business, I'd be set!

And the winner is...

Grace from A Southern Grace!

Grace has won the Sweet Melissa Baking Book from my give-away.

Thank you SO much to everyone who participated. I really, really enjoyed reading everyone's stories and I could relate to so many of them :)

I figured out how to use the Random Number Generator at Random.org, but not how to copy it in my post. So, here are the results, however unformatted they may be:

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

17 Timestamp: 2008-11-07 13:15:35 UTC

© 1998-2008 Mads Haahr
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional Valid CSS
Web Design by TSDA

Last Chance to win Free Stuff

Today, Thursday, is the last day for a chance to win my extra, new, copy of the Sweet Melissa Baking Book.

Check it out!

If you already commented, or you already have the book, or you just don't care, I'll throw another chocolate chip cookie recipe out there. (I know you're thinking, "For crying out loud, woman, would you just give chocolate chip cookies a REST!").

Well, no, no I won't. I can't. I'm of the opinion that chocolate chip cookie dough is quite possibly the most delicious substance on planet earth.



This recipe is from allrecipes.com and can be found HERE. These cookies have that lovely crispyness on the outside and chewiness on the inside. I like to add more salt, maybe 3/4 to 1 teaspoon total. I don't recommend refrigerating first, like I did this time, or the cookies end up somewhat flat.



Enjoy!

TWD: Rugelach

This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe is Rugelach, chosen by Piggy of Piggy's Cooking Journal. Thanks, Piggy! Me loves some rugelach! You can find Dorie Greenspan's recipe and commentary about her rugelach HERE.

Just for fun... let's pretend you came over and we're making rugelach together, and all the while I'm telling you about my freak encounter with the forces of Good versus Evil yesterday.

OK, first we make our dough, split it in two, and refrigerate. Once chilled, roll each half into a circle.


"So anyway, it all started innocently enough with me stopping by one of my favorite lunch spots for a bite to eat. After I finished, I took my bill to the cashier and start fishing through my purse for my credit card. Sadly, I remember that I left all of my credit cards in the backpack I used for our weekend excursion with the kids. Of course, I had no cash (of course!)

I explain this to the cashier and ask if I can write a check. A terse "we don't take checks" was the reply. So I launch into my story again about forgetting the credit cards, I'm very sorry, etc., etc. ... thinking perhaps she's not understanding that a check is the only option outside of me getting a free meal. "

OK, next, spread a thin layer of warmed raspberry jam over the dough.


"By then, the manager comes along (or owner, maybe? I don't know, but it quickly became apparent that he's the Guy in Charge (GIC)). The cashier explains the situation to GIC and he looks at me and deadpans "well then, I guess we'll have to call the police and have you arrested". I wait for the smile, the joking laugh, but none come. It slowly dawns on me that he is serious as a heart attack. (we're talking about a $6.97 bill here). I then start my speech again, "I forgot, blah, blah, blah and all I have is a check". "

Next, sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar and pecans .


"GIC is looking very grave and serious. Cashier is looking very grave and serious. I'm feeling like an 8-year old who's been sent to the Principal's office.

So then, GIC grudgingly mumbles "OK, then, we have to take a check", and he tells the cashier to be sure to write down my drivers license number on the check."

Next come the currants (except I used chopped, dried cherries instead.)


"I really, really hated that I had to deliver the next piece of Very Bad News, which is that I also didn't have my drivers license. (It's in the backpack, hiding out with the credit cards.)"

Finally, sprinkle on the chopped chocolate (or mini choco. chips, as in my case).


"But wait, I have my photo ID from work! He takes it, scowls, looks at the ID, looks at me, looks at the ID, looks at me (maybe I look like I've done hard time? I dunno). He is obviously very perturbed. Cashier is obviously very perturbed. I'm standing there wondering what the hell kind of alternate universe I've landed in, where paying by check seems to be the crime of the century, when an angel appears."

Cut the dough like you would a pizza, into 16 pieces (or 12 as I did here).


Starting at the wide end, roll up the dough, crescent roll style. Place the cookies on a parchment lined sheet. Chill. Brush with egg, sprinkle coarse sugar on top.


"An angel in the form of a young guy, maybe 20 years old. He steps up and hands the evil twosome his credit card and says "I'll get it". I babble something about writing him a check, getting his address... something, so I can repay him. But he says no.

I was so touched by his act of kindness that I almost cried right then and there. Thanks to him, I was no longer a loathsome, credit card-forgetting misfit."

Once again, good triumphs over evil and my faith in humanity is restored.

The End

Well, not quite.... time to talk about cookies. I've only made rugelach once before (different recipe) and I loved it. I don't know why I don't make it more often.

One thing about rugelach, it looks a little sloppy straight out of the oven.


I'm curious what everyone else does with the filling that oozes out of the cookie and leaks onto the parchment and burns. Or do yours not do that? I end up peeling off the nasty bits once the cookie has cooled.



The verdict? Delicious!! Worth the trouble of making them and picking off the nasty bits.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my Incredibly Long Post. :)

Cyndi Lauper's Checkerboard Hair Pie

I know… having the word “hair” in the name of a pie just seems wrong. But, Cyndi Lauper’s 1980's multi-colored buzzed-on-one-side checkerboard hair is what inspired my pie.


Oh wait, let me back up a minute and explain this new blog event called “You Want Pies with That?”. Its in its second month and participants bake a pie that follows a theme. This month’s theme was chosen by Holly of Phe/MOM/enon. Holly chose "Pies as a Fashion Statement" as the theme. In Holly's words "I decided that the theme for November would be all about Fashionable Pies, Outrageous Pies, Colorful Pies, Pies with Texture, Pies that are Haute Cuisine as well as Haute Fashion, Pies that are Decked Out, Embellished, and Over the Top!"

Wow! That's a tall order.

My pie comes from a YouTube-sponsored trip down 80's memory lane.

Growing up in Wyoming in the 1970's, you couldn't help but lead a sheltered life. We listened to Top-40's on the radio because that was all there was. All of that changed, however, on August 1, 1981 with the debut of that life-altering new TV station...










MTV opened up a whole new world to me. All of this music, the hair, the clothes, things I had never seen or heard of! Remember Culture Club? When I realized that that shabbily dressed girl was actually a guy? OMG, I still remember being shocked.

Then there was Cyndi Lauper.


Oh, how I loved that girl!! With her wild, mismatched clothes, her day-glo makeup and ever changing hair. Cyndi showed us that it was OK to be different and that different was fun. And she could belt out a tune, that's for sure. I always dug her hair from the video Time after Time. Believe it or not, that hairstyle inspired my pie. Yellow and pinky red... cross hatch...


My original plan was a peach, raspberry, and rhubarb pie with a lattice top. Things were going swimmingly until I added the fruit to the pie pan and saw that my pie was only half full. D'oh!!


I don't know why I veered from my original plan at that point. I wish I would have stuck with peaches, raspberries, and rhubarb, but I didn't. For some reason, I added blueberries. When that still wasn't enough, I added blackberries.


Fortunately, it made for a deee-licious pie. Like triple-berry pie with peaches and rhubarb thrown in for good measure. Plus, the cream cheese pie crust got high marks too.


Look ma! No runny filling!


So there you go, my fashion inspired pie. Reminds me of the good ole' 80's when they actually played music videos on MTV (and remember they had VJ's?). If you're an 80's guy or girl, I know you want to listen to my favorite Cyndi Lauper song, True Colors.

Here is the recipe. Be forewarned, there are a lot of dirty dishes involved.

TRIPLE-BERRY RHUBARB PEACH PIE

Mix together:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar, light or dark
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon instant tapioca
1-1/2 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt

In one bowl, place:
3 cup frozen sliced peaches, thawed and drained of syrup
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Add half of the sugar mixture and toss, set aside.

In another bowl, place:
1-1/2 cup frozen rhubarb, cut into 1” pieces, thawed
1-1/2 cup frozen raspberries, thawed and drained of syrup

Add the other half of the sugar mixture and toss gently, set aside. My raspberries ended up basically liquefying after this, but it turned out OK.

You guessed it, in another bowl, gently toss until the berries are coated:
1-1/4 cup frozen blackberries, thawed and drained of syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour

Finally, if you have any bowls left, add the following and gently toss until the berries are coated (or just use the blackberry bowl when you’re done with it, place the blueberries on top of the other fruit in the crust)
1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed and drained of syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour

Roll out half of the pie dough (recipe below) and line a 9-inch Pyrex or other pie plate with the crust.

Alternately add spoonfuls of your different fruits to the crust. Don’t stir them together, you want them to be distinct. Keep adding until all fruit is in the crust. Dot the top of the fruit with:
1 tablespoon butter

Roll out the other half of your pie dough. Use a pizza cutter or pastry cutter to cut ½ to 1-inch strips from the dough.

Rather than trying to explain how to weave the lattice, I’ll direct you to a YouTube video that demonstrates how to do this part HERE. Once the lattice is woven, trim the edges evenly, and crimp the edges in whatever manner suits you. I used a fork.

Place the pie in the refrigerator to chill for a half hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F degrees.

Bake at 375°F degrees for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees. I baked mine for about 25 minutes more, and then placed a metal pie shield around the edges to keep the edges from getting too brown. You could also line the edges with strips of aluminum foil. Bake for about 25 minutes more, or until golden brown AND the fruit is bubbling. My pie baked for about 60 minutes total.

Cream Cheese Pie Dough
(recipe from The Baker's Dozen Cookbook (which I highly recommend) and was contributed by Letty Flatt)

This recipe is easy. There's no ice water or cutting-in of butter or shortening involved.

1 cup unsalted butter
8 oz. cream cheese
2-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour

Using a stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, mix the butter at medium speed until smooth, approximately for one minute. Add the cream cheese and mix until smooth and combined. Add sugar and salt and mix until incorporated. Add the flour and mix on low just until the flour is incorporated.

Dump the dough onto a clean surface and divide in two. Using a piece of wax paper over top, push each half of dough into a disk. Wrap the dough in the wax paper and refrigerate for one hour or overnight. If chilled overnight, let dough sit on counter for about 10 minutes before rolling out

September & October Recipe Roundup and Awards!

Whew! its' been a blogging marathon this week! Before I forget (like last month) I wanted to post my favorites for the month.

September was a good month for desserts. Lots of winners here! In fact, I had such a hard time deciding which was my favorite, there was a two way tie for first.

1. Chocolate Whopper Malted Drops
1. Creme Brulee
2. Pink Grapefruit sandwich cookies
3. Chocolate Chunkers
4. Peanut Butter Cookies

October was an interesting month... not as many home-runs, in my opinion, but a few stars shone through.

My favorites for October were:

1. Lenox Almond Biscotti
2. Lemon-Lime Meringue Tart
3. Chocolate Chip Cookies, from Operation Baking Gals, round three

Lastly, but definitely not least, a number of very sweet bakers have given me some awards. I can't tell you how much these please and humble me. To be thought of by talented and generous bakers really makes my day.

Lucy from sweets, savories, etc. has given me the Excellent Blog Award. Lucy recently posted her pizelle cookies, which seriously look like they belong in an art gallery. They're gorgeous! Thanks so much, Lucy!

Cathy at The Tortefeasor has given me the Kreativ Blogger Award. Cathy is so funny, she always makes me laugh and lightens my day. Thanks, Cathy!


Pamela from Cookies with Boys and Nancy at The Dogs Eat the Crumbs have given me the Premio Artey Pico award. Thanks so much, Pamela and Nancy! I love Pamela's often playful take on her food, and she's got some seriously adorable boys. Nancy always has such interesting discussions on her blog. I go there and come away having learned something new.



The Excellent Blog award, I'm giving to Heather at Cakes, Kids, and a Lens. Heather is an awesome cake decorator, a really nice person, and she makes a mean pot of jambalaya!
The rules for the award are:

Find 5 blogs, of any kind that you love to read.
Write a post about the blogs you picked, linking back to them.
Make sure you let them know you gave them an award.

The premio artey pico award, I'm giving to Rebecca at Ezra Pound Cake. Rebecca doesn't know this but she kept me on this side of insanity today with her timely post about PMS Wrangler cookies (a.k.a no-bake chocolate cookies).

The rules are:
This award was created in Uruguay by a fellow blogger who makes dolls exclusively from recycled materials. Her blog can be reached by clicking here. The rules for this award include the following:

Pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language. Advertise the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone. Each award-winner, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.
Award-winner and the one who has given the prize has to show the link of “Arte y pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

The Kreativ Blogger award has a "meme" attached to this award, in the form of lists of sevens. OK, I am going to have to think about this one, LOL. So I will get back with the lucky recipient of this award. And my list... my brain is plumb tuckered out right now, so I will get back to this also.

Here is the list to be filled out by the recipients. If you want to give this a go, just let me know... LOL, I'll give you the award!

7 things I did before

7 things I do now

7 things I want to do

7 things that attract me about the opposite sex

7 Favorite Foods

7 things I Say Most Often:

7 Tags (and award too; pick one up)