the ny times cookie - attempting to fool a die hard fan

My boredom typically gets the best of me. I am constantly searching for new types of entertainment (usually always in the form of food). What better way to get through a typically boring day other than to pull a fast one on my boyfriend, and trick him with his "favorite" chocolate chip cookie. Yeah, you heard me- I'm going to willingly trick my boyfriend... and enjoy it. We'll definitely show him who's boss. And besides that, I've been meaning to try out this recipe. There's way too much hype about these cookies online to ignore.


So apparently we've been flip-flopping from one cookie to the next. Recall the original cookie-bake-off? All four of those cookies (which apparently, my boyfriend so immensely adored the Cook's Illustrated one) are now running competitors.


We've started off with the Cook's Illustrated as the favorite. And then I pulled the first fast one by presenting him Alton Brown's "The Chewy", which he soon thereafter moved on to. I did throw in the Neiman Marcus cookie, for shits and giggles, mostly because I knew he'd know they were different.


But now- alas, the prominent New York Times Cookie! The one that stated an exact amount of a full 72 hours in the refrigerator (which, to my fault, could be the reason he disliked them the most the first try). Shall we try this recipe again, but to the T? I think so...


And so, as the process endued, I began to notice slight differences. And yes, I did also have half a leftover batch of "The Chewy" which I used that as a comparison (the fact that it is a leftover batch is obvious given the use of white chocolate chips for Mr. Picky).


In the cookie dough alone, you can notice obvious differences. The NY Times cookie is much darker in appearance, and had a firmer texture than The Chewy. Even the cookies after baking their given times and degrees lead to this stark difference in color.


And after further examination you can notice The Chewy (left) is actually more puffy than anything. It appears as if the inside had prompted the outer shell to expand so much as to form large cracks down the edges. The NY Times cookie (right) on the other hand, appears calm and collected, free of scars and breakage.


So this was the NY Times cookie, with all its spoiled 72+ hours of refrigeration, its two different types of flour, and a brand name attached to it. His dark appearance and flat surface intrigued me. The exterior was so perfect; so round and compact- Basically, they were ready to be eaten.


After enough trickery on my behalf, my boyfriend no longer easily falls for my schemes. He noticed the difference (obviously, I just rambled on for hours of the drastic appearance change), and quickly found out my plan. It didn't take him much to willingly participate in my cookie taste-off, though.


As we both armed each hand with the two types of cookies, we realized we had the end of our chocolate chip cookie quest in sight. We will finally come to a conclusive answer as to which chocolate chip cookie really is the best. And the winner is? Truthfully, all the cookies are great- they really just depend on our moods and the person tasting them. Although my boyfriend and I did choose this cookie as our favorite, I wouldn't be surprised if our opinions changed for the next cookie.

---RECIPE---
Taken from The NY Times.

ingredients:
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 salt
2+1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) 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 fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (I just used regular chocolate chips.)
Sea salt (Omitted.)

directions:
1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. 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 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours. (Finally! A recipe supporting refrigerating dough.)
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
4. Scoop 6 3+1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

amount:
Makes 1+1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies. (I made more that were much smaller in size.)

white chocolate macadamia nut cookies - credit due to my nut-chopping slave

My amazing boyfriend took my cousin and I out to a fancy-shmancy dinner the previous night. We ordered yummy sushi, fried calamari, new england clam chowder, and basically all the works. To repay him, my cousin sneakily asked him what his favorite type of cookie was (and yes she did this on her own without even asking me). He supposedly responded with "white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies". I found this odd, because in my head I thought he didn't like macadamia nuts in his cookies. Regardless, I took her word for it and we decided to make a little thank-you present for him. Oh and by the way- mac nuts are probably the hardest nut to find (not counting in Hawaii where they're everywhere). It took us three grocery stores to finally find somewhere that sold them (and what a rip-off too).


The dough recipe was fairly basic; nothing too distant from the basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. I did choose to use my favorite non-Cook's-Illustrated recipe website (AllRecipes.com) to find this cookie. They generally have good recipes, and the best part is reading all the ratings and reviews.


Unfortunately there were no photos of us preparing the cookie dough because I didn't predict how fast the sun would set. On the bright side, I had the best time of my life forcing my little cousin to be macadamia-nut-chopping-slave. You see, we realized the nuts (which we toasted, of course) were too large to put in the cookies. So to fix this, someone had to chop these spherical crunchy nuts into little bite site pieces. (And by someone, I really mean my cousin.) I pretended I was busy with other things, forcing her to sit at my dining room table for about 20 minutes chopping a whole bag of rolling nuts on a bouncy pan with a dull knife. My roommate came home and felt so bad for her because first of all, she was sitting in the dark because I forgot to turn the lights on for her, and second of all, she had the most miserable look on her face. It was the funniest shit I ever saw in my life.


She did get repaid though, don't worry. We both got our fair share of eating this delicious cookie dough (finally, another pro-raw-cookie-dough advocate!). We both agreed that this cookie dough topped many other cookie doughs out there (and yes, I've had my fair share of batters to make this judgment).


The cookies came out pretty good surprisingly. I was a little apprehensive not using my faithful Cook's Illustrated or The Chewy recipe, but I'm happy to say that AllRecipes.com was a great runner up.


So what did my boyfriend think of his thank-you present? Once I told him what we made, he said he didn't even like white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Okay- so I don't know where the discrepancies came from (his side or her side) but apparently they are not his favorite and I was indeed correct. Anyways, he still ate them and said they tasted fine. He took them home and they were gone within a few days, so at least somebody out there ate them (and hopefully enjoyed them as well).

---RECIPE---
Taken from All Recipes.

ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts (toasted, and preferably chopped by someone else so you can get a good laugh watching them)
1 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate (white chocolate morsels do just fine)

directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

amount:
Makes about 4 dozen. (For some reason we didn't get that many. Perhaps we ate too much dough?)

alton brown's "the chewy" - my cockiness was no match to these cookies

So, believe it or not, but I know my boyfriend better than he knows himself. For years he has been stuck in his stubborn routine ways, believing that he likes/dislikes certain things, when in fact it is the total opposite. Months ago we had our little chocolate chip cookie throwdown, where my boyfriend proudly asserted his favorite cookie was the cook's illustrated cookie. Ever since then, I have been slaving away over the oven every week baking him these now boring cookies. So after all this, I thought it would be time for a little change, wouldn't you think so? (insert evil laugh here).


The results from the cookie throwdown placed Alton Brown's "The Chewy" in the middle at #3. I could not cope with the fact that my man AB did not produce an overly-awesome cookie. So, to quell my distress, I decided to do a little swap out on my cookie dough and see what my unknowing boyfriend would think.


Half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half white chocolate chips, per usual, so my picky-eater wouldn't notice any discrepancies.


Since the last time I baked these cookies, many things have changed- For starters, I now like to consider myself an "unofficial cookie professional & specialist" (yes I just made that up right now), concentrating on the production and assemblage of chocolate chip cookies. I followed all cookie dough rules and regulations (example: correct butter temperature, correct mixing equipment), and most importantly- I left the dough to blossom in the refrigerator for no less than 48 hours.


Also, I followed Mr. Brown's instructions precisely, and even googled how big a #20 ice cream scooper would be, so that I could accurately form the correct size dough balls. The size of the cookie dough balls were much larger than I typically make, creating these unfamiliar and ginormous chocolate chip cookies.


My boyfriend, who is ever so keen, noticed the difference (size being the obvious dead giveaway) and so I divulged my intended plan to him.


Before he took his first bite into this mysterious cookie, I gave him the usual rules- Describe everything, tell me what is especially good about these cookies, tell me what I should have done differently, and most importantly- if this was a better tasting cookie than his Cook's Illustrated.


Hmm... I can't say I'm surprised at all. He chose these over his old favorite. All those times I wanted to try new chocolate chip cookie recipes and he wouldn't dare let me now seem ironic.


See, the thing was that I knew there would be better cookie recipes out there that he'd like even more... I just knew it. Only after proving it to him could I rub all that crap into his face about me knowing more than him. Unfortunately, he really didn't give a shit that I was right (and thinking about it now, I'm sure he knew it himself from the beginning); quite honestly, all he cared about was that he had freshly baked deliciously gooey semi-sweet and white chocolate chip cookies in front of him.

---RECIPE---
Taken from Alton Brown.

ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter
2+1/4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1+1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
1+1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

directions:
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat (or microwave it like I did). Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
3. Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
4. Chill the dough (I would recommend at least 24 hours), then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

amount:
About 2+1/2 dozen cookies.

valentine's day - truffles - the perfect way to use up old/hard cookies

After the Super Bowl, I had a few tupperwares left of the excess brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Remember how I cut them into cute little football shapes and whatnot.. Well you may be wondering as to what I did with those odd shaped crumbs. (No, I did not eat them... well, I ate a good amount, but definitely not all of it). I sneakily hid them, to be saved for a later purpose (a.k.a. now). My boyfriend actually caught me... He came across one of these tupperwares and was like "Are those mine?"... lol, what kind of creature have I created! Just because I have baked goods, doesn't automatically mean they are yours! (Well, they indeed were for him, he just didn't know it at the time.)


I only had time to do the neiman marcus cookie crumbs and the blondie crumbs before Valentine's Day (the brownies were to come later). I also bought this cute little container and mini muffin liners for each truffle, to go with the whole gay pink/red theme.


The ones with red candy coating and powdered sugar had the neiman marcus cookie pieces. For that batch, I placed all the excess cookies into the food processor, and dumped some vanilla frosting inside. I'm not sure how much frosting I used, as it depended on how much was needed to make it moist enough.


Then I placed the mushy cookie mixture in the fridge to harden up. Once it was at the point where I could roll them into tight balls, I dipped them in the red coating and immediately sprinkled powdered sugar over them.


They weren't that good to be quite honest. The canned frosting tasted horrible and I was pretty disappointed that the rest of the batches wouldn't come out as good either.


I decided that for the blondies batch I'd use some leftover caramel butter frosting (from the caramel cupcakes) and mix it together.


As for decorating them, I first dipped them in the white candy coating and them dribbled the red coating back and forth. These definitely looked a lot better.


Mmm, these tasted a lot better too. It was probably because I used the frosting, but also because the blondie crumbs were a lot better tasting in the first place. Each little truffle had chopped nuts and small flecks of coconut. These white truffles were eaten up a lot faster than the red ones.

---RECIPE---
Made by myself

ingredients:
any leftover cookie/blondie/brownie crumbs
frosting or something similar
candy coating

directions:
1. Place cookie crumbs in food processor and pulse until tiny crumbs.
2. Slowly add frosting and mix. If it needs more moisture, then keep adding frosting until the batter had clumped until into a single ball.
3. Refrigerate until hard enough to roll into little balls, and then refrigerate the balls on a cookie sheet.
4. Roll into candy coating however desired.