Why oh why must I be cursed with an inability to bake? I have really got to be one of the worst bakers ever! Everytime I attempt some sort of baked goodie, I make a mess of it. I swear I follow the directions as precisely as I am capable of. I try, try, and try again. But I fail, fail, and fail again. Arrrrgh! But, I'm going to keep trying and hopefully one day I'll learn.
Remember that episode of Friends where Monica makes a million batches of cookies in an attempt to make the best chocolate chip cookies without any success? That's how I feel. No matter what recipe I've tried (yes including the Phoebe's mom's famous Nesele Toulouse recipe), no matter whose oven I'm using, no matter what the weather is like outside, no matter how full the moon is, or how the planets are aligned, they ALWAYS come out cakey. See those below? That's not what a cookie should look like...
The ONE time they turned out right was the time the hubz was helping me and screwed up the recipe because he didn't bother to read it carefully! They were chewy and delicious and definitely not my doing. I tried to make them again the right way the following week without his help, and guess what? CAKEY! Next time I'm going to try his messed up version, but I bet those will turn out cakey too.
Seriously, what's wrong with me?
Ok, enough wallowing in self-pity. Here's the recipe for Alton Brown's "The Chewy", aka "The Cakey" when I get my hands on it. The accidental changes that my husband made in his version, which tasted fantastic by the way, are in blue.
Ingredients:
(my hubz changes are in blue)
- 2 sticks of butter
- 2 1/4 cups of bread flour
- 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/4 cup of sugar (1 c of sugar)
- 1 1/4 cup of brown sugar (1/2 c of brown sugar)
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons of milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 2 cups of chocolate chips
Directions:
- Melt the butter (I used a microwave).
- Add the sugar and brown sugar into the butter and cream them together.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, milk, vanilla extract and mix.
- Slowly mix in the flour, salt and baking soda until well incorporated.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Chill the dough.
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Scoop the dough onto a cookie sheet and bake for 14 minutes.
- Enjoy the fact that you can make cookies that have the texture of cookies and I can't.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Chocolate Chip Cookies
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14 comments:
I could have written this post! CCC and I don't get along. :( bummer for my h!
Some people like cakey cooks. You'd probably be a goddess in their world.
I love cakey cookies!!!!! Yours look GRRRREAT, don't be hard on yourself. I prefer cooking over baking, as it doesn't require so much precision. But who doesn't like a homemade cookie, whether chewy or cakey? If it's butter and sugar, there ain't nothing better!
I'm sorry, I don't have any good advice for you. Cakey cookies are better than no cookies.
I bet they are delicious, I'm a disastrous baker myself.
I am sure these were delicious.
If you are interested in perfecting your choc. chip cookie, you should really read Joe Pastry's posts on them. He analyzes the differences between the different types and provides various recipe formulations. I highly recommend taking a peek.
http://joepastry.web.aplus.net/index.php?cat=132
Your cookies look delicious even if they weren't as you hoped! There's a big, thin chocolate chip cookie that I make. It's different from other choc chip cookies, and it spreads a lot while it bakes. It's from Martha Stewart, and it's called Alexis' chocolate chip cookie. So good.
There is nothing more comforting than warm chocolate chip cookies.
You should try following the recipe as it's given, you might find better results.
I too have my "bad baking days" moments. Whatever it is, the cookies look delicious to me .. and as it's choc chip, who cares!
Your photo is great and I bet the cookies are delicious. My motto is "if you like it, that's all that matters!" Keep on baking and don't ever give up.
Thanks for all the encouragement and the tips everybody! I don't plan on giving up, so you'll probably be seeing more attempts in the future :)
cakey, chewey,crispy..I will take them anyway they come out of the oven!
dude...i had those that your hubby helped with and they were hot damn delicious. thank you again for sending them down.
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