April 3, 2011

Cookie Challenge, Take 3

So take 3 - still no perfect cookie.

I had really high hopes for this recipe, but to be honest, as much as I have a girl-crush on Nigella Lawson, her chocolate chip cookie recipe just didn't do much for me.

Don't get me wrong, it was good - and quite frankly the taste was the best in my opinion (think more buttery and shortbread-esque) - but the texture lacked for me. I think that's because I know I want a thinner and crispier cookie now and not something big and poofy.

Overall, I did enjoy these but the next day they were really hard. I think because they cook low and long, it makes them really dry out and that causes a harder cookie the next day. Even the reviews at my office were that these were not as good as the Alton Brown recipe texture wise,
but taste wise it was an even split between these and the AB cookie recipe.

Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Chip Cookies
10 T butter softened, unsalted
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 t. vanilla
1 egg - COLD
1 egg yolk - COLD
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda
1 bag chocolate chip cookies

Preheat oven to 325. Line cookie sheets with Silpats or parchment
melt the butter and let it cool. Put the brown and white sugar in a bowl, pour the slightly cooled butter over them and beat together.
Beat in the vanilla, cold egg and egg yolk and mix until light and creamy.
Slowly mix in the flour and baking soda until just blended, then fold in the chocolate chips.
Scoop the cookies in to quarter cup measures and bake 3 inches apart. Chill dough in between batches.
Bake 15-17 minutes or until the edges are lightly toasted.
ENJOY!!

My review
Chocolate Chip Used: Hershey's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip. After playing around with milk, dark and now semi-sweet, I've determined s-s is the best chip to use - a little sweet creaminess, a little bite of bitter - the perfect mix. Perhaps that's why it is called semi-sweet
Ease of Recipe:Comes together really quickly, no chill time excpet for when cookies are baking, which I love! And she uses all ingredients from cold except the butter so it's even easier
OOO (Out of Oven) Texture: I think the 2nd yolk here adds a fluffiness and cake-like texture to this cookie. The are not browned on top and are a more "rustic" looking cookie, they do have a nice lightly crispy bottom though and are so soft
OOO Taste:The taste is spot on - really hardly much sweet, prob. The least sweet of any cookie we've made so far. This is a wonderful baking chip and I've determined now that all cookies need a semi sweet, for the creaminess, the sweetness and the bitterness combo. They taste buttery, rich and have more of a sugar/shortbread cookie taste to me than a traditional choco. chip cookie batter taste
Milk Dunk Test: doesn't soften the cookie or anything, just a milky harder cookie.
DA (Day After) Texture: Certainly a harder cookie than any other cookie we've made. It doesn't retain any thing soft about it. It's dense and firm and dried like a store bought cookie.
DA Taste: Taste is still really good though.
Appearance: love the rustic feel of them, there's no shame here in an inperfect cookie. They bake poofy and rounded and don't really flatten out but more poof up as they bake creating a really fluffy light cookie.
Husband Rating: Finally made him one with no chips and he said it's good but he prefers Alton's recipe that it's a bit sweeter and had a better texture for him.
Overall Notes: The cookie has a great flavor and is pretty close to the flavor I'd like for a cookie, buttery and mild, but the texture just isn't doing anything for me on the second day, they are great out of the oven and warn, nice and fluffy, cakey and soft, but once they sit, they become like little rock nuggets and the only thing that saves them is re-nuking in the microwave. How can i combine the softness of Alton's recipe with the taste of this recipe??

No comments: