In pursuit of cookie perfection

World's largest cookie

Haven't we all had it with making too much of a cookie?  Think about how many times have you heard someone say they have a great recipe of their chocolate chip cookie.  Once they share it, it usually has the some measurements and some instructions and magically you get their version of the greatest cookie alive.  However, one thing we miss is that many times a successful  recipe is not just a list of ingredients - hopefully with measurements - but some technique required to make it right.      

I can rightfully say this as a person that was raised with recipe instructions that consisted of "mix it until it looks right" or the vague handwritten instructions from my great grandmother's holiday cookie recipe that said "add a package of figs" - which I would guess the "package" of figs of have probably changed sizes over the last 60 years or so.  Though my favorite instructions I received from my mother over the phone was while explaining how to make her famous baked beans was to add a couple "serious squirts of mustard" or the classic "add a splurge of milk" to breadcrumbs while making meatballs.  Oh, my sisters have received similar instructions on making sauce as to "add enough oregano to the top of the sauce until it "sort of covers the top of the sauce".  Details, details.    Why let that get in the way.   

Some of these things are what paralyze some people from attempting to cook it is that they never were taught some basics to cooking or baking that help them understand the importance to some techniques.   One thing I have been noticing as I have dug into many websites and cookbooks to figure how to prepare something that peaks my interest , is that many authors will tell you what to do, but not why.  I think all that does is either hurts a person that is struggling to learn to cook on their own or they might make a tragic shortcut that will ruin their outlook to cooking or tragically their meal. 

How is that tragic?  Think of the times you might try something for guests or family.  It might be a special occasion and too much is resting on this meal and if it gets away from you, suddenly they are all secretly judging you and you will be either cut out of the will or defriended on Facebook.  Well, maybe you have better friends, but you never know.

So, cookies. 

I tried a cookie recipe from Cook's Illustrated that they have tested and proclaimed that they had figured out how to make a darn good cookie.   Actually, they claim it is a perfect cookie.  When you get someone claiming perfection - it is difficult not to be interested.  The beauty of their cooking instructions is they explain why they choose the ingredients in the recipe and what their expected outcome is for the recipe.  They also show their work, meaning they tell you what they attempted that did not work and how they adjusted to get it to what they want.  Translation - "Listen, I know you want to mess this up, but we already did those steps for you, so just trust us and follow along".   This not an actual quote from America's Test Kitchen, just what I imagine what would said after I sat behind them after a long day of listening to my questions. 

Weighing the ingredients

One thing I have learned as I have been baking and cooking is to be prepared and to trust weighing ingredients over measuring ingredients.  For many baking recipes this helps eliminate "scooping bias" that will vary between people.

Mise en place

So I started this recipe by gathering my ingredients. Of the other great steps I have learned is to gather the ingredients or to the mise en place so I am ready with everything I need.

One of the interesting techniques I had not tried before was to brown the butter.  First time browning butter, but the aroma as I was mixing the ingredients together was an encouraging sign they really had a great recipe. Browning the butter is one of the keys to creating the perfect cookie, as it helps to create the chewiness for the cookie and enhances the flavor of the cookie. A great tip for browning the butter was they recommending a nonstick skillet to help you actually see the color of the browning butter.  That helped as it seemed the butter quickly turned to dark rich brown color from the golden butter color quickly.

Mixing and resting the sugars

Interesting to see the difference after first mixing of the sugars, waiting for three minutes and then mixing again.  I did this two times and each time the sugar mixture texture became smoother and shiner. This step is created to help in the sugar to dissolve.

Stir in the flour, once everything was ready from the sugar mixture,  it all mixed together wonderfully.  The next step was to add the remaining ingredients 

After adding the flour, chocolate and nuts.

 Another tip that I have found true on many recipes is to not try to get through the baking process.  By putting the cookies on trays and baking them separately you get a better baked cookie.  Really, have we not learned by now that shortcutting on your way to cookie perfection is a path towards disappointment

Time to enjoy the fruits of our labor.

Milk and cookies, nah - espresso for me

I have always had hard time figuring out what makes certain cookies better than others.  The beauty of this recipe it lays out the pros and cons of trying different methods and explains the consquences of ignoring their steps.  Simple a great cookie and worth the little bit of extra effort.