Sunday, January 01, 2012

Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies

- zaty.

So far I've tried a number of choc chip cookies -- crunchy, chewy, big, hard, soft, a mixture of either or all of these etc -- and I think I like the crunchy on the outside but slightly chewy on the inside kinda type. I found an awesome recipe for choc chip cookies on popularcookierecipes.com which I like to use as a rough guide to make these cookies, because I've only made them a few times before (at this time of writing)... and I tend to forget the ingredients and their general measurements lol :P

I made a few changes to the linked recipe above, I:
  1. used a bit less sugar, because I don't like it too sweet
  2. added chocolate powder, because I just felt like it
  3. used sea salt, because I saw another recipe using it so I'm curious about how it'll turn out
  4. added a bit of milk, because I like the idea :P
  5. used baking powder instead of baking soda (yes, the horror!), because I didn't have baking soda and I'm too lazy to go get some
Anyway, here's tweaked recipe, which roughly makes 5 dozen cookies that are about 2 inches in diameter. :)

Equipment

  1. Oven
  2. Spatula
  3. A large mixing bowl
  4. Baking tray (2 if possible)
  5. Baking/lining paper
  6. Measuring spoon/cups
  7. Airtight container
  8. Dining tray/baking rack/large plate


Ingredients A (wet):
  1. 1¼ C sugar (mixing white sugar and packed brown sugar is better)
  2. 125 g butter, melted
  3. 2 Tbsp cooking oil
  4. 2 large eggs
  5. 1 Tb milk
  6. 5 drops of vanilla essence (you could also try 4:1, vanilla and peppermint)

Ingredients B (dry):
  1. 2¼ C all purpose flour, well-sifted
  2. 1½ tsp baking powder (or 1 tsp baking soda)
  3. 1 Tb cocoa powder
  4. 3/4 tsp salt
  5. 1 C of chocolate chips

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 190degC.
  2. With a spatula, mix Ingredients A one by one in a bowl until well-combined.
  3. Stir in Ingredients B one by one, and mix everything well. The dough will become quite firm.
  4. Line the baking tray with baking paper.
  5. Scoop half a tablespoon of dough and use the spatula to push it onto the baking paper
    (arrange each scoop of dough so that there is about 2 inches of space between each cookie to prevent the cookies from melting+combining together).
  6. Place the tray in the oven for about 8-10 minutes
    (8 mins = slightly chewy brown-on-the-edges-lighter-in-the-centre cookies, 10min = darker and crispier; I'd go for 9 mins).
  7. Prepare another batch on a second baking tray
    (keep this and the rest of the dough in the fridge/freezer while waiting for the batch in the oven!) ^*^
  8. After a batch of cookies are done, take it out and replace it with the second tray you have prepared. Transfer the freshly baked cookies onto a clean surface (baking rack, dining tray or large plate) to cool down at room temperature
  9. The cookies are good to eat/store just before the previous batch is done in the oven - transfer the baked cookies into an airtight container as soon as they've cooled down to prevent them from going stale. :)


And that's pretty much it. Now I'll enjoy my cookies with some mint tea. :D

^*^ a cold dough will 'melt' faster, making the cookie melt quicked and make it thinner (and crispier) around the edges. Just the way I like it :D

No comments: