Cookies For The Man I Love

A couple of years ago I saw Jacque Torres make these incredible chocolate chip cookies on the Martha Stewart Show. Not only were they huge, plate sized, cookies, they were also different because they used fancy European butter and chocolate discs, rather than just chocolate chips. The cookies were clearly something special. I didn't have a laptop at the time, so when I saw a recipe I was interested in, I would jot it down on a yellow notepad and stash it away. That's what I did with this recipe, but because they were working so fast, and I was copying down the recipe just as quickly, I missed a few measurements and steps.

I didn't have the complete recipe, but I never forgot about those cookies. I knew they would make an appearance in my future. I even bought a pound of expensive Plugra butter from a specialty store and I saved it til the time was right. I was intimidated by the recipe because, in my head, I made them out to be so much more complex than they ever were. I continued to save the butter until I was ready. Sadly that time never came and when I pulled the butter out of the chilled compartment and brought it to room temperature, to smear on my toast, it tasted like fridge. It was gross. But what should I have expected? I only "saved" it for about a year!

Then I came across a similar recipe from the New York Times that everyone was raving about. I wanted to make them for my hubby for his birthday last year. That didn't happen. I planned to make them for Father's Day. That also didn't happen. But 2011 was my year and I finally conquered the chocolate chip cookie! You know what? They're not too hard or complex, they just require time and patience. I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to make them. They really are special cookies and if you top them off with a sprinkling of sea salt before they bake, as the recipe suggests, then you'll end up with something a little sweet and salty, even slightly savory. I preferred them without the salt, but to each their own. At least try one with salt before you make up your mind.

I'm not only glad that I made these cookies and can check them off my baking "bucket list" but I'm glad that my husband really enjoyed them. He's a big chocolate chip cookie fan and these were quite satisfying. They're also really huge and one goes a long way. I preferred them slightly warm out of the oven, while the chocolate was still soft and gooey with a tall glass of ice cold milk, but they were also great, albeit a little crunchier, over the next couple of days. A good thing about this recipe is that you can prepare the dough ahead of time and bake them as you want them. Just think, you can make the dough for these now and have warm-out-of-the-oven cookies, all weekend long for that special Dad in your life. Yes, that's a good way to say "I love you".

I love you my handsomely scruffy faced husband. I could not have been blessed with a better partner or Dad to our boys. Happy Father's Day!

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies from NYT

Printer Friendly Version

• 2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. (8.5 ounces) cake flour
• 1 2/3 cup (8.5 ounces) 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 (10 ounces) light brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 larges eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate discs, at least 60% cacao content
• sea salt

Sift flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer with a 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, about 5-10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough can be used in batches and may be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

Scoop 6 (six) 3 1/2 ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally and chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle slightly with sea salt and bake until golden but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto a rack to cool for a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking the remaining batches the next day. Eat warm with a big napkin.

Makes 18 5-inch cookies.

You better believe anytime I am baking, Autumn is never too far :-)

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The winner of the Guylian Belgian Chocolate Giveaway according to Random.org is:

Commenter #10- Lynn Thompson who said "Congratulations on reaching the 24 week mark in your pregnancy. My daughter is also 24 weeks pregnant with my first grandchild and we are so excited. If I win the chocolate I will give them to her and we will talk about your journey to this point!"

Congratulations Lynn on your win and for being a soon-to be grandma! I hope you and your daughter will enjoy the beautiful chocolate creations from Guylian! Please email me with your address and I'll have Guylian send out your special box of sea shell chocolates.

The Devil Went Down To Texas

This is the second cake I've made for The Cake Slice Bakers and boy is it delicious! On a scale from 1-10, ten being the best, I give the Chai Cake with Honey-Ginger Cream that I made last month a 6. I give this Devil's food Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream a 9.5! Honestly, it is that good. Go get the book Sky High: Irresistable Triple Layer Cakes from Alissa Huntsman and Peter Wynne- you won't be disappointed!

I've eaten Devil's Food cake before but I've never made it. That being said, I've made many different recipes for chocolate cake. After making this one, I'm wondering what the hell (get it, ha ha!) took me so long to make this. This recipe is going on my "must make again, because it was so darn good" list. It had an excellent crumb, it was chocolately, not too sweet, moist and fluffy.

With this cake came two options of frosting: Brown Sugar 7-Minute Frosting and Brown Sugar Buttercream. I chose buttercream because if you're going to eat devil's food, you're obviously not on a diet, so why not have a decadent frosting to accompany it. How was the buttercream, you ask? Wonderfully creamy, soft and light, caramelly, cinnamony and the teensiest bit of sweetness. The best part though was that it wasn't overwhelmingly buttery, You know how you get that greasy feeling on the roof of your mouth? Well, not with this frosting. It is fluffed up and lightened with egg whites, but creamy from the butter. The brown sugar syrup provides the sweetness instead of using powdered sugar. I added cinnamon because I love it with chocolate and brown sugar. Reminds me of cinnamon toast. It was oh so dreamy.

I decorated it with Guittard chocolate discs.

Mile-High Devil's Food Cake from Sky High Cakes

Makes an 8-inch triple layer cake:

• 1 c. unsweetened cocoa (NOT Dutch Process)
• 1 1/4 c. hot water
• 3 c. packed light brown sugar
• 2 2/3 c. cake flour*
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 9 oz. unsalted butter, room temp. (2 sticks + 2 Tbsp.)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 c. cold water

*1 cup of cake flour is equal to ¾ cup flour plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper and grease the paper as well.

Place the cocoa in a medium bowl and add the hot water. Whisk until smooth and let it cool to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low blend to combine. Add the butter and the dissolved cocoa. Then raise the mixer to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.

In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, vanilla, and cold water until combined. Add this liquid to the batter in three additions scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions. Divide the batter among the three pans.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a cakes tester inserted into the almost comes out clean. There should be a few crumbs attached still. Cool the cakes in the pans for 15 minutes. Then invert and remove parchment paper and cool completely on a wire rack.

NOTE: I halved this recipe and it made a triple layer 6-inch cake. I also made a mini 3-inch cake that I torted and filled with the cinnamon buttercream and covered in brown sugar. Completely over the top and indulgent but delicious!

Cinnamon Brown Sugar Buttercream

• 5 egg whites
• 1 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 lb. unsalted butter, room temp. (16 oz./4 sticks)
• 1 tsp. cinnamon (optional- my addition)

Place all the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer; set aside.

In a heavy medium saucepan combine the sugar and water. Cook over medium heat stirring to dissolve the sugar. Then bring to a boil without stirring and cook until the syrup reaches 238 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

Begin beating the egg whites on medium low speed. Slowly pour in the syrup making sure not to hit the beater. Increase the mixer speed to medium high and beat until the meringue has cooled to body temperature.

With the mixer on med-low add 1-2 tablespoons of butter at a time. When all the butter has been added increase the mixer’s speed to medium and beat until the mixture looks curdled or separated. Continue to beat until the icing comes together again looking like soft smooth whipped butter.

Mix in the cinnamon if using.

NOTE: A cake topped with the meringue frosting is the best eaten the day it’s made. It does not do well in the fridge.

If you choose the buttercream frosting you can keep it in the fridge for 3 days. Make sure to allow the cake to come to room temperature for 1 to 1 ½ hours before slicing. Otherwise the frosting will be hard and heavy.

For a printer friendly version of the cake and both frosting recipes, click here.

My husband liked it!

Check out all the other Cake Slice Bakers by clicking on the link then their individual blogs!

The Cake That Didn't Last

I made this oh-so-good, aromatic, dense, tender, sweet, but not too sweet, pretty petal cake for Rach's March Baking Challenge. Ingrid, I can not stress enough how good this cake is. Seriously. And it doesn't contain any chocolate, that's a bonus for you! But the cappuccino chips could easily be subbed with chocolate chips.

I wanted to make something that related to St. Patrick's Day, but I didn't want it to be so cliche. Not that there's anything wrong with green frosted, leprechaun topped cupcakes because they're fun, it's just not my baking style. I like to focus on flavors rather than decoration. So I turned to my favorite flavors, coffee, cake, and Irish cream. Who am I kidding? Irish Cream is so cliche. Whatev.

Back to the cake. It was consumed in one afternoon. I'm not even kidding. I only baked one layer cake for this because I assumed it would just be the two of us, but then my mom, brother, and cousin came over. We all had a slice. Some of us, two. I was sad when it was all gone. Make this, but don't share. Keep it your little secret :-)

Bailey's Cappuccino Chip Cake

loosely adapted from Baking Bites

For the Cake:

• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 cup Bailey's Irish Cream
• 1/8 cup milk
• 1/3 cup Guittard Cappuccino Chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 8-inch pan with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, followed by vanilla extract. Mix in half of the flour mixture, followed by the Irish cream and milk. Then mix the cappuccino chips into the remaining flour mixture and mix til well blended. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for approximately 24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack until completely cool. Turn out cooled cake onto a platter and pour glaze over cake.

For the Glaze:

• 2 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 Tbsp. Bailey's Irish Cream
• 1 tsp. milk or half-n-half, or more if needed
• 1/4 cup Guittard Cappuccino Chips (optional)

Add all the ingredients in a small bowl except the cappuccino chips and mix until smooth and pourable. Add more milk a half teaspoon at a time if needed. Top the cake with Cappuccino chips before the glaze sets up.

The inspiration and full recipe for Bailey's Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes can be found here.

I can't wait to see what the theme for April is! You should join too!

Day 2- Guittard Chocolate Chip Cookies

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According to Guittard Chocolates, this is the original chocolate chip cookie. The company has been around since 1868- that's 140 years! That's a long time. I'm not sure how old Nestle is, but I'm sure they've been at it for a while too. Anyway, I've always used Nestle Chocolate Chips for baking. They're moderately priced, they taste good and it's what I've always used. I never had a reason not to use them...until last week.

I went grocery shopping in a fancy schmancy organic grocery store- very similar to Whole Foods. I was buying Guittard chocolate wafers and the attendant in the aisle mentioned that she LOVED Guittard semi sweet chocolates in the gold bag and I should give them a try. So I did. And they're awesome. I think they have a more pure flavor. They're a little richer and smoother- creamier. I salvaged a few from the bag to do a side by side comparison of chips and my husband said "I don't need to do a comparison. Hands down, Guittard are better." So there you go.

As part of my holiday baking, I decided to make the recipe on the back of the bag. I rarely ever make chocolate chip cookies, because there are so many other interesting recipes, but sometimes the simplicity of these is what we crave. And I'm a purist when it comes to chocolate chippers- no nuts please. They were thin, with crispy edges and a slightly chewy center. This recipe is a keeper.

Guittard Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 12 ounces GUITTARD SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375ºF. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl cream butter, sugar and brown sugar until light. Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture until combined. Stir in chips and walnuts. Drop by well-rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 7 dozen 2-inch cookies

NOTE: I used a slightly larger ice cream scoop to measure out the dough. I made about 3 dozen 4-inch cookies, and they baked for 13 minutes.