Lick The Bowl Good

Friday, December 19, 2008

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.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Day 1- Glittery Shortbread Stars

I've been baking cookies like a mad woman over the past few days and so far this is the only one I've sampled. Oh wait, except for the chocolate chip cookies I made a couple days ago. But that's just a technicality.

This is one of about 6 different cookies that I'm making this year. I figured I'd rather have fewer cookies of one kind, than to have a whole bunch of one flavor. I wanted to try something new, so rather than looking for a new recipe I reached into my "to bake" file and found this recipe. They're so simple and pretty. They can of course be made into different shapes using different cookie cutters, but the shortbread cookie is such a classic.

These cookies are rich and buttery and the house smells of butter, vanilla and sugar. So good. It was hard to eat just one. The only way I can think of to improve or dress up these cookies is to skip the sprinkling of sugar and dip one edge of them into melted chocolate. And the good thing about these cookies, is that they require such few ingredients. If you don't have a cookie cutter, cut them into little bars or rounds using a juice glass. And let the kids help too, they'd love to contribute.

Glittery Shortbread Stars by Ina Garten

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt; then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with a 3-inch star-shaped cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased sheet pan and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges begin to brown. Allow to cool to room temperature.

**Made 28 3-inch cookies**

NOTE: The edges of the shortbread are ever so slightly sharper if you chill the cookies before baking them. If the dough is at room temperature the cookies will spread slightly and they'll lose their shape. You can also cut out the cookies days ahead and bake them the day you serve them, just keep them flat on a cookie sheet and make sure they're well covered.

I used Sugar In The Raw for sprinkling on the cookies because it doesn't melt as fast as granulated sugar and because I wanted coarse glittery sugar crystals on the cookies. Granulated sugar works just as well.