Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I would assume that most Americans' first baking experience is with chocolate chip cookies. I can't recall if mine was or not (though I think my first cooking experience was scrambled eggs at age 6, which also sparked a love for lighting matches and gas stove pilot lights. Yikes!). Anyway, if you follow the typical crap recipe, oh say, on the back of a Toll House semi-sweet morsels package, you'll end up with boring-ass cookies. They're fine, just not wow. Kinda flat, nothing unusual.

It was at about age 11 that I came across this chocolate chip cookie recipe on All Recipes (my, how far the site has come since that first find!). It was this recipe and another one from the same site that I've been using ever since, and both recipes get rave reviews every time. The ingredients are basically the same as the Toll House one, but ever-so-slight tweaking makes all the difference. These cookies, aside from the impressive size (if you want. It's not a problem to make them smaller.), appear and taste as if bought from a bakery. Why? A nice, dense, chewy texture. I'll give it away now that it's because the recipe calls for melting the butter first before creaming it with the white and brown sugars. The boring recipe just calls for softened butter. The ratio of brown to white sugar in this winning recipe is also greater, so I guess the melted butter-and-brown sugar combo yields a sort of caramelized effect. Aaaand there's one less egg white than the typical recipe. Apparently yolkier is better. Anyway: Winner!

"Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies"

2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 c. unsalted butter, melted (again, SO KEY)

1 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

1 tsb. vanilla extract

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I prefer chunks or oversized chips for dramatic effect, sort of to match the cookie texture)

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees F. If you're using a non-stick baking sheet, no need to butter/grease it or cover it with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.

In another mixing bowl, cream the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar.

Looks good, doesn't it? Not.

Next, beat in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla extract until light and creamy.

Mix in the dry, sifted ingredients a little at a time. Doing it all at once will give you a kitchen covered in flour and a batter full of lumps.

Finally, stir in the chocolate chips. Look how shiny and silky the batter looks!

If you want the giant cookies, drop the batter using a 1/4 c. scoop, spacing the dough balls about three inches apart. Otherwise, rounded tablespoonfuls will give you the normal-sized cookies. Bake for about 15–17 minutes, or until the edges are lightly toasted or the cookies reach your desired shade of a perfect golden-brown. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for a couple of minutes before moving to wire racks to finish cooling. Obviously, devour almost immediately and down with a glass of milk.

Yields 18 massive or about 36 normal-sized cookies.

P.S. I brought two of these cookies with me when I attempted to donate blood. Good call. Just saying.

Coconut Chocolate Pudding

I first dabbled in vegetarianism while living in London and I still miss the vegetarian food products available there. I can get Heinz beans here if I look hard enough, but things like Tofu Rosso are beyond my reach. What I miss most though is Provamel Soya Pudding. I think it's better than dairy-based pudding. I've tried Zen Soy's chocolate pudding, but it was too sweet (twice the sugar as Provamel's). I ended up chucking the whole pack.

Last November I visited my friend Emma in England. Emma is vegan and it was getting pretty cold then, so I thought it would be perfect to try the Coconut Hot Chocolate recipe from Melissa Clark. It was really rich and tasty. Emma’s Nan (who worries quite seriously about running out of chocolate) raved about it for days ("Ooooh, that's nice.").

So missing the pudding and having enjoyed the richness coconut milk adds to chocolate desserts, I decided to look for a coconut chocolate pudding recipe. I liked the version I found on vanilla & lace best.

*Arrowroot is an ingredients you can't find in a regular grocery store. Trader Joe's doesn't have it either, but most health food store should carry it. Also, make sure not to add too much arrowroot or else it'll become unpleasantly gelatinous.

Coconut Chocolate Pudding

from vanilla & lace

1 14-ounce can of coconut milk (lite is fine), divided
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup arrowroot powder, sifted (cornstarch can be used, however arrowroot is best)
3 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
1 3.5-ounce bar semi-sweet chocolate, chopped or 3.5 ounces chocolate chips
1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Shake the can of coconut milk vigorously for a few seconds. In a heavy saucepan bring 1 1/4 cups of the coconut milk, maple syrup, and the salt (just) to a simmer over low heat.

While that is heating, in a separate bowl whisk together the remaining coconut milk, arrowroot powder, and cocoa powder. It should look like a chocolate frosting.

When the coconut milk and sugar mixture has started simmering take about 1/4 cup of it and whisk it little by little into the arrowroot mixture, creating a slurry. Turn down the heat to the very lowest setting. Now drizzle the arrowroot slurry mixture into the simmering pan of coconut milk whisking vigorously all the while. Keep whisking until the pudding comes back up barely to a simmer and thickens up a bit, about a minute.

Remove the saucepan from heat, continue whisking while it is cooling for about a minute. Now whisk in the chocolate and vanilla. Keep stirring until the pudding is smooth. Transfer to a bowl and place in a refrigerator to chill thoroughly. When you chill it longer, it takes on a truffle-like texture. Yum!

Homemade M&M Cookies

we had a party to welcome my new roommate last weekend, and the invitation mentioned that m&m cookies were my favorite cookies of all (that crackle of chocolate covering! those colors!).

lorie and jericho showed up with a box of homemade m&m cookies, and they were hands-down the best i've had. the cookie was dense and rich, and there was a sprinkle of sea salt on top (gourmet!!).

lorie used the new york times' recipe (adapted from jacques torres). and, YES, they waited 36 hours before baking the dough!


katy perry, whatchu got


cheeky packaging


thanks lorie and jericho!!! (above, in the beards - long story. also, yes, that's alex with a creepy moustache and ira glass pillow.)