The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

I’m actually embarrassed to make the forthcoming confession, but I’m going to do it anyway, because this is a safe place of sharing. 

Here it is:  I went to one of those yuppy suburban high schools, the kind that’s very similar to West Beverly High on “90210,” where the kids go to a school with uniforms and the scoreboards provided by Pespi, and have an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a field house with joint-cushioning springs underneath.  

I’m not ashamed of my high school, because I got a great education and had a great time.  More than that, I had some amazing lunches.  Because our cafeteria was awesome.  It was better than the food served in college, and even in some restaurants.  I had access to salads, burgers, fries, hot pretzels, chicken sandwiches, fried cheese on Tuesdays, and even had two different flavors of low-fat ice cream twice a week.  It was ‘til this day some of the best food I’ve ever had…and 11 years later, I still crave two things: salty French fries and nacho cheese, but mostly, the chocolate chip cookies.  

I am a Cookie Monster.  I inherited the gene from my grandmother, and the cookies I had at that school, the cookies I could smell baking in the hallway around the start of fourth period, were the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had.  And the reason my dessert of choice, my treat after a crappy day, my favorite snack to sneak into the movies is chocolate chip cookies.  

A year ago, I set out to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, one that rivaled my high school’s freshly baked delights.  

The recipe on the back of the Nestle Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chip bag was a good start, but I knew I could do better.  And I tried a few others that were good, but they just weren’t right.  I also refused to make a recipe by Jacques Torres that requires bread flour, a chocolate so fancy  I couldn’t even find or afford it and 24 hours. After awhile, I felt like the Goldilocks of Chocolate Chip cookies.  

Until I discovered this recipe.  

And they are by far, the most perfect chocolate chip cookie that’s ever come out of my kitchen.  They’re easy to make, chewy, chocolaty, decadent and with a little pinch of sea salt, they are a bit more complex than the average cookie.  

So I might not use calculus or chemistry, but this is one lesson from high school I'll never forget.  Go Highlanders!

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever

Adapted from Savory Sweet Life

Yield: About 3 dozen

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened

½ cup granulated sugar

1 ½ cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour

½ tsp. smallish-medium coarse sea salt, plus more for sprinkling (do not use table salt)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 ½ tsp. baking powder

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 360 degrees. 

Cream butter, white and dark brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium-high.  Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes. 

In a separate bowl mix in flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.  Whisk to combine.  Add half of flour mixture to sugar and eggs and beat just enough to incorporate.  Scrap down the sides with a spatuala and add the rest of the dry ingredients and blend again.  

Add the chocolate chips.  Mix until well-distributed.  The batter should be somewhat thick but airy. 

Drop about 2 tablespoons (or you can use a medium cookie scoop) onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Gently pat or shape cookies into a smooth round shape.  Sprinkle cookies with a scant amount of sea salt.  This is optional, but it adds great texture and the burst of salt both highlights and contrasts the flavors. 

Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or just until the cookies are a light golden broken.  Remove from the heat, but allow cookies to remain on the baking sheet for another 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cool, non-porous surface lined with parchment paper.  Allow cookies to cool for another few minutes. It will take the willpower of a saint, but try anyway.  ;)

Saturday Chef's Easy Marshmallow Pops

When I was little and bored, my dad and sister and I would play the taste-test game.  We would close our eyes and try to guess the item of food we were given.  Looking back, I think it was just a way for my parents to get more fruit and veggies in our systems, but back then it was wholesome family fun.  (At least until my dad gave me vinegar and we retaliated with liquid soap.  Needless to say that was the end of the taste-test game). 

I think that’s where I learned that playing with your food could be fun.  Thus one day when it was raining and hailing in late April, and my niece was visiting, I decided it was time to play with chocolate and marshmallows and whatever toppings I could find.  Marshmallow Pops are just now starting their fifteen minutes of culinary fame, and I see why.  They are delicious, easy and fun to make, and did I mention they are delicious.  The combinations of toppings are endless and they are perfect for entertaining.   

Going to a friend’s baby shower?  Use pink or blue sprinkles.  Have a boyfriend who loves S’Mores?  Use graham crack crumbs.  Want something fabulous and unique?  Try chopped bacon if you’re nasty!  

                                                       28 marshmallows and 28 lollipop sticks. 

                                                               Ready for a chocolate bath. 

                                                                Yes, I went there, and it was delicious!

Marshmallow Pops

12 ounces milk chocolate

25 to 30 large marshmallows

Toppings: 

chopped, toasted nuts

toasted coconut

sprinkles

graham cracker crumbs

bacon, cooked and chopped

Special Equipment:

25 to 30 lollipop sticks or popsicle sticks

Wax Paper

Push sticks into marshmallows.  Line a baking sheet with wax paper.  To toast coconut or chopped nuts, toss lightly in a skillet over medium heat.  Remove from heat and skillet when coconut is a light brown and/or when nuts darken slightly and are fragrant, about 3 to 5 minutes.

You will need to make a double-boiler.  Find a medium sized pot and heat-proof bowl.  Make sure you can set the bowl just inside of the pot.  There should be room between the bottom of the bowl and the bottom of the pot. 

Add some water in a pot and simmer it over low heat.  Place chocolate in a heat-proof bowl.  When water simmers, place bowl of chocolate inside the pot, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the pot.  Stir chocolate frequently.

When chocolate is melted, remove from heat.  Submerge marshmallows in chocolate.  If necessary, use a spoon to coat the entire marshmallow.  Holding by the stick, remove the marshmallow, shaking gently to remove excess chocolate.  Immediately coat with desired toppings.  Place stick-side up onto baking sheet lined with wax paper.  When all marshmallows are coated, place in the fridge to harden chocolate.  Serve!  

NOTE:  I generally keep my chocolate over the pot of water so it will stay warm for longer.  If it cools and becomes too thick for dipping, simply place make-shift double boiler over low heat to re-melt chocolate. 

Saturday Chef's Heavenly Fruit Salad

I’ve shared a lot of recipes with you, and I’ve done so eagerly. There are some dishes that I love so fiercely that you’ll have to pry their recipes out of my cold, dead fingers. This is one of those recipes. And I’m only sharing it because I have a feeling that if I post one more baked good or dessert bar, the people set on actually accomplishing their New Year’s resolution of slimming down might revolt. I’m stuck in a baking groove. Sorry.

So, with much selfish hesitation, I give you my most cherished recipe: Heavenly Fruit Salad. You won’t find the cheftestants of “Top Chef” banging this out in a quickfire, because it is a straightforward mixture of fruit and sour cream that is amazingly fresh and gives you a happy, sated feeling that I usually associate with heavier comfort foods with loads of butter and cheese. This recipe is open to interpretation and experimentation, add more of your favorite fruits, nix what you hate.

It was given to my mother by a relative when I was a baby and has since be a part of every celebratory meal that I could remember. I even had a bowl at my birthday dinner last week. And yes, I said BOWL. It’s traditionally a side dish, but I have been known to consume it by the pound. In college, during exams, I requested nothing but a vat of this sweet, crunchy, citrusy dish to power me through a hellish week of studying and paper-writing.

So enjoy this recipe in the spirit in which it was given, and enjoy a Saturday Chef favorite!



 
Heavenly Fruit Salad


Ingredients

1 ½ cup red seedless grapes, halved

1 20-ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained well

1 red apple, cored, diced

2 to 3 medium bananas, sliced thin

1/3 to ½ cup light sour cream

1 ½ cups colored miniature marshmallows

Coconut flakes and nuts, such as pecans or walnuts, chopped, for garnish



Directions
Prepare fruit. Cut grapes in half or in quarters, if they are large. Slice apples to be about the same size as the pineapple tidbits. Add the bananas last.

Mix all fruit in a large bowl. Add 1/3 cup of sour cream. Mix to combine. Add more sour cream if needed. Fruit should be covered well, but not too wet. Mix in marshmallows. Serve. Feel free to garnish with sweetened coconut and/or your favorite nuts before serving. Fruit salad will last up to three to five days in the refrigerator, depending on the freshness of the fruit.

Blueberry Muffins with Streusel

It’s no secret that life isn’t always easy. You get your heart broken. You lose your job. You find yourself on a completely different path than you planned. My favorite way to de-stress is to turn on a guilty-pleasure reality show and dive into a recipe.

After a few hard weeks, I was in need of some serious culinary comfort, and there are few foods more comforting than a warm, blueberry muffin. These particular muffins, adapted from a recipe by Emeril Lagasse, can be mixed and baked in less time than it takes the “I’m Not Here To Make Friends” contestant on your reality show to get sent home. The addition of the sweet, nutty streusel topping is a great way to add some personal pizzazz. So the next time life hands you lemons (and blueberries), bake some blueberry muffins. It’s so much better than lemonade.




Ingredients

Streusel:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons finely chopped pecans


Muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 cup buttermilk

2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (optional)



Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Make topping. In a small bowl, add flour, butter, sugar, pecans and zest and mix with fingers until well-incorporated and crumbly . Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In another large bowl, beat the eggs with the melted butter. Add the buttermilk and lemon zest and whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stir by hand until just combined. Do not overmix. Batter may be a little lumpy. Gently fold in the blueberries.

Scoop into cups until two-thirds full. Crumble the streusel topping over the muffins. Bake until light golden brown and until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Let cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on wire racks.

A Very Belated Foodie Christmas: Glittering Lemon Sandwich Cookies and Raisin Almond Granola

Time clearly is an ever-evolving thing. It drags. It flies by. It can be lost. It seemed ludicrous that people were preparing for Christmas before Halloween. Then time bended and flat out disappeared and suddenly, Christmas was four days away. I had gifts to buy, prepare and wrap. Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to prepare the amazing blogging extravaganza I had planned for The Saturday Chef’s first Christmas. *sigh* After a snow/ice/rain storm was forecasted as a Christmas disaster, and ended up being completely lackluster, I literally spent Christmas Day in the kitchen, making cookies, braising meats, dipping Oreo truffles, and making granola because our cancelled Christmas plans were suddenly back on.

So, um, here are the next two recipes for Saturday Chef’s First Annual Very Foodie Christmas! Better late than never.


I made these delightful little gems for my grandmother, who is unabashedly obsessed with cookies. They are easy to make and will amaze anyone who is lucky enough to receive them. I must confess I’m a little OCD, so I was painstakingly careful not to get any of the pink sugar on the green cookies and green on the pink. It was a little time-consuming, but worth it in the end.

This recipe was adapted from Shelley Wiseman’s recipe in Gourmet magazine, 2008. I am not a big fan of lemon zest, so I removed it from both the cookies and the frosting. The cookies are much more versatile without it, and I can’t wait to create more fillings to put on them.






For cookies:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Colored sanding sugars

For filling:
1 cup confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

Equipment: a heavy-duty sealable bag

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt.
Beat together butter and confectioners sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. At low speed, mix in flour mixture just until a soft dough forms.
Put sanding sugars in different bowls. Roll a rounded teaspoon of dough into a bowl and drop into colored sugar. I used a small round bowl, and swirled the cookie balls in it. It not only keeps the shape of the cookies, but ensures that they are evenly coated in sugar. Transfer to baking sheet and space about an inch apart.
Bake until tops are slightly cracked but still pale (bottoms will be pale golden), 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies on parchment to a rack to cool completely.
Form and bake more cookies on second baking sheet. I used a different sheet for each sugar color.

Make filling and sandwich cookies:
Beat together all filling ingredients in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until combined well. Transfer to sealable bag and snip off a corner.
Turn over half of cookies and pipe about 1/2 teaspoon filling on flat side of each. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing gently.

*Note: I made these cookies exactly the way the recipe dictated, and they were fantastic. When I make these again (probably on New Year's Eve), however, I will not make them as sandwich cookies because they are hard to eat, and let's face it: they kind of look like little tushies. I plan to simply pipe the filling on the flat side of the cookies, and place frosting-side up so it can set. They will not only be easier to eat, but this will save a lot of time. And you can eat twice as many!


Raisin Almond Granola: The Perfect Stocking Stuffer


My father likes odd food. He loves everything from canned sardines to quinoa. I saw Alton Brown make some granola bars on “Good Eats” and was surprised by how easy it was. I decided to do the same with an Ina Garten recipe and put it in my dad’s stocking for Christmas a few years ago with wonderful results.

He liked it more than the sweater I bought him.



4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups sliced or slivered almonds
1 1/2 cups raisins and/or dried cranberries*
½ cup of wheat germ (optional)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Toss the oats, wheat germ and nuts together in a large bowl. Pour the vegetable oil and honey over the mixture. Add the cinnamon, and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated. If it looks a bit too dry, add a bit more honey.
Pour onto two sheet pans so the granola will bake evenly. Do not pack it on the pan. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns an even golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove the granola from the oven, and add the raisins immediately. Stir to incorporate. If you like a bit more sweetness to your granola, stir in a sprinkle of brown sugar after it has cooled.
Store the cooled granola in an airtight container. If you're giving it as a gift, pour into a festive tin and place a bow ontop. Perfect present, and no wrapping!

This can be eaten alone as a snack or with milk for breakfast. It's healthy and very filling.

*Note: I used Sunmaid’s raisin and craisin mixture. It has red raisins, golden raisins and dried cranberries, and adds wonderful favor to the granola.