Chef's Hat: Magic of the morsel - Try different flavors in your next batch of cookies - Pine and Lakes Echo Journal

cookies.indah.link

The first chocolate chip cookie was baked in the 1930s by Ruth Wakefield, who ran the Toll House restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts.

But it was not the chocolate chip cookie as we know them today. She was making a batch of cookies and she added chopped up pieces of a Nestle semi-sweet chocolate bar with the intent of making a solid chocolate cookie. Her plans went awry.

Instead of a solid chocolate cookie, she had a cookie that contained chewy chunks of chocolate. Wakefield sold her recipe to Nestle for a whopping sum of $1 and a lifetime supply of chocolate. A few years later, Nestle developed the tiny morsel that we know as today’s chocolate chip.

Wakefield’s simple recipe led to the development of more than 20 flavors of those tiny morsels, including cinnamon, peppermint, espresso, caramel, peanut butter, butterscotch, triple chips (a blend of dark, milk and white chocolates), cherry and pumpkin spice. There is definitely a flavor to please everyone.

While the plain, everyday chocolate chip cookie is great, there is no reason not to experiment with some of the many flavors of chips. For a cookie with a bit of a kick, try the Baileys Espresso Cookies. The Bailey’s Irish Cream adds just a bit of a punch, and a few espresso chips gives these cookies a unique taste.

The ever famous peanut butter cup was also created almost 100 years ago. Bringing together peanut butter and chocolate is still a winning combination. Very few people can resist the combination of creamy, sweet and salty flavors. So it just makes good sense to combine those two flavors into a Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie, which is every bit as good as those Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Instead of picking up plain chocolate chips for your next dessert recipe, expand your culinary horizons by grabbing a bag of peppermint, cinnamon or caramel chocolate chips. Enjoy experimenting with the various flavors while feasting on America’s favorite cookie. Happy Eating.

Baileys Espresso Chip Cookies

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 tablespoons Baileys Irish Cream liqueur
• 2 large eggs
• 6 ounces espresso chips
• 6 ounces milk chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix well to combine, then set aside.

In another large bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Beat on a medium high speed until fluffy. Add the vanilla and Baileys Irish Cream and mix until well combined.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Beat for 10-15 seconds after adding each egg to ensure they are mixed in well. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula and fold in the flour mixture. Add ½ cup at a time and blend well before adding the next ½ cup. Once the flour is mixed in, fold in the espresso and chocolate chips.

Cover the bowl and chill the dough for at least 2 hours (and up to 3 days) before baking.

When ready to bake: Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Roll a large tablespoon sized scoop of dough between your palms to form a ball, then place it on a prepared sheet (make sure to leave enough room between each cookie for inevitable spreading). Continue this process until all the dough has been rolled.

Place baking sheets in preheated oven, one at a time, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are golden at the edges but still soft in the middle. Let cookies cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: You can bake 2 sheets of cookies at a time, but they will come out a bit crispy and not as chewy.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup roasted peanuts (chopped), if desired
• ½ cup Reese's Peanut Butter Baking Chips
• ½ to 1 cup bittersweet or milk chocolate chips
• ¼ cup granulated sugar (for sprinkling on top of cookies)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg and vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix well. Add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture and stir until well combined. Mix in the peanut butter chips, chocolate chips and peanuts, if using.

Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Drop generous spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheet. Press each mound of dough with a fork to flatten slightly.

Bake until bottom of cookies are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle a small amount of sugar over the top of each cookie. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

--- --- --- --- ---

EDITOR'S NOTE: This content is usually offered to subscribers only. We've opened up this particular article to non-subscribers to offer you a sample of what you're missing - please consider subscribing if you enjoyed reading this article. You can view all our subscription offers at https://ift.tt/3nOZ3d1.

The Link Lonk


November 23, 2020 at 08:07PM
https://ift.tt/3fotK5Y

Chef's Hat: Magic of the morsel - Try different flavors in your next batch of cookies - Pine and Lakes Echo Journal

https://ift.tt/2CmfU4u
Cookies