The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Ever?

It's a question still because they're not done yet :( that has been answered! I have been searching for a while for a new and improved chocolate chip cookie recipe. A few months ago I found Cheryl's blog with what she is claiming to be the 'BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe'. We'll see. I'm just a little skeptical, you know, because I have been using variations on the Tollhouse recipe for years. I always thought my cookies were pretty darn good, but that was just maybe because in this day and age any homemade cookie is special when compared to the influx of store bought goodies gracing our tables. So today I am trying this recipe. It is not for the faint of heart as it is quite involved and you apparently must be precise. I'm so not that way with baking. I toss, add, dash, pinch, and guesstimate to my little heart's content. But that's probably why my cookies are never consistent, and therefore why I was hunting for a new recipe! This recipe needs about 24-36 hours to prepare (not constantly, that includes chill time, relax), so it's totally not for those last minute bake sales.

They're as big as my hand!

UPDATE: These cookies are the shiz-nit. I used to work at a grocery store bakery and these remind me of the 'jumbo' cookies we sold there. But homemade. I wish I could give you all samples through the computer, because you would totally be running out to buy cake and bread flour right now (or putting in your orders to me). My only regret is not making a double batch because these suckers will be gone in no time since it makes 18 cookies.

The Goods
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds chocolate chips

Notice how there are weights listed here? Yeah, like I said, precision is key with this recipe. Turns out, dry goods should really be weighed, not measured, for a consistent outcome. I mean, it makes sense. Am I the only one who was ever confused by brown sugar packing instructions? Lightly/loosely/densely/firmly pack the brown sugar. Totally subjective. But 10 oz is the same no  matter where you go. One other note before you start, the quality of your ingredients affects the outcome just as much as the consistency in measurement. A better vanilla and great chocolate chips will taste different than artificial extracts or bargain brands. Just sayin'.

The Instructions

1. Sift both flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light in color and consistency. You may need to scrape down the sides once or twice during this step. I love my KitchenAid, we've been through a lot together, but it doesn't quite reach the bottom. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low (or you'll make a giant mess like I did), add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them gently without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Cheryl tells us that the dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours. I think if it stayed longer than the 24 hours called for in the recipe the hubs would be eating it out of the bowl.

See, looks yummy so far!

3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. I used both cheap-o cookie sheets and my fancy schmancy ones. I didn't use parchment or SilPat mats on either. And you know what? They turned out just fine. Weigh out the dough to 3.5 oz balls. They will look ginormous, bigger than golf balls. 3 oz would be totally cool too, just decrease the cooking time by a few minutes.

See the spoon for comparison on size. Huge.

4. I baked three cookies at a time on my cookie sheets for 19  minutes each. Start at 18 and go up from there, this totally depends on your oven and how true your temps are.

Put the others in the fridge while some are baking

5. Super important here! After they are done in the oven, pull out the pans and let them rest on the pans for 10 minutes!!!!! I can't put enough exclamation points to tell you how crucial this is. I didn't do this with the first cookie and it literally disintegrated. Sad day. Not really, I got to eat that one :) After ten minutes, transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack. Let them cool until you can't stand it anymore and nom away. 

Oreo Heaven

I think my favorite flavor combination is probably cookies and cream. Whether it's ice cream or these cupcakes I did today, nothing can really beat it. Plus, there's so many different possibilities of flavors depending on what cookie you use! Today I used chocolate cream filled chocolate cookies. Yummy! Again, these cupcakes seem gourmet but take very little effort.

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
1 box white cake mix (any eggs/water/oil called for on the box)
1 package Oreos of your choice (I used chocolate cream)

See how easy that sounds?!

Mix the cake mix as called for on the box. Preheat your oven according to the instructions on your cake mix. Line 24 cupcake tins with paper liners and place one Oreo cookie in the bottom of each liner.

Crumble the remaining Oreos from the package (I always have six left, no snacking!) into the cupcake batter. Spoon about 2T of batter into each liner on top of the whole Oreo.

Bake for about 20-22 minutes. This is longer than I normally go for, but the cupcake liners are more full with the Oreo in the bottom, and will take longer this way.
Let them cool completely and frost with your choice of white or chocolate buttercream, or even cream cheese frosting.
I didn't have extra cookies for a garnish, but if you save a couple you can crush them into crumbs and sprinkle the crumbs on top of the frosting.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho....

Yes, I'm going out of town again. This time I get to go South and see my old alma mater! I really am going for work though. I am teaching my first class and get to go on a little three day vacation from fence building and all the other little projects we have going on here.

See you next week and until then, happy cupcaking!

(White) Chocolate Rain!

Gosh, life is getting so busy already this summer! Between getting my yard ready, flowers planted, work, two cats, a dog, and a hubby, I find that I hardly have time to bake right now. Like, only a couple treats a week ;) So I'm delving into the Cupcakery archives for an old favorite. Chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate cream cheese frosting and strawberry filling. Mmmmmmmmm....*drool*. Even better, this recipe works great with just about any fruit, cherries, raspberries, blueberries. Basically anything you would pair with a cheesecake :D Perfect for summer time and all of this fresh produce I have!

White chocolate cream cheese frosting and strawberry filling! Yum!

Chocolate Cupcakes
1 box chocolate cake mix (and any eggs/oil/water called for on the box)

Prepare the cake according to the directions on the box and let cool.

Strawberry Filling
1 lb fresh strawberries
1/2 C white sugar (or 1/4 C honey/agave nectar for you healthier people)
1/4 C water

OR
2 C fresh strawberry jam

Wash, dry, and hull strawberries. In a large pot on the stove on medium high heat, mash strawberries with a potato masher. Add sugar/honey/agave and water. Bring to a boil and boil for five minutes or until you reach a jelly consistency. Be careful to keep stirring otherwise the bottom will scorch. Ew.
Let cool.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
16 oz softened cream cheese (that's two bricks)
8 oz white chocolate (melted)
2-3 C powdered sugar
1 T vanilla
Cocoa powder


In a large mixing bowl combine the softened cream cheese and melted white chocolate. Add vanilla. Clear vanilla is best as it won't alter the color of this white frosting, but regular brown vanilla is totally cool too. I like to use Madagascar or Tahitian for frostings. Slowly add the powdered sugar. The amount depends on how stiff you need the frosting. As you can see in the picture above, I kept mine fairly soft.

Put the cupcakes together:
Take the unfrosted cupcakes and poke a decent sized hole in the top, just not all the way down to the liner. Using a spoon, bag or piping bag fill the holes with the strawberry deliciousness. Now either spread the frosting on with a knife or pipe it on. I used a large round tip for these ones since the frosting was too soft to hold the edges of a star tip. I dusted mine with cocoa powder. A slice of fresh strawberry on top would be awesome too!

What's your favorite fruit to use with cakes?

Willy Nilly Silly Ol' Bear

Well, I guess since Big Bear shared the story of the birthday cake he made me, I might as well tell you about the one I made for him last year. Not this year's cake, oh no, that one was a hot mess and there is no photographic evidence of it. Thank goodness he's such a good sport about it. Anyway, Le Big Bear is a big fan of Winnie the Pooh. Knowing this I set out to make him an unforgettable birthday cake and I think I succeeded pretty darn well. Now, we all know that I can't draw. Like, at all. But I figured out an ingenious way to draw Winnie on the cake with some balloons and the hubs, well, he loved it.

I'm not going to bore you with the details of what the cake was and how I made it. You all can probably already figure out that it was a box mix. But to make the bear I went on Google and searched for a decent picture of Winnie the Pooh. Once I found on that I was happy with I sized it to fit on a 1/8 sheet cake (half of a 9x13 cake roughly). I printed it out and cut out the image VERRRRRRY carefully. At this point, the cake is frosted with the final layer of buttercream, but none of the edge piping, words, or anything else were on there yet. I laid the image on the cake and made sure that I would have enough room for balloons and a message. As you can see, there was just barely room. I traced around the edge of the cut out image with a toothpick. You don't want to go super duper deep into the frosting, but deep enough that when you lift off the paper you will still see the outline. Once the outline was finished I lifted up the cut out and drew with a toothpick all of the lines that are in the black color just how they looked in the printed picture. Next step is to take a small piping/writing tip and fill in the toothpick lines with your outline color. Keep the printed picture handy for reference. After the outline is done, fill in with the appropriate colors. Voila! It looks like I really can draw!