Review: Can't Fail Chocolate Chip Cookies

Rating: 4/5 man guts

C Reviews:
The name of these cookies puts a lot of pressure on the baker. What if the baker botches the batch? Fortunately, these were epic successes.

The flat, wide chips were melted and packed a flavor punch that made my mouth water. The cookie was moist and just the right consistency; soft but with a tangible mouth feel.

Again, I don't really describe things in a food critic sort of manner. That is not my purview. I give you a real-world snapshot of how you might enjoy these cookies in your own kitchen.

It was sad not to have Z help make them. I missed that. But the best part was seeing Z taste them. Her face became wide with joy as the flavors washed over her tongue, then she jumped on the couch for awhile. I guess she hasn't ever really had a chocolate chip cookie before. It is always fun to see her try something new and delicious.

It is a good thing these are small batches because I ate them all within a day. They would get 5 man guts, but it seems like I need to save the man gut award, not just bandy it about willy-nilly.

Can't Fail Chocolate Chip Cookies

How to Make: Chocolate Chip Cookies
Time Factor: 30 mins
Wow Factor (1-10): 3
Music to Bake By: Hot Chocolate You Sexy Thing


True story: I spent an entire summer ruining batch after batch of chocolate chip cookies. My cookies were alternately too dry or too buttery or too flat. You'd think you can't mess up Chocolate Chip Cookies but you did not spend that summer with me in D.C. Those people will tell you.

I didn't learn until years later (and my mother-in-law instructed me) that I was measuring the flour wrong (shake spoonfuls into the measuring cup, don't scoop). Anyway, this recipe is adapted from the The New Basics Cookbook, a cookbook I could not live without. It's my go-to for everything. Fitting that I used it for my first real small batch.  And it seemed like the old standby of chocolate chip cookies was an appropriate test. It was insanely easy. My husband left for Target and by the time he was back the cookies were almost done.

Small Batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Now every good cookie recipe starts with creaming butter and sugar.

   

   I could just eat this with a spoon and call it a day.

   Combine 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) of unsalted butter at room temperature with 3 tablespoons (packed) of brown sugar and 3 tablespoons of white sugar. Add 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract and beat for at least three minutes to get it really fluffy. Don't be impatient and cheat! Use a timer to force yourself to really do it that long. Trust me, it makes a difference. If you're really bored, multi-task and do some Kegels.
   
   
2. I was at the Farmers Market in Davis, California this weekend (don't ask) and was delighted to find small eggs. I have never seen regular small chicken eggs in the supermarket. I asked her how many small eggs would equal a large one for baking and her answer was two - but her thick accent made me concerned about whether she really understood the question. Feeling adventurous, I decided to trust her. And that's also when I decided to halve the Old-Fashioned Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe since the original called for one large egg - easy math. Let's try out this little egg and trust walk with the Estonian organic farmer shall we? (And put off the inevitable where I have to divide an egg into fourths... just a little longer.) So add one small egg to the butter/sugar mixture and beat it.
   
   

   

   Look! Mini Me egg!

   
   

   

   So tiny you just want to hug it.

   
   

   
   

   
   

3. Next mix your dry ingredients. I was surprised that I could put the half cup plus 1 tablespoon flour, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and get ready for it... half pinch of salt into a soup bowl. (Maybe letting your kid's small fingers do a pinch is the way to go with that half pinch.) Another benefit of baking small batches is that clean up is easier. Or it seems that way.

4. Slowly add your dry ingredients to your wet ones and beat until smooth, then add a half cup of chocolate chips. This time I used Ghirardelli Chocolate Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips. If you've been using a mixer at this point you probably want to just hand mix the chips in with a spatula.

Think happy thoughts.

5. Use a dessert spoon and scoop out roughly even mounds of dough onto a cookie sheet that is either lined with parchment paper or a Silpat Baking Sheet. I have to say I'm not enthralled with the Silpat myself - it seems greasy - but I'm probably not cleaning it correctly. I used parchment. Pop these 12 babies into the oven and bake for 4 minutes, then rotate and the Silver Palate gals say to rap it on the counter once. Bake for another for another 4-5 minutes until they look like something you wouldn't be ashamed to bring to a bake sale.

The final product: C's already gotten into them!

6. Given that Z was asleep when I made these it was extremely fast and simple - although probably less fun. She would love to see that mini egg so I'll definitely let her help me for the next one. It's about time to teach that girl to crack an egg, isn't it? (Might wait for the flour lesson until she has better manual dexterity...)

Inaugural Review: Dulce De Leche brownies

Rating: 4/5 manguts

C reviews:
These brownies were fantastic. The dulce de leche was delicious on its own, but coupled with the brownie it was a flavor overload.

You know, I'm realizing it's hard to write food reviews. That's why I have avoided doing it on Yelp! It always sounds like a blatherous fool sounding off with a limited grammar toolbox. But since I am that, I may as well be it.

So anyway, these were super yum. They were chewy with crispy chunks on the exterior. The center was moist, made more so by the melted dulce de leche. Since I was also eating ice cream and drinking wine at the same time, I was delighted to no end until I made a crack about how parents have so little to discuss with each other and a pall settled over the whole table.

I would give these 5/5 manguts (a mangut is my trademarked system of rating food), but the first one out of the gate can't be 5 manguts. Manguts are easily pleased but they're discerning. I am not going to be soft on these brownies just because my two gals made them.

Rest assured, these were so good that Z wanted more and when she didn't get more she wept sorrowfully. And then because I am an adult I secretly went in and had more. Mangut scores!

Inaugural Bake - Dulce de Leche Brownies

How to Make: Dulce de Leche Brownies
Time Factor: 3ish hour
Wow Factor (1-10): 8.5
Music to Bake By: Gwen Stefani "The Sweet Escape"

Amanda Bakes:
This is my first adventure baking for this blog. Let me point out that I'm basically an untrained - but enthusiastic! - baker, I work full time and I'm the mom of a delightfully energetic preschooler. i.e., things don't come out perfectly. Ever. For example, I really wanted to spend time picking out the precise, exact, most perfect recipe to kick off this blog but the truth is we were invited to dinner at a friends (with kids) and I didn't have time for the butter to soften. That meant brownies. I have been reading David Lebowitz's fabulous blog and he has an intriguing recipe for Dulce de Leche Brownies. I had to try it.

This was further complicated by the fact that this was not a small batch job (the whole point of the Baking for Three blog) because we were bringing it to friends. Nor did I have sweetened condensed milk. (Well, I did, but it had expired TWO YEARS AGO, necessitating a quick pre-nap trip to Safeway.) These brownies took me insanely longer than the average person because my daughter decided not to nap and once we broke her free from her cage (I mean bed), she really wanted to help. Which means everything took twice as long - but let's face it, it was twice as cute too.

Okay, so Dulce de Leche Brownies - here goes:

1. First you have to make the dulce de leche. Sounds complicated. It's not. Preheat the oven to

   

   Whisk found in my daughter's play kitchen.

   425° F. Get a can of sweetened condensed milk and pour it into a glass baking dish or pie plate. Add a pinch of sea salt and stir. Cover with tin foil. Get a larger glass baking dish and place the small one inside the larger one. Add warm water into the larger one (so the small one is essentially taking a nice warm bath. Bake for one hour to one hour fifteen minutes. When it's done it should be nice and carmely brown. Let cool, then whisk. Mine had some uncarmelized parts but when I whisked it all together it was fine.
   
   
2. While that was cooling I started the brownies. First preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then line a 8-inch square pan with tin foil and give it a light spritz with non stick spray. The tin foil is David's trick and he's right - it makes getting the brownies out and clean up a lot easier.
   
   

3. 

   Small pieces melt faster.

   So then you take 8 tablespoons (one stick) of salted or unsalted butter, cut it into pieces, and put it into a double boiler to melt. Don't put too much water in the double boiler or it starts steaming up around the sides of the bowl and condensation could get into your chocolate. Water and chocolate, I've been told by a pastry chef friend, don't mix. Water basically ruins the chocolate. Use just enough water and keep the heat low to be safe.
   
   
   

4. 

   Action shot!

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   Now there are lots of strong opinions about chocolate, which brand to use and which type (bittersweet, semi, milk, white, etc.) I am chocolate agnostic (so far) and try everything. I recently learned that baking chips are not good for recipes that require melting because they're made to stay whole in cookies. However, there's a big difference between the ideal ingredient to use in a recipe and what you have in your cabinet. That said, I used 6 ounces Semisweet Chocolate Chips (I used Guittard Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips). DL says you can use bitter or semisweet -- I used what I had. They melted easily. You are supposed to stir constantly over very low heat until the chocolate is melted but I was interrupted by the calls of my non-napping daughter and the mostly unattended melt still turned out fine.
   
   
5. Wash your whisk! Remove chocolate/butter

   

   I was ordered to wear Z's Halloween Silly Bandz.

   
   from heat and whisk in 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (I used Scharffen Berger Natural Cocoa Powder which I just realized is not dutch-processed but, oh well) until smooth. Add in 3 large eggs, one at a time.
    
6. At this point Z had dragged her mini chair into the kitchen and was not going to be denied involvement. I let her stir in the 1 cup of sugar while I added 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and then (following another DL trick) I tossed in about a half teaspoon of Star Kay White Pure Chocolate Extract just for kicks. DL says it makes things taste extra chocolatey but honestly the jury's still out for me.
   
7. You're in the home stretch! Add 1 cup of flour and if you

   

   Z 'helping'!

   want, 1 cup toasted pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped. I couldn't deal with the nuts - plus I figured I was already pushing my luck with preschoolers and these brownies. During this part of the process, feel free to chant 'bate, bate, bate!' which is what Dora does when she's mixing things.
   
8. Scrape half of the batter into the pan with the tin foil. Now take one-third of the Dulce de Leche and pour that in over the brownie batter. Drag a butter knife through to swirl it slightly. I do not recommend letting your three-year old do the swirling, but hey, you may be more adventurous than I. Pour the in remaining brownie batter and then drop spoonfuls of the rest of the  Dulce de Leche over the top of the brownie batter and swirl, swirl, swirl.
    
9. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. DL says the brownies are done when the center feels "just-slightly firm". I put a little skewer in mine to test and it looked too wet so I let it cook an extra ten. In hindsight I realized what I was looking at was the Dulce de Leche, which stays very soft and wet. So don't make my mistake and over-bake! Despite that, Z said she liked 'the inside and the outside' so I guess there's no such thing as bad Dulce de Leche brownies. Once they're done, remove brownies from the oven and cool completely.
   
   

   

   After the oven.

   

   Before the oven.

10. My brownies tasted pretty good (well, the three 3-year olds liked them) but the chocolate looked MUCH lighter than DL's. I think it's because the cocoa I used wasn't Dutch processed. Bake and learn! In a strange mind meld our hostess bought Dulce de Leche ice cream for dessert. You'd think that might be too much Dulce de Leche, but, apparently that's not something you need to worry about.