Cookie recipe feedback

In response to queries from our readership: Yes, I read AND bake. And no, I'm not gay. :)

Why did I choose a thumping trance anthem to accompany this post? Because I listen to music when I'm baking. And I've been load-testing the speakers to this jam for a couple weeks now. Boom!

Friend Sonz was asking for a winning cookie recipe, which prompted this exchange:

hrmm... my best cookie recipe isn't anything unique - it's the same as the toll house recipe with minor modification and specific techniques. it makes the best chocolate chip cookies that I'm aware of, but i don't know if they will win a cookie contest. what constitutes a contest-winning cookie? for example, my choc chip cookies are the best, but many people prefer peanut butter, or snickerdoodle (??). if someone tells me they love snickerdoodle cookies i don't even offer to share my cookies; they're not worthy. So it depends on what you want. I do think that the fake niemann marcus cookie recipe is quite good, even if the origin is a myth.

my mom has a recipe for chocolate sugar cookies with mint frosting that is super good, but they take FOREVER to make because you have to roll them out, cut them, bake them, let them cool, and then frost them individually. if you're really committed you make 2 or 3 different colors of frosting (red, green, white) and decorate them. lordy it's a hassle. each cookie ends up a work of art. If you're super committed then I will send you that one. You'll need a full complement of kitchen stuff though: roller, cookie cutters, frosting bag and frosting tips, and a LOT of spare time. you'll want to make a double batch, then bring only the top 12 or 18 cookies to the contest. when flavor is roughly equal, then effort will matter.

here then is the recipe for the Chocolate Chip Cookies of Legend, lifted straight from a previous blog post, because I'm like that:
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recipe for cookies of awesome is based on classic toll house semi-sweet choc. chip recipe. what follows is that recipe, w/ small additions. Note that the changes aren't for everyone. some people prefer a crispy, dry, flat cookie. the standard recipe will work fine for those idiots. for more discriminating palates, and moist, fluffy cookies, use the recipe below.

Buy semi-sweet nestle chips in yellow bag. I like buying the big bag so I can throw in a few extra choc chips when I'm making the cookies, but it's not a requirement. do not add nuts.

* = special steps i figured out through accident and error. they are what separates my cookies from the pretenders.

recipe:
2 1/4 cups + 1 Tblspn all purpose flour
1 tspn salt
1 tspn baking soda
Pinch of baking powder*

3/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar (light brown is fine too)
2 sticks butter (margarine is acceptable but I prefer butter)
1 tspn vanilla
2 eggs
2ish cups semi-sweet chips

Preheat oven to 375.

Put flour/salt/b soda/b powder in small bowl. Set aside.

Beat margarine, sugars and vanilla in large bowl until creamy. A stand mixer works best, an electric hand mixer will do. (Mixing by hand alone won't cut it.)
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. when well mixed...
gradually beat in flour mix. I do it in three parts, works great.
Mix in choc chips. throw a few extra in if you're feeling zany.

cool dough for 8-10 minutes in fridge before you bake put dough to pan. also, cool dough again between batches.*

put cookies on sheet. I use two regular teaspoons (the small ones in your silverware drawer) because I have years of practice and I'm the shit, but some people use a mini ice cream scoop. whatever.

bake 9-11 minutes. be careful not to overcook.

to cool, place on cut up cardboard box laid flat on countertop, or on a paper bag (like the kind you get from the grocery) cut open and laid flat on countertop.* store when they reach room temp.
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done!

Dessert is good for you

I love dessert. Cookies, cakes, pies, milkshakes, custards, brownies, cakebreads (think banana bread), whatever: I will eat almost anything if it's good, at any time of day. But theres an issue: most desserts really aren't all that good, and thus not worth eating. If you're going to eat something that satisfies none of your nutritional requirements but ALL of your fat requirements then it should be worth it. Which is why I often end up making my own treats.

Sometimes I come across something so good, so exceptional, that it becomes a new benchmark for delicious. For example, I had some Benchmark Pumpkin Pie that my friend Johnny's then-girlfriend crafted a couple years ago. It was the new standard by which all pumpkin pies are judged. I should know, because I've eaten a hell of a lot of pumpkin pie over the years (also cookies, custards, cakes, etc., etc.); I don't arrive at these decisions haphazardly.

All of which brings me to my latest discovery: Benchmark Carrot Cake. The cake recipe comes from my great-grandmother, courtesy my mom. It's over 100 years old (the recipe, not my mom) and it is the best carrot cake I've ever had. Even my roommate was pillaging it, and he doesn't much care for sweet treats. The frosting recipe was too heavy so my mom got all Cooks Illustrated and tested a bunch of cream cheese frosting recipes before she found an updated one that fit. Credit to her because the frosting is fantastic. I would reproduce the recipe here but it's a secret.

Ahh, no it isn't. Secret recipes are for insecure morons. I can't reproduce it here because it's at home. But I'll get it for you. It's too good not to share.

Moar Thxgiving

This from a friend:

Over Thanksgiving in Idyllwild, we were feeding the squirrels and this guy came along to pick up his Thanksgiving dinner.

I wanted to post it to icanhascheezeburger but I'm not sure they would love it as much as I do.

breakfast is the most important meal of the day

today is the second day in a row I had one of my favorite breakfasts. i put three homemade choc chip cookies in a large cereal bowl, poured rice krispies and then milk on top. mmmm... You feel kind of ill when you're done eating, but you can work through it. my cookies are pretty much the best choc chip cookies ever, but you can make them too. no secret recipes here.

(i knew a girl once that actually had a secret cookies recipe that she wouldn't divulge - seriously, like it was some kind of unique gift that no one else could have. pffffft.)

here's the recipe, in it's entirety:
-----------------------
recipe for cookies of awesome is based on classic toll house semi-sweet choc. chip recipe. what follows is that recipe, w/ small additions. Note that the changes aren't for everyone. some people prefer a crispy, dry, flat cookie. the standard recipe will work fine for those idiots. for more discriminating palates, and moist, fluffy cookies, use the recipe below.

Buy semi-sweet nestle chips in yellow bag. I like buying the big bag so I can throw in a few extra choc chips when I'm making the cookies, but it's not a requirement. do not add nuts.

* = special steps i figured out through accident and error. they are what separates my cookies from the pretenders.

recipe:
2 1/4 cups + 1 Tblspn all purpose flour
1 tspn salt
1 tspn baking soda
Pinch of baking powder*

3/4 cups white sugar
3/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar (light brown is fine too)
2 sticks margarine* (nucoa or imperial work best - do NOT use butter when baking b/c it burns)
1 tspn vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chips

Preheat oven to 375.

Put flour/salt/b soda/b powder in small bowl. Set aside.

Beat margarine, sugars and vanilla in large bowl until creamy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. when well mixed...
gradually beat in flour mix. I do it in three parts, works great.
Mix in choc chips. throw a few extra in if you're feeling zany.

cool dough for 8-10 minutes in fridge before you bake put dough to pan. also, cool dough again between batches.*

put cookies on sheet. I use two regular teaspoons (the small ones in your silverware drawer) because I have years of practice and I'm zen, but some people use a mini ice cream scoop. whatever.

bake 9-11 minutes. be careful not to overcook.

to cool, place on cut up cardboard box laid flat on countertop, or on a paper bag (like the kind you get from the grocery) cut open and laid flat on countertop.* store when they reach room temp.