Mommiedaze

Cookie of the Week: Some Science behind the Chocolate Chip Cookie

Well there was no Cookie of the Week post last week, because I tried a new recipe and it was a complete disaster.

This week, at my husband’s request, I made old tried and true Chocolate Chip cookies. Now I know everyone probably already has a favorite Chocolate Chip cookie recipe. The one I use is the one my mom always used, and I think from the back of the chocolate chip bag.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

1/2 cup margarine

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp water

1 tsp vanilla

1 bag chocolate chips

Cream together sugar, margarine, shortening and eggs. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 to 12 minutes.

I’ve learned two tricks to making these cookies over the years that improved them.

First, I started replacing all the butter and shortening with Butter Flavor Crisco.

Ever make cookies with butter or margarine, and find that they can really spread and come out flat? That happens because the butter or margarine melts too fast during the baking process.

Butter, margarine and Crisco or shortening are all fats. When the fat in a cookie melts in the oven, it releases moisture that the heat turns into steam. The steam helps the cookie rise. But it also pushes the cookie outward if there’s too much steam released before the dough has set. When you use Crisco the steam starts to release at about the same time the cookie starts to set. That gives you a nicely raised cookie that holds together.

For flavor it does have to be Butter Flavor Crisco. Plain shortening would affect the taste of the cookies. You can substitute Butter Flavor Crisco for butter or margarine in almost any cookie recipe. I use it to make biscuits too.

The other thing I’ve learned about Chocolate Chips cookies is that the type of cookie sheet you bake them on is important. I’ve used coated non-stick, Air-Bake and baking stones, but the sheet that gets the job done best is a thick aluminum baking sheet like professional bakers use. Nordic Ware make a great half-size professional grade aluminum baking sheet you can pick up for around nine dollars at discount department stores. It’s worth investing in a couple.

Aluminum heats up quickly and distributes heats evenly so that all the cookies bake at the same rate. A thicker sheet allows the cookies to cook through, and brown on tops and bottom at the same time. Dark, coated sheets brown the bottoms too fast. Usually you either end up with burned bottoms or raw middles. Air-Bake sheets are supposed to not burn the bottoms of cookie by using an insulating pocket of air. But I find they they can take to long to brown the cookies on bottom, or never even brown then at all. If you leave the cookies in the oven waiting for the tell-tale brown edges you can end up over-baking them. I don’t like the stones because they take too long to warm up. They can double the baking time in some cases.

Baking is really just a bunch of chemical reactions triggered by heat. If you learn a little bit about the science behind it, you can use it to make some of your favorite recipes even better. Or even make up your own.

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Tutorial: Time to Make the Doughnuts

One of my favorite fall traditions is visiting a local apple orchard that serves up fresh, hot doughnuts and cider. But you don’t have to leave home to enjoy this autumn snack. It’s easy and fun to make doughnuts at home. If you have older kids, it’s something the whole family can do together.

The ingredients you need for your doughnuts are:

2 eggs

2 tbs shortening

3/4 cup milk

3 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 - 3 cups vegetable oil

Additional white sugar or powdered sugar to coat the doughnuts

To start, you need a deep, heavy-bottomed pot and a candy thermometer that clips on the side of your pot.

Fill the pot with two to three cups of vegetable oil. You want to bring the temperature of the oil up to 375 degrees over medium heat, and maintain it there. Too hot and your doughnuts will burn. Too cool and your doughnuts will soak up the oil while they cook and be soggy.

While the oil heats stir up the batter. It should be mixed by hand, not with an electric mixer. Start by beating the eggs slightly with a fork in a large bowl. Add sugar, shortening and milk. Stir. Mix in flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Stir the nutmeg and cinnamon together in a separate bowl then add to the rest of the mixture. Dough will be slightly sticky and moist. I think it resembles biscuit dough.

Now you can turn the dough out on to a floured surface, roll and cut into rounds with a doughnut cutter. But it’s faster to just make doughnut holes by dropping rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into the oil. I like to use a small scoop.

So when the oil hits 375 degrees go ahead and drop your batter in. You can do three or four doughnut holes at a time depending on the size of your pot. Watch the temperature and adjust your burner as needed to maintain 375 degrees.

While your first doughnuts are cooking you can get two plates and fill one with white sugar and one with powdered sugar for rolling the finished doughnuts in.

The doughnut will float to the top when it’s ready to be turned. Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes on the other side. The doughnut should be a deep golden brown. Watch that they don’t start to burn.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the cooked doughnuts to paper towel to drain.

When the doughnuts are cool enough to handle, roll them in the white sugar or powdered sugar. Personally, I prefer the white sugar or no sugar at all.

Then enjoy while still fresh and warm!

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Cookie of the Week: Snickerdoodles

Well, I’m in a car on my way to Knoxville, TN right now. This is coming to you via the magic that is Autopost. I made some Snickerdoodles to take with us to snack on in the car. I figure they taste better, and are a little more wholesome than the junk available at gas stations and rest stops.

Snickerdoodle Recipe

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

From All Recipes

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Cookie of the Week: Molasses Ginger Cookies

Oh, these are yummy, and they make your house smell so good! These Molasses Ginger cookies are great for fall with their sweet, spicy flavor. They go really well with apple cider. Ooh, warm cider would be even better. So cozy.

Molasses Ginger Cookie Recipe

8 tbs. butter

1 cup white sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup molasses

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup white sugar

Cream together butter, 1 cup of sugar, egg and molasses. Add all other ingredients except 1/2 cup sugar and mix well. Chill in refrigerator. Form into walnut-sized balls and roll in sugar. Arrange on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.

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Cookie of the Week: Pumpkin Bars

Today is one of those late summer days that feels like fall. The air is cool and crisp, the sunlight is muted by clouds. A few leaves have even turned and fallen to the ground already. With Autumn just around the corner, I’ve got pumpkins on my mind. It’s too early in the season to break out the pumpkin pie, but how about some Pumpkin bars? This recipe is from my mom.

Pumpkin Bar Recipe

2 eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Mix all ingredients together in order. Spread in a greased and floured 9×13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. After they cool, frost with cream cheese frosting. Then refrigerate. Slice into squares to serve.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar.

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Summer Chillers: Snickers Apple Salad

This is the last installment of Summer Chillers for the season.

Labor Day marks the official end of summer around here even though there are still a few weeks left according to the calendar. But the days are already getting shorter, and the nights are getting cooler. So next Tuesday Cookie of the Week will be back.

My husband and son will be happy to see the weekly supply of fresh baked goods make its return. I’m always looking for new recipes to try, so if anyone’s got a great cookie recipe to share I’d love to hear from you.

I always make the recipes before I share them here. I don’t want to pass on a recipe that doesn’t work. There are a lot of recipes out there that just don’t turn out even if you follow the instructions to the letter. And I’d be a fraud if I said I made this stuff for my family, and didn’t really.

But this week is the one exception. I’m not feeling well today, and whipping up a batch of something just is not high on my list of things to do right now. I’ve never made Snickers Apple Salad before, but I have eaten it, and it’s yummy. The salad is so simple to make, I don’t think this recipe could fail. Since it is almost fall and fresh picked apples are, or will be, available soon, I thought this would be a good one to share.

Snickers Apple Salad Recipe

1 8 oz. container Cool Whip
3 apples, diced
3 regular size Snickers candy bars, frozen

Mix together the Cool Whip and apples. Smash the Snickers bars and add to the salad. Let stand at room temperature for a few minutes before serving to let the carmel in the candy bars soften.

Enjoy what’s left of summer!

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What’s for Dinner: Whole Wheat Pancakes

I love bacon, eggs and pancakes. But, quite honestly, there’s a better chance that Ralph Nader will win the presidential election then there is of me getting up at the crack of dawn to fire up the griddle. Cereal and coffee are about all I can handle that early in the morning. So, sometimes, I make breakfast for dinner.

Breakfast for dinner is easy, cheap and you generally have all the ingredients laying around.

I’ve been trying to incorporate more whole grain into my family’s diet, and whole wheat pancakes are a great way to do that.

I bought a bag of King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour, and went in search of a whole wheat pancake recipe. I came across several warnings that whole wheat flour made pancakes that were too dense, and suggested using half wheat and half white flour or adding some other ingredients I didn’t have on hand.

I ignored all the warnings, and got out my Fannie Farmer cookbook with my favorite pancake recipe. I made them like I always do, but with whole wheat flour. How bad could it be, really?

Not bad at all. The whole wheat pancakes turned out fine. They weren’t dense at all, and raised up nice and fluffy. I don’t know what all the fuss was about. They have a slightly nuttier flavor that goes great with maple syrup, and they get just a little crispy on the outside. A nice touch.

The only difficulty I had was telling when they were done, since they’re already brown to begin with. You just have to keep a close eye on things.

Now, the whole wheat is good for you, but if you really want to turn this into a super food, pour some homemade blueberry sauce over them in place of your Aunt Jamima. Blueberries are full of antioxidants, and all sorts of other good stuff. Since you’re being so healthy, splurge a little and top it all off with some whipped cream. Homemade if possible.

Oh, yum!

Now, if you like these, make a double, triple, even quadruple batch, then freeze the left overs. You can pull one of two out of the freezer at a time, and warm them up in the microwave. I can handle that at 6 a.m.

Keep you extra blueberry sauce in a mason jar in the fridge for up to a month, or freezer for up to a year.

Whole Wheat Pancake Recipe

1/2 - 3/4 cup of milk

2 tbs butter, melted

1 egg

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tbs sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Lightly beat the milk, butter and egg in a mixing bowl. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt and add all at once to the first mixture. Stir just enough to dampen. Grease a frying pan, (non-stick cooking spray on a cast iron skillet works best) and set over moderate heat. Test the pan by sprinkling with a few drops of water. It’s ready when the water beads up and sizzles away.

Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into pan. Cook until cake is full of bubbles on top, and slighlty browned on bottom. Flip and cook until the other side is browned.

Blueberry Sauce Recipe

1 cup of water

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of blueberries

Dissolve sugar in water and bring to a boil. Add blueberries. Bring to boil again. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened. If sauce seems too thin, add a little corn starch to thicken more.

Homemade Whipped Cream Recipe

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbs powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla

Chill whisk or mixer beater and mixing bowl in the freezer for a few minutes. Pour the cream into the chilled bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Gradually whip in the sugar and vanilla.

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