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Another snow storm, another chance to flex my baking muscles.
Before a storm such as this, most people like to stock up on the essentials - milk, batteries, candles, canned goods, wine.
My pre-storm necessities include brown sugar, eggs, cocoa powder, chocolate chips and lots of butter. Having the essentials on hand means I can have some flexibility.
If I'm feeling like brownies, no problem.
Cookies? I'm ready.
Cake? If that's what I want.
So what was I in the mood to bake today?
Crispy, crunchy, gooey or chewy?
Lately I've been enamored of the King Arthur Flour website and catalog. Especially since I started making bread. They have a great baking blog and loads of recipes. Perhaps I could find some inspiration there.
How's that for some inspiration?
I'm almost always a chewy cookie kind of girl. But for some reason (high tide? full moon?) I was ready and willing to try something different.
And you know what? I liked it.
These cookies remind me of the 3-pack of Peggy Lawton cookies I used to get for lunch in high school, but with more personality. Does anyone else remember those cookies? A pack of them and an apple was a balanced lunch for me in those days.
I'll never give up my first love for chewy chocolate chippers, but these crispy cookies are staying in my baking repertoire. They're quite a bit easier to make than the classic Toll House kind too. The brown sugar flavor is pronounced, and they taste as if they have way more butter than they actually do.
That's a good thing.
There's one funky ingredient, and I'm not sure why it's there.
Cider vinegar.
Whatever. It's King Arthur. They know their stuff and really, who am I to question it?
Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies
from King Arthur Flour
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 firmly packed brown sugar
2 tsps. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. espresso powder (optional - I used it and it doesn't make the cookies taste like coffee, but gives them something subtle I liked)
3/4 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
16 oz. chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350.
Lightly grease (or line with silicone baking mats) two baking sheets.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, oil, both sugars, vanilla, espresso powder (if using) and salt until smooth. Beat in the vinegar, egg, baking soda and baking powder. Stir in both kinds of flour, then the chocolate chips. (At this point, I think some pecans would be awesome as well.)
The dough will appear oily and because of the quantity of chocolate chips, it won't be totally cohesive - that's ok.
Drop the dough by tablespoons onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until the cookies are uniformly golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minuted before transferring to a cooling rack.
Mmm, crunchy!
