Madhu Knits and Cooks

Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

Tag: Cooking — Desserts

Very Easy and Very Tasty Crispier Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Cook's Illustrated Thin, Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe is incredibly easy (a rarity, sadly, for Cook's Illustrated), uses ingredients that I often have on hand, and makes a decent number of cookies (though not the 4 dozen cookies promised in the recipe!). I enjoyed the cookies so much after making the recipe a first time that I ended up making them again within a few days. If you have a bake sale, office potluck or barbeque to bring something to, I would definitely recommend checking out this recipe. I think it does appeal to all cookie lovers as well, despite the title, because the cookies aren't THAT crispy, especially when serving them the day-of baking.

October 4, 2012
Never Say Never…Actually Delicious Lower-Fat Brownies

Dedicated MadhuKnitsandCooks.com readers may remember my pronouncement that low-fat brownie recipes just don't seem to work, and that I would foreswear them in the future for more flavorful "full" fat brownie recipes.

Well, that promise clearly didn't hold up as I recently tried the Cook's Illustrated Lighter Brownies recipe. And the result was actually really delicious – fudgy and moist (almost too moist in a sense because of how fudgy the brownies were). I have made them twice this summer for barbeques, and they were a big hit both times. The only downside is that the recipe makes a relatively small number of brownies so it is easy for just a few people to polish off the whole batch! I also substituted 1 oz. of bittersweet chocolate for 1 oz. of the semisweet chocolate in the last batch I made, added a little bit more sugar, and the result was fine – so just a note for those like me who don't always have full semisweet chocolate bars in their cupboards.

September 9, 2012
Best Banana Bread Recipe to Date

I've experimented with many banana baked good recipes, including banana bread, banana oat muffins, and banana chocolate chip muffins, but as of a few weeks ago, I had still not found the "perfect" recipe. I think that I can now report that I may have actually found that perfect recipe – the Martha Stewart online recipe which uses sour cream in addition to the standard muffin/cake/bread ingredients.

I've made this recipe twice now, and the best part of it may not just be the flavor – despite using less banana than is called for both times and increasing the amount of sour cream/greek yogurt to adapt – but also the nice crisp outside to the bread that develops after baking. As a result, the texture is much more bread-like than other recipes I have tried, but is still very moist inside the crust. The first time I made the recipe I used low-fat sour cream, the second time, non-fat greek yogurt – I didn't notice a difference, but Andy thought the first loaf, with the sour cream, was more flavorful. I also substituted about 1/2 cup chocolate chips for the nuts both times, and added in maybe 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. I still have leftover banana bread in the fridge, and I am looking forward to eating it all in the coming days – or freezing it for enjoyment later!

April 12, 2012
Ginger Shortbread – As Delicious as It Sounds

Cook's Illustrated has inspired me again despite the missteps of late. This go-round, I made a ginger shortbread, which was an online variation to the "best shortbread" from the Nov. 2009 issue. The variations I made to this recipe were simply to correct for my lack of proper baking accessories. First, I substituted a hand mixer for using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, so had a little bit of nervousness about whether I would know when the dough was "ready" but after blending the ingredients for slightly longer than called for in the recipe, I think I achieved the proper texture. Second, I messed up the forming of the dough by using a springform pan that was open instead of closed, so later when the recipe said to "open" the collar, I couldn't really make that adjustment. Third, I didn't have a biscuit cutter, so instead to remove a center circle from the shortbread, I used what I thought would be an appropriate substitute – a Storm Trooper cookie cutter. Maybe not the best idea (that cookie was pretty overbaked as it was smaller than a 2-inch diameter), but it seemed to be fine at the time. Finally, because the cookie cutter is not oven safe, I did not put it back in the middle of the cookie dough during baking, so the consistency was probably off from both the lack of a middle holder and from not opening the springform collar. (Oh, and when I propped the oven door open with a wooden spatula, when I removed the spatula, of course it fell into the oven door so the door had to be disassembled to retrieve it.)

Regardless of these technique changes though, the shortbread turned out pretty well despite potential overbaking. The shortbread was generally pretty moist (particularly in the middle – the edges near the springform collar were noticeably drier), and the flavor was really outstanding with the crystallized ginger of course being the star. I look forward to making this recipe again!

February 22, 2012
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes – Great Out of the Oven, But…

Unfortunately not so great the next day even after being sealed in an airtight container in the fridge, per the instructions. Just a little too dry to be enjoyable the next day, though the very rich flavor of these Dark Chocolate Cupcakes were really amazing out of the oven. In hindsight, maybe I slightly overbaked them (21 minutes instead of 18 – 20, and particularly important because these cupcakes were slightly smaller than what was called for in the recipe. I made 13 instead of the envisioned 12). I also used regular cocoa instead of dutch-processed, but I don't think that made a difference. In any case, I don't think I'll be returning to this recipe anytime soon. On to the next one…

February 12, 2012
Another Cook’s Illustrated Success — and Surprisingly, a Failure as Well!

I have really been doing good in cooking and baking from my stacks of cooking magazines and books lately, including my recent attempts at the Cook's Illustrated Creamy Chocolate Pudding and Chocolate Chip Meringues. The pudding turned out really, really well — so much so, that I even ate a small portion with some fresh fruit, even though I don't really like pudding that much. The only alteration I made to this recipe was to substitute Ghiradelli's cocoa powder for the dutch-processed cocoa powder.

The meringues, which I made with the leftover egg whites from the pudding, unfortunately were a complete mess. In fact, perhaps they were the worst meringues I have ever made — a shocking statement, I know. The problem with the meringues were that they were chalky, brittle, and the flavor was also a little off. I think the problem with this recipe though was not with its construction, but rather perhaps purely with my inability to follow it. I ended up halving the recipe because I ultimately had only two useable egg whites from the pudding. I also slowly poured in all of the sugar into the egg whites at once, instead of in two parts, so perhaps that is why the cookies ended up being so dry. In any case, I think I will stick to other meringue recipes in the future, including this chocolate meringue recipe.

January 29, 2012
The Great Compost Cookie Experiment

I have finally attempted the Momofuko Compost Cookie recipe. I have not been to the Momofuko Milk Bar yet (though the Noodle Bar is amazing and highly recommended), but I saw their compost cookies being prepared on Regis & Kelly almost two years ago. Upon hearing how you can really put whatever you want in them — chips, candy, and really any savory or sweet snack — I knew that I would have to make these one day. I have to admit that when I have thought about really making these cookies in the past, I have actually become a little overwhelmed with the options — I mean really, if you could make a cookie with ANYTHING, what would you put in it? Should you play it safe, with the pretzels, potato chips, chocolate chips, etc., or go all out with Doritos, Cheetos, and other completely unnatural food products?

Well, finally, I pulled myself together to make the cookies — they are just cookies, right, and not something to get completely stressed about? Unfortunately, when I actually decided to bake them, my indecision led to day-off trips to the grocery store and lots of thinking in the kitchen about whether my mixture of ingredients was just right. Additionally, I found a few different ways to find the Compost Cookies online — one version from the Regis & Kelly show, with a few website critiques of how to best prepare them, as well as a version from the Oprah website, which had significantly different ingredients. Ultimately, I pulled together something based on these two blogs' versions of the Regis & Kelly-featured cookies.

Per the websites' guidance, I put in slightly more flour than called for in the recipe – perhaps 1/4 cup. I also included slightly more of the savory and sweet snacks – 1 1/4 cups of crushed potato chips (Lay's reduced sodium), 1/3 cup of blue corn tortilla chips (Xochitl), 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chunks, 1/2 cup m&ms, 1 cup crushed kit kats. I also included 1 tsp. of kosher salt instead of 2 tsps. because I was worried about the salt from the potato chips and tortilla chips. I also used a handheld mixer instead of a stand mixer, and creamed the butter and sugars together for less time than called for in the original recipe.

I baked the cookies in two different batches – one had been been in the fridge for just over an hour, and then in the freezer for 20 minutes, before baking at 375 in the oven for 15 minutes. I rotated the cookie sheet twice on the same rack during the baking. The second batch was in the fridge for a day or two, and then in the freezer, but I did not notice a different in the outcomes between the two batches.

The cookies were pretty good, though perhaps a little thin. I think when I make these cookies again, I'll put in the full 2 tsps. of kosher salt, and also include thicker chunks of snacks that will withstand the baking, e.g., pretzels, pretzel m&ms, or even hard candy chunks? The chips and chocolate pieces just softened too much while baking, so the cookies just seemed to lack both proper thickness in size and an optimal amount of crunch while eating them. To the next round!

January 21, 2012
Cook’s Illustrated Foolproof Pie Dough — New Go-To Pie Crust Recipe

For years, I have been a faithful adherent of the Gourmet Cookbook pie crust recipe. I have never had a explicit reason to change recipes, but with all things Cook's Illustrated, given that I now have the online subscription and their techniques are generally close to perfect (if not perfect), I decided to try something new when making a Christmas pumpkin pie this year.

I used their Foolproof Pie Dough for a Single-Crust Pie, and it definitely was different from your standard pie crust. First, and perhaps most notable, the recipe calls for vodka — apparently this "secret" ingredient has a high water content, a lower gluten content, and allows the pie crust to be rolled out more easily. And the alcohol evaporates in the over during baking, so no need to worry about keeping the kids away! Second, the pie dough is definitely far more moist than your standard pie dough, so I definitely had doubts while folding it together about whether I had prepared it correctly. The result though was fantastic – perfectly flaky and puffy, which was a nice change from the more flat and perhaps blah Gourmet version.

I had to put foil "hats" around the edges though fairly early on in the pie baking process (one uses an unbaked dough with this pie recipe), and I think I need to refine my foil covering technique because I wasn't that successful in getting the foil covers to stay on the crust edges while baking. So the crust was a little more brown than I would have liked – but you won't necessarily notice a difference in the picture below because of the crust edges were disturbed in the car ride from home to the Christmas gathering. Bottom line: if I happen to have vodka, I will definitely make this pie crust again. If I don't have vodka on hand, I will probably be more than content to just go back and use the Gourmet version if I am pressed for time.

January 18, 2012
Cook’s Illustrated Gingersnaps — Really, Really Wonderful Cookies for the Holidays

Not enough people in this world (or at least in my social circle) like crispy cookies. I love my cookies to be completely baked, have no ounce of mushiness, and have a nice crisp or crunch to them. The key element though must be to firm – not overly dry, but certainly not soft.

For those of you who are hesitant about the superior nature of well-done cookies, I encourage you to check out the Gingersnaps recipe from a recent Cook's Illustrated issue. The result isn't too dry or lack chewiness, but it is a wonderful crispy-type cookie. The recipe is a bit labor intensive though — one must grate 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger — but the cookies have a great flavor that is perfect for the holiday season. And one can freeze the dough as well, making it perfect for any on-the-fly entertaining you may have to do as guests circle in and out over the next few weeks. Please post a comment if you try them!

December 12, 2011
Breakfast Baked Apples — Good for Leftover Apples, But Not Necessarily a Go-To Recipe

Fall has of course brought an abundance of apples to the local farmers markets, and I have had little success in resisting my overally tendency to overconsume. (Just wait until the clementines really start coming in — my apartment will undoubtedably be filled with boxes and boxes.) Although I had hoped to make an apple tart to both use up my remaining apples as well as finally use the tart pan I bought last year, I ended up settling on a far simpler recipe from Cooks Illustrated — breakfast baked apples. The recipe had the benefit of including ingredients that I had easily on hand at home, and would require far less work than constructing a tart.

I increased the baking time to fully cook all of the apples, but otherwise the recipe was pretty straightforward. The result was definitely better when I reheated the apples later in the day because when I ate the first one out of the oven, the vanilla flavor was a bit too powerful. Generally though, I think the baked apples were a bit "meh" and I don't know if I will actively seek out opportunities to make this recipe again. Instead, I think it'll be a second (or maybe third) choice the next time I have some leftover apples that I need to use up.

December 11, 2011