Mr. Suburban, here is another Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe for you to try!
Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for chocolate chunk black pepper cookies. Good luck.

Xexo wrote:Mr. Suburban, here is another Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe for you to try!
Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for chocolate chunk black pepper cookies. Good luck.

Haha, thanks. Definitely not my thing but maybe someone else will give it a whirl.

=R=

I guess it's just that time of year. Suddenly, I'm baking cookies again . . .


Chocolate Chip & Toasted Pecan Cookies
Guittard 46% chips.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:I guess it's just that time of year. Suddenly, I'm baking cookies again . . .


Chocolate Chip & Toasted Pecan Cookies
Guittard 46% chips.

=R=

They look great Mr. Suburban. I'm sure they would sit well after a lovely pizza lunch.

Xexo wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I guess it's just that time of year. Suddenly, I'm baking cookies again . . .


Chocolate Chip & Toasted Pecan Cookies
Guittard 46% chips.

=R=

They look great Mr. Suburban. I'm sure they would sit well after a lovely pizza lunch.

Maybe so but I don't do dessert lunch. That's my wife's thing!

=R=

Not the kind of thing that's normally on my radar, these triple chocolate cookies by John Kanell looked good and relatively easy. He calls them brownie cookies and I can see why because they're crackly on the exterior and fudgy underneath. But since they contain chocolate in 3 forms -- chips, dutch-process cocoa powder and cut-up/melted bar -- I like my name better. Like most baking projects, they also took me my outside of my comfort zone in a variety of ways, which is always fun . . .


Triple Chocolate Cookies

Again, this is some real basic stuff for people who bake on the regular. For me, it was a bit of a challenge but still, a relatively easy process that delivered a very high reward to effort ratio. I used Droste cocoa powder, Guittard semi-sweet chips (46%) and Guittard bittersweet bar (64%). That combo wound being just about perfect for my palate. Very chocolatey. Not too bitter, not too sweet and a long, pleasant finish. Under the lightly crisp exterior, some nice, fudgy texture.

As for what I need to work on next time . . .

They spread a bit more than I would have liked, so next time I'll chill the dough a bit longer before forming the balls. I might also add a touch more flour but I really don't want to mess with the texture, so if I do, I'll only up it by like 10%. I may also consider raising the oven temp by 25 degrees so that they set faster. Other suggestions most welcome.

Thanks,

=R=

Photos of Kanell's cookies appear thicker, puffier, and slightly lighter colored. He mentions a few factors in getting thick cookies: Beating enough air into the egg mixture (he suggests warming the eggs) and chilling the dough. He also suggests weighing the flour (my suggestion: cocoa too). It's possible that the temperature of the melted butter and chocolate when added to the egg mixture makes a difference - Kanell doesn't explain how he handled that: cooled or still hot. Baking on ungreased parchment may hold them tighter than baking directly on metal. You could also try subbing a small amount of margarine for an equal portion of the butter.

I'd be reluctant to bake them hotter given that yours are already a bit darker than his. That could be due to different brands of cocoa and chocolate, though. If I were baking these, I'd try Rodelle's Dutch cocoa - great rich flavor and extremely dark color.

tjr wrote:Photos of Kanell's cookies appear thicker, puffier, and slightly lighter colored. He mentions a few factors in getting thick cookies: Beating enough air into the egg mixture (he suggests warming the eggs) and chilling the dough. He also suggests weighing the flour (my suggestion: cocoa too). It's possible that the temperature of the melted butter and chocolate when added to the egg mixture makes a difference - Kanell doesn't explain how he handled that: cooled or still hot. Baking on ungreased parchment may hold them tighter than baking directly on metal. You could also try subbing a small amount of margarine for an equal portion of the butter.

I'd be reluctant to bake them hotter given that yours are already a bit darker than his. That could be due to different brands of cocoa and chocolate, though. If I were baking these, I'd try Rodelle's Dutch cocoa - great rich flavor and extremely dark color.

Thanks for your thoughts. Unless they're burnt, which they were not, color's not a driver here for me. IMO, the cookies look great color-wise but I used dutch process cocoa and he did not, so maybe that's the reason they differ. Kanell didn't specify which bar chocolate or which chips he used (or their cocoa solids). Maybe they're darker than what I used. Photography, lighting etc. Given what could have been improved here, I think color is a relatively useless variable to chase. I really only care about the fact that they spread more than they should have. Other than that, there's nothing I'd immediately change here.

Comparing what I did to what he did and what I might do next time . . . flavor was great, so no need to change any of the ingredients, at least not for now. He let the butter/chocolate mixture cool and so did I. I always weigh ingredients, so that isn't a factor. I also used ungreased parchment, so that's not a factor, either.

Why wouldn't you consider baking hotter? To me, this is most likely a temperature issue, so that's probably where I'll make my first adjustment, though, I'd chill the dough longer -- or possibly even freeze it for a bit -- before baking next time (before I'd bake them hotter). But wouldn't a hotter oven set the dough faster? That's something about which I have no idea. I think adding more flour -- like going from 80g to 90g or 100g -- might harm the texture more than it would decrease the spread, so that's a last resort.

=R=

Sorry, I completely missed the fact that Droste is Dutch cocoa. That probably accounts for any darker color. Did you take the recipe from here (as I perhaps wrongly assumed): https://preppykitchen.com/brownie-cookies/ or from another source?

My reluctance to crank up the heat is that hotter is more likely to cause scorching of the outside before the inside gets done enough. And as this article suggests, it won't help make thicker cookies: https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/pack ... okies-flat . Ditto for this one which includes an experiment: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2 ... ies-spread

But others agree with you on the "setting before spreading" concept: https://www.thespruceeats.com/why-do-co ... ked-995121
https://www.hy-vee.com/recipes-ideas/ad ... -spreading

The right answer may well be to add just a little more flour. You could always make up the dough with a tiny bit more, say a teaspoon, test a couple cookies, then add a little more if needed, repeat until they seem right. If that causes tougher cookies, you could switch to a different, lower protein flour. The el cheapo store brand flours are often a bit lower than name brands, particularly compared to Ceresota or King Arthur All Purpose. For my Christmas cookie baking, I often buy a bag or two of Aldi Baker's Corner. Southern flours like White Lily and Hudson Cream are also lower protein and excellent quality, but hard to find around here.

One more possibility: Chilling the dough for a goodly amount of time not only makes it cold, but gives the flour plenty of time to fully hydrate and absorb moisture. Overnight in the fridge?

Yeah, I think a longer chill -- or a short freeze -- before baking is the first/next adjustment I'll try. My lower oven runs slightly hotter than my upper oven. Maybe I'll also use it, set to the same temperature, next time.

These are just basic cookies, which most casual bakers probably would have gotten correct from the get-go. It's just not my world but the levers to pull shouldn't be too complex.

=R=

I was really drawn to this Claire Saffitz recipe/method for Oat & Pecan Brittle Cookies. In spite of the fact that there are a few more steps than in a typical cookie bake, I decided to give it a go. The main addition is a pecan brittle that is made before the actual cookie batching can begin. That finished brittle gets divided into 2 equal portions. Half of it gets ground into the dry ingredient mixture. The other half gets cut into small pieces and mixed into the cookies . . .


Oat & Pecan Brittle Cookies

As for the necessary pimping, it has to do with the source material. They turned out great -- and I'll definitely make them again -- but the process was not without some drama. My first attempt at the brittle failed, albeit deliciously. What I didn't know -- and what doesn't seem to be mentioned in the youtube video or the written recipe -- is that the brittle must be taken to the hard crack stage, which is 300F. If you don't get it there, it will not set correctly and you'll end up with some large pieces of sugar-coated roasted pecan pieces rather than a uniform slab of brittle. They're delicious and will make a nice sweet treat but they're not suitable for including in the cookies. After googling "why did my brittle fail?," it was immediately and abundantly clear what I didn't do. I love Claire and have made several of her recipes but this omission is a glaring one. In any case, now that I know, it won't stop me from making them -- or other recipes of hers -- again in the future. Before I tried these, if you told me that a great recipe for oat cookies included neither cinnamon nor raisins, I wouldn't have believed it. These were absolutely worth the effort and as often happens when I get outside my comfort zone, I learned some things.

=R=


Claire Saffitz Makes The Best Oatmeal Cookies | Dessert Person

It sounds like you already know the essential lesson here: When making brittles, or sugar syrup candies of any sort, a thermometer is absolutely essential. And given how cheap and available good digital thermometers are, there's really no reason for an ambitious cook not to have one.

A few other notes from someone who's made a lot of brittles with a lot of types of nuts: Instead of toasting the nuts separately, use the heat from the sugar syrup to toast them. With nuts that scorch easily, like pecans or walnuts, or little bits of nuts, here's the method I like: Cook the syrup without nuts to 300F. Add the nuts, stirring well. Temperature will drop to about 270F. Cook, stirring very diligently to prevent nuts from burning at the bottom of the pan, until temperature returns to 300F. Thoroughly stir in baking soda if using and pour quickly, scraping the bottom of the pan immediately. Cooking the nuts in the syrup gets some of the toasted nut flavor into the sugar matrix. Aging the brittle for a couple days increases the effect. In the case of these cookies, splitting the processes into multiple days might make the project more realistic - as long as there's enough pecan brittle left! Or make a much bigger batch and save some for butter pecan ice cream.

With bigger, easier to roast nuts, like raw cashews, pistachios or peanuts, the nuts can be added when the syrup is thick enough to not make them soggy (250-260F) and cooked the rest of the way.

I've not heard that stirring a syrup that will be cooked that hot causes crystals in the finished product. Crystallization is more of a worry in fudge and other cooler-cooked treats. I have seen advice to either brush off the initial sugar crystals with water, or to put a lid on the pan for a few minutes at the beginning so the steam washes them out. A little corn syrup helps smooth things out initially too, plus makes for a less sweet product.

I will admit that Saffritz's brittle has a far higher proportion of nuts to syrup than I normally make - it's really more like sugared or toffee coated nuts - so that may make some of this inappropriate.

These do sound good, and a considerable upgrade on the usual. My favorite oatmeal cookies don't include raisins or cinnamon either - melted chocolate instead.

tjr wrote:It sounds like you already know the essential lesson here: When making brittles, or sugar syrup candies of any sort, a thermometer is absolutely essential. And given how cheap and available good digital thermometers are, there's really no reason for an ambitious cook not to have one.

A few other notes from someone who's made a lot of brittles with a lot of types of nuts: Instead of toasting the nuts separately, use the heat from the sugar syrup to toast them. With nuts that scorch easily, like pecans or walnuts, or little bits of nuts, here's the method I like: Cook the syrup without nuts to 300F. Add the nuts, stirring well. Temperature will drop to about 270F. Cook, stirring very diligently to prevent nuts from burning at the bottom of the pan, until temperature returns to 300F. Thoroughly stir in baking soda if using and pour quickly, scraping the bottom of the pan immediately. Cooking the nuts in the syrup gets some of the toasted nut flavor into the sugar matrix. Aging the brittle for a couple days increases the effect. In the case of these cookies, splitting the processes into multiple days might make the project more realistic - as long as there's enough pecan brittle left! Or make a much bigger batch and save some for butter pecan ice cream.

With bigger, easier to roast nuts, like raw cashews, pistachios or peanuts, the nuts can be added when the syrup is thick enough to not make them soggy (250-260F) and cooked the rest of the way.

I've not heard that stirring a syrup that will be cooked that hot causes crystals in the finished product. Crystallization is more of a worry in fudge and other cooler-cooked treats. I have seen advice to either brush off the initial sugar crystals with water, or to put a lid on the pan for a few minutes at the beginning so the steam washes them out. A little corn syrup helps smooth things out initially too, plus makes for a less sweet product.

I will admit that Saffritz's brittle has a far higher proportion of nuts to syrup than I normally make - it's really more like sugared or toffee coated nuts - so that may make some of this inappropriate.

These do sound good, and a considerable upgrade on the usual. My favorite oatmeal cookies don't include raisins or cinnamon either - melted chocolate instead.

I don't think the issue is really about owning an instant read thermometer. It's about knowing that one is necessary, and that an important temperature detail is missing from the written recipe. Saffitz describes and shows the boiling and the desired color of the sugar-butter mixture but leaves out the target temperature, which is the most important consideration. Unfortunately, that's egregious.

This is strictly subjective but based on my experiments with pecan pies, I wouldn't make brittle without roasting the nuts first. At least in that application, pre-roasting adds a huge dimension of additional aroma and flavor. Pies made with unroasted nuts were lacking something significant and I get the feeling the same would be true in a brittle, which contains so few ingredients. You just have to keep a close eye on the nuts and set a timer so you don't get distracted while they're roasting.

As for avoiding crystallization, I don't have much experience in this area but the CW from many seasoned sources is to swirl, and not stir. Since that worked, I'm inclined to stay with it. That said, per Mindy Segal, et al, corn syrup will also help mitigate it (if that's something you keep on hand).

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Xexo wrote:

chicagojim wrote:Vinegar? I don’t think I’ve ever made cookies with vinegar. Is this a common thing?

The cookie recipe Ronnie tried did list vinegar as an ingredient. That is the first cookie recipe I've ever seen that has vinegar as an ingredient.

I've seen vinegar in pie crusts before but never in cookie recipes. But again, I'm not very familiar with cookie culture. Speaking of which, why isn't it spelled cooky? Makes no sense whatsoever.

In any case, King Arthur has been pretty reliable in the past for recipes but this one was a disappointment. They're in the doghouse until further notice.

=R=

Ron,
Adding corn syrup or any other invert sugar to your pan, will help prevent crystalizing.

Evil Ronnie wrote:Ron,
Adding corn syrup or any other invert sugar to your pan, will help prevent crystalizing.

Yes, I already knew this but also, I wasn't the one who brought it up. That was tjr.

Thanks,

=R=

Finally converted that pecan brittle into some cookies . . .


Oat & Pecan Brittle Cookies
No idea why but they spread a lot more than they did last time. These more closely resemble the examples in Claire's cookbook and in her youtube video. They were still quite chewy, so the spread didn't diminish that excellent attribute at all. Still, when it comes to my baking, even with a good recipe, there's a fair amount of random chance involved.


Oat & Pecan Brittle Cookies
Here, you can really see the way the brittle shows up in the finished product. Just a great, great recipe. These could be my favorites of any cookies I've ever baked (which, admittedly, isn't saying much).

=R=