The best chocolate chip cookies ever?
I’m sure that many of you read and discussed that article from the NYTimes about how to make the best chocolate chip cookies ever. I had come across a bunch of posts about it awhile back, digested the information, and filed it in the back of my head. It seems that the standout point is refrigerating the cookie dough. The problem with that is, at least for me, is that if you want to make cookies, you want them right at that moment, not a couple of days later.Honestly, I think chocolate chip cookies may be my favorite baked good. Chocolate chip cookies can vary so much though. It’s not just that they’re good or bad, but they can be chewy or crunchy or super sweet or a million other things.
So I made some cookies the other night, using the recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I baked one batch but still had quite a bit leftover and threw it in the fridge for later. I never got a chance to bake the rest until two days later. When I took the dough out of fridge I remembered that refrigerated dough was supposed to be the key to amazing cookies, but as I scooped it onto the cookie sheet I was skeptical. The dough seemed a bit dried out even though I had covered it. Despite my faith in vegan recipes, I thought maybe the benefits of these tips may only apply to non-vegan ingredients.
I was so wrong. This batch of cookies was without a doubt the best I’ve ever made. Personally I thought they were at least twice as good as the batch made from the same dough that wasn’t refrigerated. They spread out just perfectly to make them the perfect balance of chewiness and crunchiness. They had the quality of tasting a tiny bit like a sugar cookie with chocolate chips, which I love.
So yes…BEST COOKIES EVER.
Dinner guests
chickpea cutlets with nutritional yeast/mushroom gravy
lemony garlic potatoes and brussel sprouts
Had my mom and her husband over for dinner a little while ago. This the first time I’ve had them over for a meal that I made and also the first time they’d been to Shawn and my apartment. I had wanted to make the chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon for awhile and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
First off, I have to say I love using vital wheat gluten. It’s so much easier than spending the time taking however many cups of flour to break it down yourself. When I made these, I was only able to buy a small package at the market but as of this week they now sell it in the bulk section. Sounds like more seitan for dinner (and of course chickpea cutlets).
These were really delicious and unlike a lot of protein substitutes I’ve had. I would like to experiment using different ingredients using the same basic formula. The potatoes and brussel sprouts were also inspired from Veganomicon. While they were quite tasty, they were a bit undercooked, which I’m not sure if that was because my oven wasn’t hot enough or if I was rushing. No one complained though.
lemon poppyseed cupcakes with lemon curd filling
squash
It’s not very often that I make genuinely pretty dinners. Especially because we love things like mashed potatoes and gravy, which while delicious, aren’t all that photogenic. At the store the other day I decided I needed to buy some squash since there was such a good selection and I’ve never really made anything with squash besides zucchini.
So I picked out some lovely delicata squash without any idea what I would do with it. I decided that even if I couldn’t find a recipe I liked it would serve as good decoration in the mean time. Luckily I found an exciting recipe on gothamist for chickpea stuffed delicata. The chickpeas are fried and mixed with a cranberry wine syrup. It was a really nice mix of flavors and textures sweet and savory. Of course, it looked pretty too which I was pleased about. Not to mention it was quite different from the usual meals we make and very quick to prepare.
chow mein
I also got a ton of fun stuff at the store so I’ll be making some other exciting treats this week.
berry crumble
Here is a black raspberry and blueberry crumble I made. The important thing with this is that the crumble on top is really great and could be used with any fruit. It is great with peaches or apples or berries. I’m not usually into blueberries but I love how they look with the black raspberries and the flavors are very complimentary. Here is the recipe…
Crumble top
3/4 cups all purpose-flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup non-dairy butter
Filling
(sorry my measurements are a bit, well, sketchy)
1 bag frozen black raspberries
1 bag frozen blueberries
2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp arrowroot powder
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Defrost the fruit in a saucepan (or microwave) and pour into pie pan. Stir in sugar and arrowroot powder until it is dissolved in the fruit juices. Set aside.
Pour dry ingredients into a bowl and combine. Cut non-dairy butter into chunks and add to bowl. Use your hands to rub the butter into the dry ingredients until they form crumbly balls. Sprinkle on top of berries.
Bake for 40 minutes or until crumbles are golden brown.
Another option with this is to leave out the arrowroot powder all together, depending on the fruit, or substitute regular flour.
I’m supposed to be posting more this month but man it’s quite a bit harder than I thought. Mainly because I spend all day in front of a computer at work and don’t really want anything to do with my laptop when I get home. I would much rather be baking. Anyway I’m trying to get back on track.
