Our Lord of Fantastic Cookies


What's in a cookie? A cookie by any other name would be just as - good!

In this little household, there's is only one, only this one - THE Chocolate Chip Cookie. The recipe is from Bill Granger - hey!, you say - I thought chocolate chip cookies was the epitome of American baking and Bill Granger is GASP! Australian! Well, I'm sorry -but this man makes the best chocolate chip cookie I know, and the only chocolate chip cookie to pass the lips of my man. Maybe that's a lie - but it is the one he likes the best!

I do think we are somewhat weird in the cookie-preference region though. I like my cookies soft, almost melting and on the brink of not baked in the middle. Yes, I do eat the cookie dough too - how could I not!?



Bad habit, bad habit - but I wouldn't want to waste the batter left in the bowl and okay, I'll sacrifice myself and my stomach. You have to build a resistance to those darn salmonella bacterias, don't ya?

Here it is:


Chocolate Chip Cookies - From Bill Granger's Sydney Food, p. 111 (OMG, that's so embarrasing - my book actually falls open on that page!)

125 g. (4 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups tightly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 ½ cups plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
1½ cups of chocolate bits

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) Place the butter and sugar in a bowl, and beat until light and creamy. Add the vanilla and egg and beat again. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt until just combined - this will seem like way too much flour, but just keep folding and folding, it will incorporate! Fold through chocolate chips.
Place spoonfuls of cookie mixture on a lined baking tray, allowing room for spreading. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until they turn pale gold.
Allow to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before placing the cookies on a wire rack to cool further. Makes 16. I often freeze half (or make a double portion and freeze what I don't need right here and now) It's so nice to have laying around - for the week that it lasts!

I know the recipe might not seem special - I think what makes them speciel to me is that they only have brown sugar and no regular sugar in them - wouldn't regular sugar make them more crisp usually? Actually, I haven't tried that many chocolate chip cookie recipes, simply because I found these and promptly declared them my favorite, then never strayed! Maybe I should come out of my cocoon? Do you have a great recipe I have to try?

BTW, it has to meet one other criteria: almost nothing to wash up afterwards!

Comments

M. said…
Yep yep I agree that looks delicious! I also have a reliable recipe that I use over and over (can be found in my archive), so perhaps it's time for me to venture out of my comfort zone and try this one!
tanvi said…
looks yummy (i tried to post before but my browser is being weird so ignore this if its a repeat...and i apologize!)

im definetely going to try these out. im on a quest to find my perfect chocolate chip cookie, but previous attempts have been very disappointing. bill granger's recipes are usually good so this looks promising. do you have a particular brand of chocolate that you use? the bits in your photos look wonderful, and i generally prefer using chocolate chunks versus chips.

anyway, thanks for the post. i love your blog- all the recipes are so enticing!
hi zarah maria, i love choc-chip cookies! btw, thanks for visiting my blog:) -- selina
LeeLoreya said…
that small utensil in the last picture that looks like those shoe-helper spoons or whatever, is is a nutmeg grater?
Niki said…
I still haven't found the perfect choc chip cookie, although I've come close with this one: http://www.jewish-food.org/recipes/cchpcoo3.htm
but it's pretty hard work and time consuming, so I'll definitely give Bill's a go.
You know, everything is pointing to me actually getting a copy of Sydney Food - I don't own one! Maybe it was the whole "Sydney" thing that put me off - Melbourners pride themselves on being a more sophisticated city, foodwise than Sydneysiders ;-P. But I discovered Bill Granger is actually a Melbourne boy; he grew up here as the son of a butcher, so he's redeemed myself in my eyes (that and the fact he soooooo cute!).
Anonymous said…
This is the original recipe, printed on the back of the nestle toll house morsel bag and it's really good. it is not nestles recipe! (I hate it when people think that):

http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/story047.htm

The original,Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks, 1/2 pound) butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups (12-ounce package) NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels

1 cup chopped nuts

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION: PREPARE dough as above. Spread into greased 15"x10" jelly-roll pan. Bake in preheated 375-degree [Fahrenheit] oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack.

FOR HIGH ALTITUDE BAKING (>5,200 feet): INCREASE flour to 2 1/2 cups; add 2 teaspoonfuls water with flour; reduce both granulated sugar and brown sugar to 2/3 cup each. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, drop cookies for 8 to 10 minutes and pan cookies for 17 to 19 minutes.


This is my favourite recipe from cooks illustrated (the most anal retentive cooking magazine ever). They're oversized and perfect except I add a cup of chopped toasted pecans or walnuts. always. chocolate chip cookies without nuts are only pretenders.

Thick and Chewy
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 1 ½ dozen 3-inch cookies
Ingredients

2 1/8 cups flour (2 cups plus 2 tablespoons)

½ teaspoon table salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), melted aand cooled slightly

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg
1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups chocolate chips or chunks (semi or bittersweet)

These truly chewy chocolate chip cookies are delicious served warm from the oven or cooled. To ensure a chewy texture, leave the cookies on the cookie sheet to cool. You can substitute white, milk chocolate, or peanut butter chips for the semi- or bittersweet chips called for in the recipe. In addition to chips, you can flavor the dough with one cup of nuts, raisins, or shredded coconut.

Directions
1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips.

3. Form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined 20-by-14-inch lipless cookie sheets, about nine dough balls per sheet. Smaller cookie sheets can be used, but fewer cookies can be baked at one time and baking time may need to be adjusted. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month—shaped or not.)

4. Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.) Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.
Cerebrum said…
Dagmar - I saw them, and they're on my to-do list! :-)

Galinusa - Ouh! I can't find your blog! I wanna see that recipe! Have an adress?

Tanvin - Thanks for the kind words about my blog! I usually use Lindt milk chocolate - the Boyfriend (and okay, me too!) are not so big on dark chocolate, so we go by the milky kind. I'd say as long as it's chocolate you would eat just as is, I wouldn't mind putting it in the cookies.

Selina - you're welcome!:-)

Lee - Do you mean the white one? That's the beater for my Kitchen Aid... or do you mean the one on the left on top of the bowl with the black dots? That's a small Global knife... Let me know!

Niki - he IS cute, tee-hee! I like the oatmeal in the recipe you provided... maybe I should try that...

Anon - thanks for both recipes! They look scrumptious, although I have to disagree with you on the nut part. MY cookies have to be without nuts - I like the undisturbed taste of chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. Well, that and I'm just not that much of a nut-lover - not compared to my love of chocolate anyways!;-)
Cerebrum said…
Indeed it is dark brown sugar! And give them a whirl - as I said, they are our favorites!
Anonymous said…
Hi there,

Here is another Bill Granger chocolate chip cookie recipe - but this is the best one EVER!!!!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

250 g. (9 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
350g soft brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
310g (2½) cups plain flour
60g (½) cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
a pinch of salt
350g dark chocolate, chopped or chocolate bits

Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).
Place the butter and sugar in a bowl, and beat until light and creamy.
Add the vanilla and eggs and stir together well.
Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt and mix until just combined
Fold in the chocolate.
Place large spoonfuls of cookie mixture on a greased and lined baking tray, allowing room for spreading.
Cook in batches for 15-20 minutes, until the bases are cooked.
Allow to cool on the tray.
Makes about 30.


Hope you enjoy. N
Anonymous said…
The Bill Granger one is my favourite and I am American! :) I am on holidays so am very grateful that you have posted this recipe because I want to make it and don't have it with me!!! Thank you thank you thank :)
Ruby said…
I have lent my very well used Sydney Food book to my friend - recommending the cookies. We have as a family made these cookies for the past 4 years. Just about to make a batch and no book for those exact measurements so we found your blog and the measurements - thankyou :)
cazz said…
these cookies are the most delicious biscuits and there is so little to clean up!!

my parents always get me to make them when i come over - not to mention my friends who clear the plate as soon as i make them !!

truely amazing.
Anonymous said…
Thank you, I've been trolling the web for this recipe for ages. My own cook book became water damaged. So... this is how I found you. If it isn't broke, don't fix it. You are not in bubble wrap or ignorant for not trying others, you just got it right!

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