Wanting to try something different than my standard chocolate chip cookie, I made these. I never used tahini before and found they had a pleasant, nutty flavor. Kinda like a very mild peanut butter.
The cookies were crispy, (maybe overbaked a couple of minutes?) front weighted with chocolate, as if that were a problem, delicious and worthy to be made again (and again.)
Salted Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies
INGREDIENTS Yield: 18 to 24 cookies • 113g (8 Tbl) RT unsalted butter • 120g (½ c) tahini, well stirred • 200g (1 c) granulated sugar • 1 large RT egg • 1 egg RT yolk • 1 tsp vanilla extract • 150g (1 c + 2 Tbl) all-purpose flour • ½ tsp baking soda • ½ tsp baking powder • 1 tsp kosher salt • 230g (1¾ c) chocolate chips or chunks, bittersweet or semisweet • Flaky salt, like Maldon
METHOD
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter, tahini and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla and continue mixing at medium speed for another 5 minutes.
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and kosher salt into a large bowl and mix with a fork. Add flour mixture to butter mixture at low speed until just combined. Use a rubber spatula to fold in chocolate chips. Dough will be soft, not stiff. Refrigerate at least 12 hours (or freeze for 2 hours); this ensures tender cookies.
When ready to bake, heat oven to 325⁰F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick baking mat. Use a medium. ice cream scoop or spoon to form dough into 18 to 24 balls.
Place the cookies on the baking sheet at least 3 inches apart to allow them to spread. Bake 13 to 16 minutes until just golden brown around the edges but still pale in the middle to make thick, soft cookies. As cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle sparsely with salt. Let cool at least 20 minutes on a rack.
Sometimes you think something couldn’t be improved, but in this case you would be so wrong. I was about to make a new (to me) recipe of Tahini chocolate chip cookies when Sally sent out her recipe. Stand aside Tahini there is a new cookie in town
These cookies are thicker and are more cohesive than my standard Nestles recipe. It shows to go, even childhood favorites (until today,) can be replaced.
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies – Sally
INGREDIENTS • 281g (2 ¼ c) all-purpose flour • 1 teaspoon baking soda • 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 170g (12 Tbl) unsalted butter, melted & cooled for 5 minutes • 150g (3/4 c) packed light or dark brown sugar • 100g ( ½ c) granulated sugar • 1 large egg + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract • 225g (1 ¼ c) semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
METHOD
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cornstarch, and salt together. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no lumps remain. Whisk in the egg and egg yolk until combined, then whisk in the vanilla extract. The mixture will be thin. Pour into dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or spatula. The dough will be very soft, thick, and shiny. Fold in the chocolate chips. The chocolate chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to combine them.
Cover the dough tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. I highly recommend chilling the cookie dough overnight to prevent overspreading.
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If the dough has chilled for longer than 2 hours, let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
Using a cookie scoop or Tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop the chilled cookie dough, about 3 scant Tablespoons (about 2 ounces, or 60g) of dough for XL cookies or 2 heaping Tablespoons (about 1.75 ounces, or 50g) of dough for medium-large cookies. Roll into a ball, then use your fingers to shape the cookie dough so that it’s taller rather than wide—almost like a cylinder. This helps the cookies bake up thicker. Repeat with remaining dough. Arrange the cookies 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.
Bake the cookies for 13–14 minutes or until the edges are very lightly browned. The centers will look very soft, but the cookies will continue to set as they cool. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. While the cookies are still warm, I like to press a few more chocolate chips into the tops—this is optional and only for looks!
Store tightly covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.
I saw an article rating (in the author’s opinion) the best chocolate chip cookie recipes and this was #1. It’s actually a toffee/chocolate chip cookie, but with the seriously heavy density of chocolate I felt it really deserved to be in this category.
These cookies require significantly more work and time than a “standard” cookie, but if you are looking for something outside the norm give these a try.
I followed the directions on the first browned butter try. After they went up in a cloud of not very pleasant burnt sugar, I “binned” them. (Binned is a GBBO term.) In the second attempt, I lowered the heat from medium high to low. I realize these terms are relative and individual results may vary.
The resultant cookies were about 3” diameter and a good thickness. The texture was excellent and the predominant flavor was chocolate with overtones of brown sugar and toffee. Were they the “best ever”? I guess I will have to keep trying.
Below is the modified recipe.
Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
INGREDIENTS • 2 sticks (227 g) unsalted butter • ½ (100 g) cup granulated sugar • 1 cup (200 g) lightly packed dark brown sugar • 1 ½ cups (190 g) all-purpose flour • 1 cup (127 g) bread flour • 1 tsp baking soda • 1 tsp fine sea salt • 1 tsp instant espresso powder, optional • ½ tsp baking powder • 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature • 2 tsp vanilla • 10 ounces (283 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped • 1 cup toffee bits, homemade or Heath • Flaky sea salt, for finishing
METHOD
In a medium stainless pan set over low heat, melt the butter. Swirling the pan occasionally, it should become foamy as the water boils off. Once the mixture quiets, stir until the butter develops a nutty aroma and brown bits start to form at the bottom. When the bits turn amber, immediately remove from heat and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer or it will burn. Be sure to include the brown bits at the bottom of the pan.
Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar to the hot butter, stirring to combine. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, salt, espresso powder, and baking powder.
Whisk in the eggs, yolk, and vanilla into the cooled butter mixture until combined. Gradually stir in the flour mixture with a rubber spatula. Stir in the chocolate chunks and toffee bits. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours but no more than 72 hours.
Let dough sit at room temperature just until it is soft enough to scoop, about 1 hour. (In my kitchen the block of dough was still too hard to scoop so I used a knife to cut the dough into 50g portions, rolled them into balls with my hands and placed on a parchment lined baking sheet.)
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
At this point, you can portion the dough, place it on a baking sheet, and freeze just until solid. Remove frozen balls of dough to an airtight container and store for up to 6 weeks.
Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle flaky sea salt on top of the cookies, if desired. Let cookies cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Homemade Toffee Bits
INGREDIENTS • 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted American butter • 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar • 1 teaspoon fine salt
METHOD
Line a small rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
In a heavy-bottomed small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and salt and whisk vigorously for one minute until combined. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture looks like melted peanut butter and a candy thermometer reaches 295 to 305°F, about 10 minutes.
If the mixture separates at all, remove from heat and whisk vigorously until recombined. Return to heat and continue cooking.
Immediately and carefully pour the hot toffee onto the prepared baking pan, allowing it to spread into an even layer. Let cool and harden for about 20 minutes.
Place the sheet of toffee on a cutting board or in a zip top bag. Use a mallet, rolling pin, or heavy object to crack it into small pieces. You can also cut into bits with a sharp serrated knife. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
I received a personalized email from King Arthur Baking (along with probably a million other customers) proclaiming their selection of the recipe of the year for 2024. How could I resist.?
There were two interesting techniques that I never used in cookies. The first was making brown butter. This adds a rich caramel taste. The other was tangzhong, which is used in many Japanese breads to provide a soft, fluffy texture.
I never made brown butter before (but will again) and was an unsure when it was “done.” The recipe states it will foam near the end, but it also foams near the beginning. The second foam is very fine and if you stir the butter and you can see the browned butter with some bits stuck to the bottom of the pan.
I also formed the dough into balls before refrigerating overnight. It seemed like s sensible step.
All the ingredients are readySecond “fine” foamIt looks lumpy bit thats okAn ice cream scoop was about right to make 90g balls of dough. They can be close together until ready to bake.Balls need to be well spaced or they will meld together.Well, they were not spaced out enough!Soft and chewy as claimed, great flavor with hints of caramel.
Chocolate Chip Cookies – Supersized, Super Soft from KAB
PREP-45 mins: BAKE-15 to 22 mins: TOTAL-1 day 1 hr: YIELD-16 to 17 large (4″) cookies or 28 medium (3″) cookies
INGREDIENTS • 2 cups (426g) light brown sugar, packed • 2 teaspoons table salt • 16 tablespoons (226g) unsalted butter, cut into 1″ pieces • 1/2 cup (113g) milk, whole preferred • 2 3/4 cups (330g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour, divided • 2 large eggs, cold from the refrigerator • 1 tablespoon King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract • 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda • 2 cups (340g) semisweet chocolate, preferably 60% to 65% cocoa content* *Use chopped wafers or bars for best results; if using chocolate chips, chop them roughly before incorporating. (My chocolate chips were small so I didn’t chop them.)
METHOD
In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar and salt. Set aside.
To brown the butter: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. After several minutes, the butter will sizzle and may spatter. Continue to cook the butter, swirling the pan regularly, for about 5 to 7 minutes, until it’s a dark golden brown color and brown bits start collecting at the bottom of the pan; the butter will have stopped sizzling and may also have a layer of foam on the surface.
Once the butter is browned, immediately pour it over the sugar mixture (be sure to scrape out the brown bits at the bottom) and whisk vigorously to combine; this helps dissolve the sugar slightly and creates the shiny surface of the baked cookies. (The mixture will stay lumpy and won’t become smooth at this point.) Set the empty saucepan aside to cool slightly.
To make the tangzhong: In the same saucepan used to brown the butter, combine the milk with 3 tablespoons (23g) of the bread flour and whisk until no lumps remain.
Place the saucepan over low heat and cook the mixture, stirring regularly with a whisk and then a flexible spatula, until it’s thickened, paste-like, and starts to come together into one mass, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and transfer directly to the bowl with the butter and sugar. Whisk until mostly smooth; some lumps of the tangzhong mixture are OK.
Add the eggs and vanilla and continue whisking until smooth.
Weigh or measure the remaining 2 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon (307g) bread flour by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Add the bread flour to the bowl with the butter and sugar, then add the baking powder and baking soda. Using a whisk or flexible spatula, stir until well combined and no dry spots remain.
Place the bowl, uncovered, in the refrigerator and allow it to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
While the batter is cooling, use a serrated knife to roughly chop the chocolate into coarse pieces. Avoid chopping the chocolate too fine, as small pieces will melt when mixed into the dough.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and fold in the chopped chocolate. (Dough weighs 1440g. This will make sixteen 90g cookies before baking.)
Return the dough to the refrigerator for 1 – 2 hours.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and form the dough into 85g to 90g balls, (50g for small cookies,) flatten slightly with the palm of your hand to about 3” diameter circles, cover and return to the refrigerator for 24 to 72 hours to allow the flavors to intensify.
To bake the cookies: When you’re ready to bake, remove the chilled cookie dough from the refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature for about 10 to 15 minutes to allow it to warm up slightly. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center.
Arrange the cookie dough balls on parchment-lined baking sheets, them 3″ to 4″ apart. (Five dough balls fit perfectly on a half-sheet pan. The 90g cookies can be arranged in a 2-1-2 pattern; the 50g cookies can be arranged in a slightly staggered 4 x 2 pattern.) For consistently shaped cookies, roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball before baking.
Bake the large (90g) chocolate chip cookies for 18 to 22 minutes or the smaller (50g) cookies for 15 to 18 minutes, until the edges are set and the cookies are browned, rotating the pan halfway through baking to ensure even browning. (For best results, bake one pan of cookies at a time.) Remove the cookies from the oven and let them rest on the baking sheets until cool enough to handle, at least 15 minutes.
Storage information: Store leftover chocolate chip cookies, covered, for up to 5 days; their slightly crispy edges will soften and the cookies will maintain a soft texture. Freeze baked cookies for longer storage.
Thanks to my friend Beth here is a new chocolate chip cookie recipe. I can’t even tell you how long Beth and I have been friends. Our parents were life long friends before us and we simply continued the relationship.
This recipe has slightly different ingredient ratios than my “go-to” recipe. Plus it doesn’t use light brown sugar but substitutes turbinado sugar for the white granulated sugar, which adds a light caramel flavor. The author did not specify what kind of sugar to use, but the video showed a non-white sugar. The turbinado would add some of he flavor removed by not using the light brown sugar. (Full disclosure, I didn’t have any turbinado but did have some demarara which is similar to turbinado but a little darker and coarser.)
This author (Emojoie) only made 4 cookies (mine were 123g each) whereas next time I will make a dozen (~40g each) or so.
Chocolate Chip Cookies Best Ever from YouTube
INGREDIENTS • 100g butter, softened. • 80g Demerara or turbinado sugar • 1g salt • 50 g (1 large egg) • ½ tsp vanilla extract • 160g all-purpose flour • 3g baking soda • 100 g (3/4 c) chocolate chips • 50g hazelnuts (optional)
METHOD
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Beat by hand: butter, sugar and salt in large bowl until creamy. (Don’t over beat.)
Fork whip the egg and add in two additions mixing to incorporate after each addition
Add vanilla and mix well
Gradually add flour mixture mixing by hand. (Again, don’t over beat.) it should form one large ball between wet and dry dough.
Stir in morsels and optional hazelnuts and mix by hand.
Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 135 g portions
Form into balls with hands and add more chocolate to the top
Bake for 13 – 14 minutes or until golden brown. Do NOT overbake!
Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
This 4th of July dessert is either the largest cookie, or one of the smallest cakes I ever made. That is not to say it is either the least flavorful, or not the prettiest cookie/cake I ever made. I am very happy with the result in both attractiveness and flavor.
There were no real trick in making this. Once the cookie cooled a few minutes in the pan I turned it out onto a cooling rack to let it cool to room temperature. I trimmed it to fit the available serving tray and to remove the more well done edges.
I coated the cookie with a thin layer (<1/4”) of white buttercream and first outlined the upper left corner and set blueberries in a rectangle approximating the aspect ratio of Old Glory.
I just noticed I squeezed some raspberries into the third from the bottom row on the left. Probably should have used a larger berry there and left a bit more white showing. Judgement call, could have gone either way.
Chocolate Chip Cookies/Sheet Cake
INGREDIENTS • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour • 1 teaspoon baking soda • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened • ¾ cup granulated sugar • ¾ cup packed brown sugar • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 2 large eggs • 2 cups (12 oz) chocolate chips
METHOD
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy.
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 for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Pan Cookie Variation: Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. It’s easier to pat down into an even layer with wet/damp hands. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack.
This afternoon’s ‘to do’ list contained nothing pressing. Tuesday I hard boiled eggs to include in our dinner salad and to make egg salad Wednesday. Today I baked a loaf of sandwich bread because I love egg salad on fresh baked bread. And as long as I was making bread I decided to replace the hamburger rolls I froze a few weeks ago. (I wasn’t happy with the rise of those whole wheat buns.) Today I mixed a double recipe of bread dough and shaped half into a loaf to bake at 425 deg and the rest into hamburger rolls to be baked at 375 deg.
To make a softer crust I coated the top of the loaf with melted butter before baking (hence the darker crust) and once again after it was baked, but still hot.
I also had a cup of heavy cream to use before it expired, and as long as the oven was on, I dropped the temperature and made some multi berry scones, baked at 400 deg.
Remember the hamburger rolls that baked at 375 deg? Well, as long as the oven was going to be dropped to 375 deg and as long as I had some frozen chocolate chip cookie dough that also bakes at 375 deg, I figured, what the heck.?
I have to find more chores to add to the ‘to do’ list. Today was exhausting.
The best part of the day was participating in the Grandparents Drive-Thru Car Parade at Grace’s school! (Unicorn car. You can’t see the fuzzy pink tail.)
Speaking of Grace, here we are making the aforesaid chocolate chip cookies.
aBatteredOldSuitcase 