the perfect cookie

A few months ago a read about a New York Times article on a few different blogs. The article was about the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I bookmarked the article and printed out a copy of the recipe. That was as far as I got.

Since then I have made chocolate chip cookies many, many times, but never the perfect chocolate chip cookie. While my sister-in-law was here this weekend we were going through my cook books and I pulled out the Times recipe and gave it to her.

It inspired me. Yesterday afternoon I made a batch of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. It is still in the fridge cooling. We can bake our first batch this afternoon. I am going to make my cookies smaller, and therefore will have a shorter bake time.

I will report back.


Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from The New York Times, David Leite, and Jacques Torres

2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. (8 ½ oz.) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 ½ oz.) bread flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content
Sea salt

Sift together flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Using a standard-size ice cream scoop – mine holds about 3 fluid ounces, or about 1/3 cup – scoop six mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto the rack to cool a bit more.

Repeat with remaining dough.

fall

I am in the process of getting the outside ready for fall. The planters on the back patio are filled with mums. This week I plan to get our decorative pumpkins and mums for the front porch. I love this time of year.

canned goods

My husband's four sisters were in town this past weekend. Several of them always bring coming-to-see-you gifts. My one sister-in-law brought tons of great bread (I LOVE good bread) and a bunch of gifts for the kids. Another brought a fun wallet clutch. My other sister-in-law, who lives on a farm (yes, another farm in his family, the other belongs to his brother) brought us tons of great stuff that she canned; poached pears and peaches, apple sauce, apple butter, cranberry sauce and dilly beans, along with potatoes from her garden.

The kids are going to LOVE all of the canned goods. They will be perfect on top of waffles, french toast, pancakes, oatmeal and for a special treat on top of ice cream. They all come in great jars that I covet and always find a second life for and were all placed in a great orchard box that I will use to display my cards in at fairs.

vol25

I thought I would share a shop that I have marked as an etsy favorite, vol25. Take a peek at all of the great prints when you get a chance.

art club

My oldest daughter started an art club with a few of her friends. Yesterday was the first meeting and was held at our house. For the craft we started to make paper mache pumpkins. I blew up balloons and taped a paper stem to the balloon and then the girls covered them with the paper mache. We will let them dry for awhile and they will paint them at the next meeting.

It was messy, but I think that they had a good time. You can find tons of recipes for paper mache on-line, just pick the one that works best for you.

snapshot of the country 04

Life has been crazy here. The kids schedules have begun to border on ridiculous.

I like this photo, you can almost hear the silence.

snapshot of the country 03

There is no hustle and bustle in the country. I do not last very long there.