The Cookie that Almost Nearly Was, But then Suddenly... Wasn't

Tonight I made midnight cookies. You know, the cookies you bake at 11:30 at night because you absolutely need those effing cookies or else--oh my god--there is no way you will be able to sleep because it's the lack of sugar that's keeping you from sleeping. Naturally. Of course. That makes perfect sense.

It was bad.

Usually I can justify the "badness" of any baking disaster by saying that while it may have looked and smelled awful, it tasted delicious. That was not the case here. These "oatmeal cookies" tasted like Ebola and looked like a festering buboes.

There will be no pictures of this incident. Instead, I will share with you this lovely picture of a ladybug on a leaf.

And a random crazy person on a beach.

Exciting.

However, I should mention that I wore black leggings with thick wool leg warmers today. Felt like I belonged in Flashdance. Maybe people even thought that I might be a dancer. Possess some grace... elegance... poise... The leg warmers obviously gave me a false sense of security that could not be met by the late hour and extreme exhaustion.

I will wear them again tomorrow.

I AM ... The Secret Santa

This year for my Secret Santa gift I had decided that no matter whose name I pulled out of the hat, I would bake something for that person that I was sure they would love. This was mostly because I had stumbled on a lovely rack of packaging for baked goods at Michael's that I couldn't help but spend too much money on. It was all planned out perfectly, until the name I pulled out of the hat belonged to a woman who cannot have any gluten. I was a bit bummed until I realized that this was the perfect opportunity to make some more macarons. I could experiment and try out some of the fancy oils and extracts that I have collected (not hoarded!!). I settled on three different kinds of shells-- pistachio, raspberry, and vanilla-- and three different fillings--custard, anise buttercream, and lemon buttercream.

Making the macaron shells was easy enough, although after the 100th little cookie I did learn that there are definitely some tricks and shortcuts that make them a lot less intimidating. However, that being said, the best trick is to read the recipe fully before you even start (for some reason, I still haven't fully learned that one...). Layering your baking sheets will definitely make your cookies thinner and sexier, but you will have to adjust your baking time or else you'll be wondering why they're still raw inside after they've been in the oven for nearly an hour. And not all sil-pat baking sheet covers will allow you to effortlessly peel off your freshly baked macs. In fact, I would say stay away from the sil-pat mats all together and just use parchment paper for this one. So much easier.

Also, as tempting as it is to buy the expensive raspberry extract from the specialty food store because it MUST be delicious... just don't do it. Seriously. It's not delicious. I have never in my life tasted a raspberry that tasted quite that potent and... terrible. The extract made the macs taste very strong and alcoholy, but combined with the anise buttercream, they were really nummy.

Unfortunately too, I have to say that my lemon buttercream ended up tasting like lemony fresh sunlight soap. Stupid lemon extract. Next time, I will stick to lemon rind or lemon oil, I promise. Lesson learned. Mostly. The anise extract made for absolutely scrumptious buttercream that I ate by the spoonful. Dangerous.

My Macaron First

I've always thought of macaroons as being these impossibly delicate type-A little cookies that are designed only for those of us with infinite time, patience, and... insanity. But when you have eight left-over egg whites, a bag of ground almonds and a pint of fresh raspberries, you really don't have much choice. No more avoiding it-- there were macarons to be made.

Shockingly, they weren't impossible. In fact, I don't know whether it was beginner's luck or my own natural born talent (definitely the luck), but they turned out as perfect as I could have hoped! Little pink domes with bubbly feet that were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The swiss meringue buttercream I doused with raspberries and lemon oil was delicious. Sweet and sour just like raspberry lemonade is supposed to be.

The only problem I had with these little treats was that once the cookies are sandwiched together with the buttercream, there are only about a dozen to pass around. And one really isn't enough. Not for me anyway.

So my advice for macarons is this: Do not be afraid, little ones. Go forth and create little monsters with tiny feet out of egg whites, sugar and almonds... Just be sure to grind the almonds fine enough. And let the beasts sit before going in the oven-they get cranky otherwise.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Campaign

You see posts and articles and rants about the "perfect chocolate chip cookie" all over the interweb. Semi scientific experiments and surveys done to see which is method is the best and which methods should be discarded forever into the trash can of history. I will admit that not too long ago I got sucked into the great chocolate chip cookie debate and found myself making dozens of cookies each week. Eventually I came to the point where I realized this important fact: I don't really like chocolate chip cookies. Yes, one or two of them is nice when they're warm and chewy and the chocolate is all melty, but really, any more than that and I'll pass.

However, I did have loads of fun baking batch after batch of delicious cookies to share with my family at home and the people I work with (the guinea pigs, if you will). What I discovered is that most people will agree that putting the dough in the fridge for a while before you bake it generally makes for nicer looking cookies with soft chewy centres. On the other hand, having to let your dough rest in the fridge for 36 hours as perscribed by the New York Times is a bit extreme. Using melted butter was an interesting adjestment made by Cooking Illustrated, but I think overall that it made no real difference in the flavour or texture of the cookies. The last thing that i noticed has been played around with a lot in these recipes was the type of flour used. Whether it be bread flour, cake flour, all-purpose flour, or some combination, not one single baker seemed to agree on the results. About this, all I can say is that when it comes to baking cookies at home, I think finding a recipe that uses all-purpose flour to its best potential is the way to go.

To read a more extensive account on the trails and tribulations of finding the very best chocolate chip cookie recipe, I would very much recommend that you visit this blog here.