Let cookie dough rest, and other secrets
I just read this fascinating article in the NY Times about the secrets behind perfect chocolate chip cookies (rest the dough for 36 hours! Who knew??). It made me wonder -- what other tricks are there for amazing brownies, cookies, etc.?
What do you say, Serious Eaters -- any baking secrets you'd like to share? (I'm trying to think of one, will share when I come up with a good one...)
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12 Comments:
I read that article this morning too. I thought letting the dough rest was a great tip, but I especially loved the idea of sprinkling sea salt on top. I love chocolate chip cookies that have that salty taste on the crispy edges. Still, I have to disagree with the idea that a larger cookie is better because you get the different textures. I've had plenty of "normal" sized choclate chip cookies that are crispy, chewy and melty. Also, call me crazy but I happen to like more traditional semi-sweet chocolate chips than fancy chocolate in my cookies-just feels more homey to me. my favorite chocolate chip receipe so far is david lebovitz althought I use room temp butter rather than cold. I think using room temp ingredients when making cookies is key.
banana at 12:50PM on 07/09/08
I read this article earlier and loved it, sending copies to people and commenting on it in a draft blog entry.
The "high quality chocolate" tip should go without saying, but I'm going to try the other tips.
My sister once got some chocolate chip cookie tips that included melting the butter and under cooking (I think). I'll have to look those tips up in my food & recipe binder when I get home.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 12:56PM on 07/09/08
I allow cookie dough to rest and there is a difference (learned from Mom). Makes things much better. Esp oatmeal raisin cookies. YUMMY.
Also when making oatmeal raisin cookies, add a box of pudding mix. And, soak the raisins in water first. They get nice and plump and make the cookie taste better. :)
Underbaking is a great tip. I learned that trick a couple years ago and I've been doing it since. Cookies are even more delicious than before (didn't think that was possible).
I like Alton Brown's Choc Chip cookies and the chocolate chip cookies I've made forever with mom. :)
Butrflygirly at 2:08PM on 07/09/08
I had no idea about resting cookie dough! Now I want to go home and make all my favorite cookie recipes and see what happens.
@banana, I agree with you about room temp ingredients.
OK - I thought of one. Not sure how "secret" this is, but... I add about 1 tsp. of instant espresso powder to pretty much every chocolate recipe I make. You don't taste the coffee at all, but it adds a deeper kind of richness than you get from the chocolate alone. If I can't add the coffee (if I'm out of it, or I know that someone eating it is sensitive to caffeine), I add a tiny bit of fresh black pepper.
CookiePie at 3:13PM on 07/09/08
It's not really a secret, but I tend to use whole wheat pastry flour in my pie crusts and get better results than with all-purpose flour.
hereandthe at 5:05PM on 07/09/08
i hate sea salt on cookies! nothing worse than suddenly getting a huge hit of salt in my mouth when i'm just going for a gooey sweet cookie.
thewoundedchef at 5:06PM on 07/09/08
If I had a mass of cookie dough in my fridge, it would never make it into the oven the next day. Although I don't have a sweet tooth, I do enjoy a good sneak of raw dough.
My name is Southern_bella and I like raw cookie dough...
Southern_bella at 5:14PM on 07/09/08
Plumping the raisins in rum is a tasty way to add a new dimension to oatmeal raisin cookies.
Underbake the cookies and leave them on the hot cookie sheet a minute or two before removing them to the cooling rack.
Add orange extract to sugar cookies. Most people can't identify the flavor in the finished product but they know that there's something extra that boosts the flavor of the cookie.
If a chocolate chip cookie calls for 12 ounces of chocolate, use about 9 ounces of chocolate chunks and coarsely grate the remaining 3 ounces. You'll have speckled chocolate chip cookies for added visual interest.
This one sounds crazy, but I mix almost all of my cookie doughs by hand. Using a mixer gives the finished product a different consistency (less tender) that I don't enjoy. Added bonus: sculpt your arms! :)
holdthemayo at 9:59PM on 07/09/08
to be honest i always use a salted nut in my choc chip cookies usually lightly smooshed cashews. it helps cut some of the sweetness and its slightly unexpected, i also use lightly salted sunflower seed kernals in my oatmeal rasin cookies, i love the texture difference.
huneybumper at 7:19AM on 07/10/08
Totally agree with Southern_bella. A container of cc cookie dough resting in the frige would not make it 36 hours. :)
bubbamom at 9:57AM on 07/10/08
I'm with you, Southern_bella. It's not that I'd eat the raw dough, it's that when I want cookies, I want them NOW. 36 hours assumes a degree of self control I do not possess!
I also wish they had given us Maury Rubin's recipe instead of Jacques Torres's. City Bakery is my favorite!
Robin Bellinger at 9:59AM on 07/10/08
Perhaps it is not so much the time the dough spends resting as the time the baker (and family) spends drooling in anticipation that makes the cookies taste so much better...
mynah at 4:53PM on 07/10/08