Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found a lot of good comments about the book and decided to try the recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I would highly recommend this recipe to those who love soft sweet thin chocolate cookies. They are crispy at the edges and soft in the centre. It is so nice to dip them into a cup of milk early in the morning...yumm...

I did however, make some modifications to the recipe.

I reduced the granulated sugar from 1/2 cup to 1/4 so that the cookies will be less sweet. It is quite nice if you replace the semi-sweet chocolate chips with dark chocolate chips to add that bit of bitter chocolate taste to your cookies.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup, 225 g unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used 1/4 cup of granulated sugar)
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used 2 cups of dark chocolate chips)

Instructions :

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, and then the sugars too, until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, beating between additions.
3. Put in 2 tsp of vanilla essence.
4. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder.
5. Add dry mixture to the creamed mixture , mixing between additions.
6. Fold in chocolate chips.
7. Refrigerate for atleast 6 hours (I refrigerated half for 3 hrs and another half for about 12 hrs to see the difference. There's quite an improvement in terms of the texture of the dough and crispiness of the cookies)
8. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, preheat oven to 180 C.
9. Make rounds of cookies as per your size preference, and bake accordingly (I baked for abt 10-12 minutes. Do not be surprised when you see the dough start to spread in the oven. Remember to line your cookies about 2 inches apart)
10. When the edges start browning, and the middles lose their sheen, they are ready to be out of the oven.
11. Cool cookies on a wire rack

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

We had a whole bunch of bananas from our tree which was turning brown in the kitchen, and so decided to make some banana chocolate muffins for my family. Just couldn't bring myself to throw them away. After searching for a while, I came across this brilliant recipe which I am going to post it in my blog to share with everyone. Enjoy, and make sure you try it out yourself.
It is easy and yummy! And who doesn't love a soft and moist muffin?

I put a pinch of salt instead of 1 tsp salt since my first batch of muffins turned out quite saltish. I also substituted 2 tsp of instant Nescafe Gold coffee powder for the espresso powder because that is what I had on hand. I used dark chocolate chips since I just love the bittery (if there's such a word..hehe) taste when I bite into the muffin. Last but not least, I added some macadamia nuts to add a bit of crunch to the soft muffins.

Those who love peanut butter (my uncle!!) can try putting a dollop of peanut butter in the middle of your muffin. Scoop one big spoonful of batter into your muffin cup, drop in your peanut butter and then cover it again with batter :). Remember to put less salt if you want to do this since peanut butter jam contains salt and you want your muffin to be sweet, not savoury.

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins
Yield: about 12-14 muffins

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2-1 tsp. espresso powder
(I put 2 tsp instant Nescafe Gold coffee powder +1 tsp hot water then pour it in with your chocolate chips)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups very ripe bananas, mashed (about 4 medium sized bananas)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (I put 1/4 granulated sugar )
1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted (about 125gm of butter)
1/4 cup milk
1 large egg
1 cup dark or semisweet chocolate chips (and 1/2 cup of nuts if you want)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F(170'c). Line abt 12-cup muffin pan with paper liner. In a small mixing bowl, combine the flour, espresso powder, baking soda and salt. Stir together and set aside. In the bowl, combine the mashed bananas, sugar, brown sugar, butter, milk and egg until well combined. Make a well in the middle of your flour bowl. Pour wet ingredients into the well and stir until well combined. Gently fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer the muffins to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

For any questions or comments, feel free to email me or post it in this blog. You can also share with me your baking experience by sending me your site link or pictures to post in this blog.

*From Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito