So here's the visual chronicle of Cookie Quest, Pt. 2 -
The dough after 18 hours in the fridge, prior to my heading out to dinner last night -- dunno if you can tell, but it got quite a bit darker...
Even darker, after a total of 36 hours in the fridge...(pardon the blue tint -- that from the sun hitting my Tupperware bowl, not the refrigeration)...
Prior to going into the freezer (so I can bring 16 of these down to my sweetie's mom during our next joint visit -- she wants to taste-test this recipe)...
Prior to heading into the oven (the knife is for scale)...
The final result (that huge cookie took 8 bites to kill off... yes, I made that sacrifice for scientific curiosity ;-P)
Yep, these are definitely the best cookies I have ever made. While this could be due to the 3 cups of chocolate chips (!) I chose to believe it is because of the sustained refrigeration, as the NY Times article seems to indicate the longer the fridge time, the better. Since I am a fan of chewy (vs. crunchy) cookies, this combination of crispy edges surrounding a soft & fluffy center = bliss.
Let's backtrack a little and start off with yesterday morning, when I talked myself into a 3-mile walk to the 58th Street location of Crate & Barrel with thoughts of buying their cookie dough scooper (which looks and costs the same as their spring-loaded ice cream scooper, albeit with a smaller capacity).
Although I did indeed walk there, I managed to restrain myself from buying it with the idea of going to the nearby Bed Bath & Beyond to buy the Oxo medium cookie dough scooper. Good call, as I now adore the Oxo, going so far as to submit my first Amazon product review and now I covet Oxo small (2 tsp) cookie scooper. (My reasons are described lovingly in the review, if you're curious.)
So okay, I wound up buying some other stuff -- 2 leakproof 1-cup Snapware lunch containers (note to self: reacquaint myself with proper portion sizes!!!) and an $8 glass pitcher for my fridge (I like the one I got for work so much I decided I needed another one at home) -- but that was just $15 more. Plus I had a coupon for 20% off the Oxo (i.e., the most expensive item among my purchases).
I continued my walk with a trip to the public library for some food science books -- Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking (by the same author as the molecular gastronomy book I borrowed from my engineer's mom) and On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. Despite what their zippy new online catalog said, What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained turned out to be missing, so I placed a reserve request for it.
Rewarding myself with a late lunch at Vino proved a wise choice: their Melanzane Della Nonna (thinly sliced baked eggplant in tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses) was delicious, as was their hearts of palm & avocado salad, and mixed berry tart (blackberries & currants over a thin slice of wafer/cake, above a light & fluffy ricotta/mascarpone filling and buttery crust).
Having an empty stomach and slight dehydration, I skipped over their vast assortment of Italian wines (hence their name) but the atmosphere was fabulous: mellow, breezy, and very Italian -- these 2 gentlemen having espresso typify, along with the Liverpool v. Thailand soccer game on TV (1-1 tie, by the way -- I'm impressed: thought the Thais would get creamed). And the small plates allowed for happy sampling without overstuffing myself.
Tomorrow morning, I am off to meet my radiation oncologist, a/k/a she who will be in charge of my upcoming radiation treatment, most likely beginning in September. Although the treatment itself should be less distressing on my body than chemo, the logistics are rather more brutal: it's at the hospital instead of the breast cancer building (i.e., 2 more avenues east), and it will be every weekday for 5 weeks. Oh well, it's a sign of progress, eh? And on the bright side, Vino is nearby: maybe I'll have lunch there!
The dough after 18 hours in the fridge, prior to my heading out to dinner last night -- dunno if you can tell, but it got quite a bit darker...
Even darker, after a total of 36 hours in the fridge...(pardon the blue tint -- that from the sun hitting my Tupperware bowl, not the refrigeration)...
Prior to going into the freezer (so I can bring 16 of these down to my sweetie's mom during our next joint visit -- she wants to taste-test this recipe)...
Prior to heading into the oven (the knife is for scale)...
The final result (that huge cookie took 8 bites to kill off... yes, I made that sacrifice for scientific curiosity ;-P)
Yep, these are definitely the best cookies I have ever made. While this could be due to the 3 cups of chocolate chips (!) I chose to believe it is because of the sustained refrigeration, as the NY Times article seems to indicate the longer the fridge time, the better. Since I am a fan of chewy (vs. crunchy) cookies, this combination of crispy edges surrounding a soft & fluffy center = bliss.Let's backtrack a little and start off with yesterday morning, when I talked myself into a 3-mile walk to the 58th Street location of Crate & Barrel with thoughts of buying their cookie dough scooper (which looks and costs the same as their spring-loaded ice cream scooper, albeit with a smaller capacity).
Although I did indeed walk there, I managed to restrain myself from buying it with the idea of going to the nearby Bed Bath & Beyond to buy the Oxo medium cookie dough scooper. Good call, as I now adore the Oxo, going so far as to submit my first Amazon product review and now I covet Oxo small (2 tsp) cookie scooper. (My reasons are described lovingly in the review, if you're curious.)
So okay, I wound up buying some other stuff -- 2 leakproof 1-cup Snapware lunch containers (note to self: reacquaint myself with proper portion sizes!!!) and an $8 glass pitcher for my fridge (I like the one I got for work so much I decided I needed another one at home) -- but that was just $15 more. Plus I had a coupon for 20% off the Oxo (i.e., the most expensive item among my purchases).
I continued my walk with a trip to the public library for some food science books -- Kitchen Mysteries: Revealing the Science of Cooking (by the same author as the molecular gastronomy book I borrowed from my engineer's mom) and On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. Despite what their zippy new online catalog said, What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained turned out to be missing, so I placed a reserve request for it.
Rewarding myself with a late lunch at Vino proved a wise choice: their Melanzane Della Nonna (thinly sliced baked eggplant in tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses) was delicious, as was their hearts of palm & avocado salad, and mixed berry tart (blackberries & currants over a thin slice of wafer/cake, above a light & fluffy ricotta/mascarpone filling and buttery crust).
Having an empty stomach and slight dehydration, I skipped over their vast assortment of Italian wines (hence their name) but the atmosphere was fabulous: mellow, breezy, and very Italian -- these 2 gentlemen having espresso typify, along with the Liverpool v. Thailand soccer game on TV (1-1 tie, by the way -- I'm impressed: thought the Thais would get creamed). And the small plates allowed for happy sampling without overstuffing myself.
Tomorrow morning, I am off to meet my radiation oncologist, a/k/a she who will be in charge of my upcoming radiation treatment, most likely beginning in September. Although the treatment itself should be less distressing on my body than chemo, the logistics are rather more brutal: it's at the hospital instead of the breast cancer building (i.e., 2 more avenues east), and it will be every weekday for 5 weeks. Oh well, it's a sign of progress, eh? And on the bright side, Vino is nearby: maybe I'll have lunch there!
Have you heard of Shirley Corriher? She has two books on the science and whys of cooking - Cookwise, and Bakewise.
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