Wednesday, July 1, 2015

A little chocolate chip cookie history


5/27/15 Cook’s Corner
Betty Kaiser

Cheers for chocolate chips!

The story of chocolate chips is legendary but they haven’t been around forever. They came about in the year the stock market came crashing down and the Great Depression was just beginning. Life was pretty grim in 1930 but then chocolate in  new product form came along. The story is old but worth re-telling.

Ruth and Kenneth Wakefield opened a new restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts in 1930. They named it the Toll House because it was located across from the old Boston-to-New Bedford Turnpike. One day Ruth was making a batch of cookies and decided to cut up a chocolate bar to add to the dough. She expected the chocolate to melt. Instead, it maintained its shape and voila! She had created the now famous chocolate chip cookie.

The cookies’ fame spread when she baked them and sent them to Mass. soldiers during WWII. Eventually, she contacted Nestle, the manufacturer of the chocolate bar she used. At her suggestion the company began making a scored chocolate bar that bakers could break into small pieces. Soon, a small chopper was available and then small pieces were sold in bags. The rest (as they say) is history.

If you love rich, chocolate chip cookies you will love today’s recipes. The first two are what I call “company good” cookies. Recipe #1 is from “Some Crust Bakery,” a European-style 5-star bakery in Claremont, Ca. Established in 1916, they’re still turning out mouthwatering pies, pastries, quiche, meals and other goodies.

One of their specialties is an amazing mocha cookie. I clipped the recipe from the SOS column in the L.A. Times years ago. The cookies are large, moist, dense and chewy—studded with chunks of bittersweet chocolate. They are decadently rich and best served warm and topped with vanilla ice cream. One to a customer is plenty! 

The second recipe is a newer favorite from the folks at Crisco. It has a crackle pattern that comes from rolling the dough balls in both granulated and powdered sugar before baking. The last recipe is a family-sized batch of Chocolate Chip Ranger cookies that I like better than Toll House.

Please Read and measure these recipes carefully. Use butter or Crisco when called for and Wheaties in the Ranger variety. It does make a difference. Baking cookies can be a tedious job but warm, chocolate chip creations make it all worthwhile. Enjoy!

Bakery-style Mocha Cookies

4-1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate coarsely chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 eggs
3 tablespoons instant espresso
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup pastry flour (yes, that’s correct)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2 inch chunks

Heat oven to 350° F.
Line baking sheets with parchment

In a saucepan over low heat, combine unsweetened chocolate, bittersweet chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove from heat.

Combine the eggs, espresso and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and mix on low speed, scraping the bowl as needed, until blended. Then on high speed until the mixture becomes lighter in color and thickens—2 or 3 minutes. Add the melted chocolate mixture (do not cool it before hand) and beat on medium speed until just mixed with the batter.

Add the pastry flour, baking powder and salt; beat at medium-low until just mixed in, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the chocolate chunks.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter per cookie onto lined baking sheets. Bake until set, about 15 min. Cool for a few minutes, then remove to a rack and cool completely. Makes about 20 large 3-inch cookies.

Note: You don't have to make these cookies so large. In fact, I prefer to make them smaller. I also like them a little sweeter. Semi-sweet chocolate can replace some of the bittersweet. And a few chopped walnuts in the batter makes them even better!

Chocolate Crackled Cookies

1-1/4 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup Crisco shortening (or 1 Crisco baking stick)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
2 cups flour
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Beat brown sugar, shortening and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Beat in eggs. Stir together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda in small bowl. Gradually add to shortening mixture, beating just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
Cover and chill dough 2 hours.

Heat oven to 375° F. Form dough into 1-1/4 inch balls. Roll in sugar, then in powdered sugar, to coat completely. Place 2-inches apart on baking sheet. Bake 8-10 min. or until cookies are set. Cool 2 min. on baking sheet. Remove cookies to wire rack and cool completely. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Chocolate Chip Ranger Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups Wheaties cereal
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Heat oven to 375° F.

Mix sugars, shortening, eggs and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients (dough will be stiff). Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake until set but not hard, 8-10 min. Cool 3 min.; remove from cookie sheet. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

Note: I often substitute 1/2 cup raisins (soaked in hot water, drained well) for 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 
Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes 
that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.





Chicken—it’s what’s for dinner!


4/29/15 Cook’s Corner

Cluck-Cluck-Cluck

At our house many last minute meals begin in the freezer. If I’ve been gone all day, individually frozen chicken parts can be quickly thawed, prepped, cooked and put on the table. It’s what I call a “biological function” meal. Chicken is a low fat protein that is relatively inexpensive and tasty when paired with a vegetable and rice. Still, chicken entrĂ©s can get boring.

So I started a quest to spice up the bird. Cut up whole chickens are seldom available anymore, although you can ask your butcher to do it for you. (At our house Chuck does it. I’m not allowed to handle sharp knives!). However, most of the time when I am only cooking for two, I don’t need an entire chicken. We just need a couple of pieces. Once a rarity, individual portions are now readily available.

Most packages of fresh or frozen chicken are breasts and that’s what usually resides in our freezer. But when it comes to flavor—the thighs rule. They have a slightly higher fat content than breasts but with the skin removed, the fat is also decreased. So sometimes I get wild and crazy and buy thighs for the following recipes.

I’m real good at oven frying chicken; baking a whole chicken in the Crockpot; or handing it to Chuck to grill. But it does get boring! So I’ve been trying some simple marinades and “Rubs” to perk up our taste buds and make our meals cluck!

Marinades not only add flavor but also help to keep the chicken moist. Prepare the marinade in a non-metallic bowl or plastic bag. Add the chicken and refrigerate. When ready to cook, dispose of the marinade. Never use marinade from raw meat. . If you want to use some marinade as a basting sauce, set some aside at the beginning and bring to a boil before applying to the cooked chicken.

Rubs are sort of a dry marinade that is rubbed directly on the chicken and allowed to set 20 min. or overnight. Any combination of spices can be used. The following recipes are for four servings. But if you like them, be sure and quadruple the recipe and store it in an airtight container for future use.

BTW: If you don’t like the combinations below, be brave and experiment with your own. Lawry’s makes a great lemon marinade that I change up with soy sauce and whatever suits my fancy. Enjoy!

Citrus Herb Marinade
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon thyme

Asian Ginger Marinade
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon minced parsley leaves

Honey Mustard Marinade
2 tablespoons mustard
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Hot and Spicy Rub
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Spicy Mediterranean Rub
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Indian Ginger Rub
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

SPICY HONEY BRUSHED CHICKEN THIGHS

8 skinless, boneless, chicken thighs
Spice Rub
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
Basting sauce
1/3 cup honey
3 teaspoons cider vinegar

Turn on the oven broiler. Combine six spices in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl; toss to coat. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil chicken 5 min. on each side

Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl, stirring well. Remove chicken from oven; brush half of honey mixture on chicken. Broil 1 minute. Remove pan from oven and turn pieces over. Brush chicken with remaining honey mixture. Broil until chicken is done. Serves 4 (2 thighs per serving).

NOTE: Serve with garlic-roasted potatoes and a fruit salad.

BAKED HONEY MUSTARD CHICKEN THIGHS

CHICKEN: 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

RUB
 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
 Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

SAUCE
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons whole grain mustard
 3 tablespoons honey, or more, to taste
2 tablespoons chicken stock, or more, to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 sprigs rosemary

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

To make the mustard rub, combine olive oil and whole grain mustard in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using your fingers or a brush, work the mixture onto both sides of the chicken.

Make the sauce: In a large bowl, whisk together Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, honey and chicken stock. Add more chicken stock as needed until desired consistency is reached. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side. Add mustard sauce and sprinkle with rosemary.

Place into oven and roast until completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes. Serve immediately with rice and veggies.

Keep it simple and keep it seasonal! 
Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedicated to sharing a variety of recipes
 that are delicious, family oriented and easy to prepare.