Knowing my family with lots of cookies baking...

Welcome 2012! Looking back, year 2011 has been a bakerholic year for me.

Even since I've started this blog, I've been exploring lots of recipes and wouldn't miss out trying out any good recipes. Through blogging, I have tried understanding my family's likes and dislikes and encourage my family to explore new taste and different food culture.

I always thought my family likes the classic plain chewy chocolate chip cookies, made with brown sugar for buttery soft cookies texture. For my blog and curiosity, I've stepped out of my assumptions and discovered lots of different cookies recipes which create a wide variety of textures and flavours.

Here are some great cookies recipes that I've baked last year but didn't have a chance to post them before 2011 ends.

For the first two recipes, I was comparing the difference in amount of butter and sugar composition that affect the taste and texture of both crispy and chewy cookies. Everything in the recipe is the same except for the proportion of butter, sugar and milk. I'm amazed with the results. My husband and son were pacing behind me when I was baking these cookies and got really excited when they were asked to do the taste test...and the winner is not surprisingly the CRISPY cookies! Clearly, the higher butter and sugar content in the crispy cookies give them a better crunch and taste! I should have know! LOL.

Another of our family's favourite is these very-chocolatey soft cookies. These cookies are named Better-than-Brownie-Cookies but I prefer to name them as my husband's favourite cookies. These cookies are so easy to make and I've baked these more than a couple of times. Every now and then, I receive requests from him and his colleagues for these cookies.

 

 

My husband's fav chocolate cookies

With soft chocolatey inside...

Here's the recipes of a few of our favourite cookies. 
(with my modifications in blue)

Crispy vs chewy chocolate chip cookies from the supplement issue of Better Home and gardens, Better Basic with Fast Ed (2010)

Ingredients	Crispy	Chewy
Unsalted butter, softened	375g	350g
Caster sugar	275g	110g
Brown sugar	150g	180g
Vanilla extract	1 tsp	1 tsp
Eggs	2	2
Milk	1/4 cup	-
Plain flour	325g (I use 350g)	350g
Bicarbonate of soda (I use baking powder)	1 tsp	1 tsp
Milk chocolate (I use chocolate chips)	200g	200g
Nuts, finely chopped (I use macadamia in half to preserve its crunch)	120g (I use 140g)	150g (I use 140g)
make	36 (I made 85!)	36 (I made 72!)

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease oven trays and line with baking paper.
2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on high for 3-4 min or until light and creamy. Add vanilla, eggs and milk and beat until smooth.
3. Sift flour and bicarb into the mixture. Do not over-mix. Fold in chocolate and nuts.
4. Drop tablespoonful (I use teaspoonful) of dough onto the prepared tray, allowing for spreading. Bake for 20-25 min (Crispy) (teaspoonful takes about 10-15 min) or 12-14 min (Chewy) (teaspoonful takes about 8-10 min) or firm to touch. Cool completely on wire racks.

My husband's fav chocolate cookies from Technicolorkitchen and she called these cookies Better-than-Brownie-Cookies.

Makes about 18
1 1/3 cups (233g) dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids or more, chopped (I use 200g)
2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter, room temperature 
(It's such a small amount that I've used low fat margarine and it works all the time!)
2 eggs (I use just 1 egg)
2/3 cup (134g) sugar (I use 100g brown sugar)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup (35g) all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup (175g) dark chocolate chunks or chips (I use only 120g of chocolate chip)

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Melt the chocolate with the butter in a small saucepan over low heat – stir constantly until smooth. (I use microwave to melt the chocolate and butter)

Set aside to cool for 5 min. Mix eggs, vanilla and sugar in a medium bowl. Combine thoroughly. Set aside.

Sift flour and baking powder together in a small bowl.

Add melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and slowly add your dry ingredients. When stirred, add chocolate chunks/chips and stir.

Scoop 1 1/2 tbsp of dough onto prepared sheets. Bake for 10-12 min or until they are firm on the outside (dough loses its sheen). Leave to cool completely on sheets.

Happy Baking.
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