Best Chocolate Chip Cookies???

Apparently these chocolate chip cookies have garnered "BEST CCC" awards…this is the kind of thing that google was invented for.

So I tried out the recipe and…well, they are good but I am not sure they deserve the acclaim. Maybe I need to buy the special "disks" of chocolate and that they call for but I couldn't make my way to NY, where Jacques Torres sells them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/dining/09chip.html

However, some highlights were the 36 hour dough-wait period. And they are pretty yum straight from the oven and with the salt on top. Sweet and salty is a sure-fire winner.
I have done more research since and there are recipes out there tweaking it with oatmeal and orange zest. I am going to give that a shot and report back later on whether or not it is an improved cookie.

In the meantime here is the recipe…

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Jacques Torres

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons
(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content
Sea salt.

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
4. Scoop preferred size of cookie (1 tablespoon) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

Blueberry Creamcheese Bites

This is ridiculously easy. Graham crackers. Blueberries. Creamcheese.
It is like a bitesize mini cheesecake minus the baking, effort and time.

12 graham crackers
250 grams creamcheese
Zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
Balsamic Reduction (optional)

6 servings

Mix creamcheese with zest and lemon juice. Place in freezer for a minimum of an hour. If you don’t have time for this the mixture will be a bit runny so omit the lemon juice.
Spread one tablespoon (or around that amount) on a cracker. Top with 3-5 blueberries and drizzle with a little balsamic reduction if you fancy.

Lemon Tart

Who doesn't love a lemon tart? You could easily make this with grapefruit or lime as well. Citrus+pastry=Yum! This recipe comes from the Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver and I made it a few weeks ago at my Serious Foodie class.

Lemon Curd:
Juice of 2 lemons
Juice of 1/4 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed

Dough:
1 1/4 cups of flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cold water (more or less)
2 tablespoons cold vodka

Servings: 4

To prepare dough, make sure it is all COLD. Cut butter into flour along with sugar and salat on a floured surface using a pastry cuter, fork or scraper. Once it resembles course cornmeal and water and vodka in 2-3 batches. Flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic. Rest for a minimum of 20 minutes or overnight in the fridge before rolling.

Remove from fridge and roll into a 1/8 inch circle. Cut around either individual tart shells or a 9 inch removabale bottom tart plate, leaving just 1/2 an inch border.
Pinch overhang of dough around shell and take rolling pin and run over top to flatten. Cut out a piece of parchment paper large enought to fit in the pie plate. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, with pastry weights or dried beans inside.

Pour cooled lemon curd into shell and let sit a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.

Tofu Chocolate Mousse with Fresh Raspberries

Yes, I know. Sounds gross. Sounds wrong. But aren't you kinda curious? Well, you will be pleasantly surprised! Infact I dare you to fool people...if you don't tell them they will never know. It is easy and full of protein and so much better for you than the traditional kind with a vat of whipped cream. Plus the guilt-free factor on the waistline is such a bonus.

2 packages silken tofu (medium firm will work too)
3 8 ounce squares of bakers chocolate or equivalent
4 tablespoons of cocoa powder
4 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoon of maple syrup or agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 cup fresh raspberries

Servings: 6

Place chocolate in a medium saucepan and heat up on very low heat just until melted.
Place packages of tofu in a blender.
Add melted chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar, syrup, vanilla, pinch of salt and puree, until smooth.
Place into your favorite bowl or 6 separate parfait cups. Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours. Top with fresh raspberries. Serve.

Fresh Strawberry Muffins

These muffins are pretty much like cake. So they work as a treat for breakfast or as a dessert. I ate them with my Sour Strawberry Icecream and they were delish. There are two tricks. One is folding the batter so the muffins get a nice rise and look pretty. The second is placing the strawberries individually in the muffin pan. A little more time but the results are no pink batter and a really good looking muffin...

Almond or Pecan Topping

2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup slivered almonds or pecans (optional)

1-2 cups sliced fresh strawberries (quartered is best)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 eggs
4 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup 1 or 2% milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Servings: 12 muffins

For the topping: Stir together sugar, brown sugar, salt, and flour in small bowl until combined. Drizzle with warm butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and you have small sized balls. Add slivered almonds or chopped pecans.

Preheat oven to 425

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and well combined. About a 30 seconds to a minute. Slowly whisk in butter and oil. Whisk in milk and yogurt and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)

Spray a 12 serving muffin pan with non-stick spray. Take 1 tablespoon of batter and drop in each. Place 3 to 4 slices of strawberries in each muffin batter. Top with batter until strawberries are covered. Place one strawberry slice on top along with the 2 tablespoons of topping.

Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Sour Strawberry Icecream

Ok. I didn't know what to call this and my creative juices were not flowing. So if you have any suggestions that are better than that---bring em on! This recipe just came from me improvising with what was in the fridge. A quarter of a container of sour cream, some vanilla icecream...but best of all was the fresh, local strawberries. The flavour of this will not happen if you don't have in season, plump, ripe, juicy, DARK red, strawberries. Essential.

1 1/2 cups fresh local strawberries plus 1/2 cup sliced and reserved
3 tablespoons sour cream (light is fine)
3/4 cup of vanilla icecream
1 tablespoon sugar or agave

Servings: 6
Place all of the above ingredients minus the 1/2 cup reserved strawberries in a blender and puree until blended. Pour into a square baking sheet or bowl and top with the 1/2 cup of strawberries.

Place in freezer for approximately 4 hours or until just frozen. Serve on top of angel food cake, pound cake or just on its own. I had mine on half of one of my strawberry muffins.

Recipe: The Good Brownie

Ok. So this brownie is more like "not-so-naughty" brownie. It's made with black beans. It isn't my recipe but I have tweaked it in some ways. First off, no you cannot taste the black beans. Two, it is not as sweet but it is yummy, dense and fudgy. And full of protein.

1 box store bought brownie mix or your favorite homemade recipe
1 14oz can black beans and juice, pureed (blender or food processor)
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix the black beans, egg, oil and vanilla. Add to brownie mix and bake according to directions on box.
If you are making it from your own homemade brownie recipe instead of the box, cut down on the oil and eggs used. This recipe is not very finicky as far as baking goes so if you add a little more or less it shouldn't effect the outcome.

HINT: If you want it a little bit more dessert-ish, combine 3/4 cup of light creamcheese, 1 1/2 cups icing sugar, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder and beat until smooth. Spread over brownies.