Chocolate Chip Cookies

The joys of comfort food. The good old fashioned chocolate chip cookie. This is something rarely found properly done here in the UK. They do have biscuits and other types of cookies but nothing is as good as an American made cookie. At the tube stops and such there is a cookie stand at several locations but they don’t have the smell or taste of the Mrs. Fields in the malls of my childhood. Those were always a treat to get the semi-sweet chocolate chip cookie when out shopping.

Today Alan’s team has a late day with the larger team in Redmond having a Friday all hands late our time. I asked him if I baked cookies for the team what would he prefer and he thought about it and came back to me saying, “I am a chocolate chip cookie kinda guy so that is my vote.” So yesterday I made a couple of batches of those! I tend to experiment and bake for his team a lot and it is nice to know that ones cookies don’t go to waste. So today Alan took in several bags worth of cookies to help the group survive the long call tonight late on a Friday.

I have had this recipe for a long time and don’t remember where I found it but it different then the normal Toll House recipe that is off the back of the package. I like the texture of the cookie better with the crinkles that come out when baking. Since the butter is actually melted and warm there tends to be chocolate swirls that develop in the dough which give it a nice colour and brings out the chocolate flavour too.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 large whole egg

1 large egg yolk

1/2 Tablespoon Vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts broken (optional)

In a saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. When melted take it off the stove and add the sugars to the butter and combine. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. While cooling combine flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. If using salted butter omit the additional salt.

Whisk egg, egg yolk and vanilla into cooled butter-sugar mixture. Mix in the reserved flour until just combined. Add in the chocolate chips and nuts if adding. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using 2 teaspoons, place golf size dough balls on the cookie sheets. Bake until cookies are golden brown and the tops no longer look wet, about 12-14 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheets about 5 minutes, transfer to wire rack and let cool. The tops should be nice and crinkled!

Yummy!

Cheese Bread

Now one of our favourite finds in the UK at our Whole Foods has been Cheese Bread. This is a great mixture of bread and cheese and usually in Alan's book that is about all you need. I had not found a recipe for it until I found this book which is a fun read. Country Wisdom & Know-How (from the Editors of Storey Books). It is a book full of 8,167 Useful Skills & Step-by-Step Instructions and there are quite a few recipes! We have made the Monkey Bread from here before but that one still needs some adjustments so will keep working on it before posting. This one is straightforward but the key is good and strong cheese to bring out the flavour. We are lucky to have discovered a great Provolone that we buy locally at our farmers market in Barnes. The cheese has a real zing to it and really sets off this bread wonderfully. To be fair we had never had any Provolone before like this it is STRONG!

Cheese Bread

adapted from Country Wisdom & Know-How

1 pkg dry yeast

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup (120ml) water - lukewarm (95-110F; 35-40C)

1 1/4 cups (295ml) milk

2 1/2 cups grated or shredded cheese - Put the good stuff in!

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 1/2-5 1/2 cups bread flour (I used this last time and it worked well and used smaller quantity) OR use 5-6 cups white flour

Proof the yeast in a large bowl along with the sugar in the lukewarm water.

Beat in the milk, cheese and oil to the yeast mixture, then add in the salt and 2 1/2 cups of the flour. Mix well. The dough will start to come together but still be wet.

Keep adding more flour to bring the dough together and not as wet. Turn out onto a well-floured surface and add more flour as needed while kneading the dough. Knead until the dough is smooth and shiney.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, turn once to coat, then cover and let it rise until doubled in size. I place this in my "Harry Potter" closet under the stairs and it heats up nicely with our water heater in there! I usually estimate about 2 hours rising time.

Once doubled in size punch down the dough and divide it into two loaves. Have ready 2 9-inch loaf pans greased & floured and ready for the dough.

A method for preparing the dought into the pan that I have found helpful:

Work on a very lightly floured surface. Work the dough with the heel of your hand to form dough into a rectangle. Fold over the long sides of the rectangle to the middle, like an envelope and then pinch the seam closed with the fingers. Finally fold the ends of the loaf into the middle. Place seam side down into the pan and gently press into the pan.

Cover the two loaf pans lightly and let rise again until once more doubled in size, just cresting the pan edge. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350F. Bake for 40 minutes

In my oven it takes about 30 minutes to bake so check on your bread. The loaves when finished should sound hollow when tapping on the bottom of the pan.

Enjoy!