Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies

Like many others, when I started panicking about running out of bread yeast, I started the process of making a sourdough starter.

When I lived in South Carolina (in a former lifetime!), I had a sourdough starter that absolutely flourished. This go-round, in Long Island, it has been taking extra-long for my sourdough starter to achieve it’s full potential in my cold house. Because I’ve been feeding it for days, I have a lot of discard readily available. Thankfully, there are many different ways to put it to good use!

This recipe was adapted from Amanda Rettke of iambaker.net. I used a stand mixer, incorporated whole wheat flour, modified the cookie size, and baked the cookies in a convection oven. Very cakey and chocolatey.

Yield: 30 cookies

• 14 T (1 stick + 3/4 stick) unsalted butter, slightly softened
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 cup (227g) sourdough starter, unfed
• 1 T pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (125g) white whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 tsp baking soda, sifted
• 2 cups (16 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. In to bowl of a stand mixer or other large bowl, combine the softened butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer. (Make sure the butter is soft enough to mix with the sugar by hand.)
2. Add the egg to the mixture, stirring until incorporated.
3. Stir in the sourdough starter and vanilla extract.
4. Add the flour, salt, and baking soda, being careful to not over-mix.
5. Incorporate the chocolate chips.
6. Let the dough rest at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or refrigerate or up to overnight (in the refrigerator). (I have made them without refrigeration and they get more cake-like in texture.)
7. When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F, preferably on convection. (Let the refrigerated cookies come to room temperature.)
8. Drop spoonfuls (2-3 tablespoons) of dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. (I used a 3 tablespoon ice cream scoop.)
9. Bake 8-10 minutes for a cake-like cookie or 6-8 minutes for a chewier cookie. The cookie may appear a little wet in the center and that is ok. It will continue to bake and be cooked throughout after being out of the oven for a few minutes. (Rettke recommends baking for 6-8 minutes- next time!)

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Admittedly, I love all types of chocolate chip cookies. 😉 That being said, these might be my ultimate favorite chocolate chip cookies. They are thick, crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside, and are loaded with both semi-sweet and dark chocolate. SO good.

This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by David Leite. I weighed all of the dry ingredients, modified the cookie size and baking time, and used a mixture of chopped bittersweet and semi-sweet chocolate as well as semi-sweet chocolate chips. The original recipe uses disks of chocolate because they melt differently than chocolate chips; the chopped chocolate had the same effect.

Prior to baking, the dough is refrigerated for 24 to 36 hours. This results in a firmer dough because the dry ingredients absorb the wet ingredients. I also froze scoops of this cookie dough with great success.

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

• 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
• 1 ⅔ cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 ½ sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
• 1 ¼ cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves (at least 60 % cacao)(I used a combination of semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate)(see note below)
• flaky sea salt

1. Sift or whisk 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.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4. Stir in the vanilla.
5. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds.
6. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them.
7. 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.
8. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
9. Using a large cookie scoop, scoop mounds of dough (about 2 tablespoons each) onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. (I placed 8 cookies per sheet.)
10. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 14 to 16 minutes.
11. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more.
12. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Serve warm.

Chocolate: Bittersweet chocolate disks are sold at Jacques Torres Chocolate; Valrhona fèves, oval-shaped chocolate pieces, are sold at Whole Foods.

Note: The dough can be scooped into portions and frozen. Bake directly from the freezer adding 2 minutes onto the baking time.

Cookies & Cream Meringues

These meringues elevate classic Oreo cookies- transforming them into chewy and light deliciousness. With minimal ingredients, the recipe is beyond simple too.

This recipe was adapted from a Food 52 “Community Pick” recipe. I used a cookie scoop to ration the dough.

Yield: about 4 dozen cookies

• 4 large egg whites
  
• 1 pinch salt
  
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  
• 18 Oreos, finely crushed in a food processor
  

1. Crush the Oreos in a food processor into fine crumbs. Reserve 1/4 cup of the crumbs for the topping.
2. In a large bowl or stand mixer, whisk the egg whites and salt until light and foamy.
3. Gradually add the sugar, spoonful by spoonful, until you’ve got firm peaks—bright, white, and shiny.
4. Gently fold in the Oreo crumbs, (keeping 1/4 cup reserved) just barely- so you have ribbons of “cookie” amidst the “cream”.
5. Scoop (with an ice cream scoop) balls of the meringue mixture onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, then sprinkle the leftover Oreo crumbs on top unevenly, messily.
6. Bake at 275°F for 45 minutes to 1 hour until dried out but not totally crisp. These meringues should be like chewy cookies ‘n’ cream clouds when you bite into them.

Chewy Ginger Spiced Molasses Cookies

I had pretty much finished my holiday baking but decided that a gingerbread or molasses cookie was missing from my assortment. Last year I made gingerbread cutouts- but basically was out of steam to make them this year. I was searching my cookbook library and the internet for the perfect molasses drop cookie when this one magically appeared in my WordPress Reader. Yay! They looked perfect and sounded wonderful. Thanks, Suzanne! This recipe was adapted from Food 52 via A Pug in the Kitchen.

When measuring with molasses, I always coat the measuring cup with cooking spray- it glides right out like magic. 🙂 I also grind whole cloves in a spice grinder. Whole cloves are less expensive and have a much longer shelf life. Freshly ground spices have so much more flavor too.

Yield: Makes 24 to 30 cookies

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I grind whole cloves)
• 3/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
• turbinado or granulated sugar, for rolling

1. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ground ginger, allspice, salt and cloves in a bowl and mix well.
2. Beat butter and brown sugar together in bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy, 3 minutes.
3. Add egg and molasses. Mix to combine well.
4. Stir in dry ingredients. Do not over mix. Refrigerate the batter for 1 hour.
5. Preheat oven to 375 F (convection). Scoop dough with a cookie scoop and roll dough into 1 1/2″ balls.
6. Coat dough balls in turbinado or granulated sugar.
7. Arrange on baking sheets lined with parchment paper and gently flatten, just barely I use 2 fingers and lightly push on the dough.
8. Bake in oven until set and crinkled on top, about 12 minutes. Remove and cool.

One Year Ago:

• Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing