The Scientifcally Proven Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

Last night I came across an article describing two things that are right up my alley: science and cookies. I spent my Friday night reading this article for almost an hour, intrigued by how different your chocolate chip cookies can turn out based on the alteration of each ingredient, the order the ingredients are added, the temperature of the dough, the temperature of the oven, the list goes on. I understand this is not everyone's ideal Friday night, but my options were limited so this was going to have to do the job. Probably would have been better suited for a Tuesday night though.

Now, I can't say I've ever met a cookie I didn't like - but I've only found about two that I really love, and I didn't make them. And when I tried to make them using the same recipe they didn't turn out the same. I guess I chalk that up to user error. The cool thing about this article I found was that I get to become sort of a designer. I decide the qualities that I want my perfect cookie to embody, and based on the cookie facts, I can create my absolute perfect cookie. Here is an example of a cookie fact that will hinder the outcome of your cookie:

"White sugar will give you thin and crisp cookies, while brown sugar will make them tall and moist"

This has to do with the acid in the brown sugar reacting with the baking soda causing the cookies to rise, compared to acid-less white sugar which causes no chemical reaction and thus no rising cookies. It's exciting stuff, I know.

If there is one thing I know, its what I want out of a cookie - crispy on the outside, soft on the inside - but not cakey, chewy, almost doughey, sweet with a good balance of salt, and craggy. If you don't know what craggy means, read the article, you will probably be surprised to find out you also like your cookies craggy. Coincidentally the writer of the article like his cookies exactly the same way, so he put in the work and 60 lbs of flour to finally come up with a recipe that fits the bill.

The procedure for making these cookies is unlike any cookie recipe I've ever followed. I melted and browned the butter, creamed the sugar with the eggs, and chilled the dough over night. What kind of nonsense is that? When I want some cookies,  I don't want to think about it, let the idea rest over night, and finally have my cookies 24 hours later. But for the sake of this experiment, I went with it. Before I put the dough in the fridge I ate some of it, and it was good. I'm talking top 3 best cookie doughs I've ingested.

 

Fast forward to today and it was time to find out if these were really worth waiting overnight for. They baked at 325 degrees, because oven temperature really makes a difference in the shape of your cookie...so they claim. A cooler oven will produce a wider cookie, and a hotter oven will give you a more compact cookie. 325 is what I would call a happy medium.

I was satisfied with them based on appearance alone. If nothing else I now knew how to make a cookie that looked really good. Turns out they tasted great too. The most perfect cookie ever? Ehh I don't think so, but I almost think the perfect cookie is something made up in my head that no one will ever be able to accomplish. At least now I know a bunch of cookie science. 

Honestly though, it is a good read. If you're itching to make your perfect cookie, check out the article Here. From there, you will find the link to the recipe I used.

My grade: B+ - don't get me wrong, it was a great cookie, but it had too much pressure riding on it to be "THE COOKIE" and also I had to wait 24 hours for them and that's not okay.  

Back at it

After a 10 month hiatus, I think it's finally time I bring the blog back. Many a dinner, breakfast and cupcake have gone un-blogged, and it's time to put an end to that madness. I'd like to make promise that I'll keep this thing updated with new posts every week, but let's be honest, we all know that's not going to happen. If I can supply steady posts at least once a month then I'll be happy, and you should be too. 

Let's get to tonight's dinner. If I'm going to take 10 months off, then I figured I better come back with something strong. I can't just go MIA for almost an entire year and then show up and write about the bowl of cereal or kraft macaroni and cheese I had for dinner, and believe me, there have been plenty of those nights that no one is missing out on. Part of the problem is that I cook for myself, so when I'm faced with the decision of dirtying up the kitchen, scaling down portion sizes to serve one and then enjoying my food alone or pouring a bowl of cereal - the bowl of cereal is going to win 9 times out of 10. Maybe 7 times out of 10. I knew tonight's dinner was too good to eat by myself though. When in doubt, invite mom over. 

To take chicken up to a new level, you can stuff it or you can wrap it in bacon. Due to the fact that I need to come back out of the gates strong, I decided to do both. I give you, bacon wrapped chicken on steroids. (Side note: this chicken actually wasn't injected with steroids...according to the label.) 

First things first: butterfly the chicken. I've never actually owned a meat cleaver, so I bought one today, which led to an inappropriate comment by the cashier, that I'm still in shock over. I'll leave it at that. Once the chicken was pounded out, I caked on my stuffing which consisted of sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, water chestnuts, pine nuts, garlic, and seasonings. Oh, and Parmesan cheese because Parmesan cheese is good on everything. 

I wasn't shy with the filling. There is probably at least a half cup worth pressed on to each chicken breast. Then I rolled them up tightly. No need to use toothpicks to hold it together - that's what the bacon is for. All four pieces of bacon. Mo' bacon, mo' betta. 

Here are my little bundles of joy ready for the oven. 40 minutes at 375 loosely covered with foil, then 15-20 minutes longer without the foil. I gave it an extra 5 minutes under the broiler because in this case I like my bacon extra crispy. No one likes soggy bacon. I took them out of the oven and let them rest for about 10 minutes, which also allowed the bacon to crisp up a little more. I sliced them up and served it on top of a bed of lightly dressed arugula. I swear I'm not the food snob I just sounded like. 

And there you have it. If only I remembered ice cream at the store, this meal would have been complete. 

My grade: A - I got used to eating cereal and this was a big upgrade. Pretty easy, and no big mess to clean up. I'll use thinner bacon next time though. 

Mom grade: A+ - She said she "taught me well"...so I guess that means it was good? I bow to you, sensei.