The Quest Continues

Ask and you shall receive, folks!

A few posts ago, I wrote about not really having a great chocolate chip cookie recipe, and also not really having the experience to execute a good chocolate chip cookie recipe, as of yet. You can read about it here: http://prairieponderingsmt.blogspot.com/2014/11/quest-for-best-chocolate-chip-cookie.html.

Since that post, I've received A TON of chocolate chip cookie-related tips and advice, as well as a slew of recipes to try. With Jeff's vigorous encouragement, I'm planning to try out each recipe that comes to me in my Quest For The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie.

With that, this weekend's attempt is a recipe I received from a local Hi-Line friend and neighbor. With no plans to travel at all this weekend, and my normal three-day weekend (Thank you, four-day school week!) I set to work on Friday for this batch of cookies.

The recipe is not exotic by any means, but was definitely different from the one I had previously used-- called for more eggs, crisco instead of butter, more vanilla... things like that. Also, a lower baking temperature.

The result was definitely closer to what I think I'm looking for in a cookie. Right out of the oven, it was soft and chewy, not crispy like the last two batches. The overall texture of the cookie was better all around, I think.

The biggest detractor, in my opinion, was that the cookie didn't have as much flavor outside of the chocolate chips. I think this is because I used the wrong type of crisco. It specifically states to use butter-flavored crisco on the recipe, but I didn't have that, so I actually used a combination of actual butter and regular crisco. Out of 1 1/2 cups of fat called for, I used 1 cup crisco and 1/2 cup unsalted butter. To me, the cookies tasted more like regular crisco than butter. I am planning on picking up some butter-flavored crisco at the store next time I go, and will try again, but now I do have a large tub of normal crisco, so I'll likely continue to use it over time.

Another detractor was that even though the cookies were soft and moist on the first day, by now, Saturday evening, they're not soft anymore. I didn't leave them out on the counter or anything--they're in a tupperware--but they're just not as soft. Jeff told me they were still excellent for dipping into coffee, however.

Something else I experimented with this time was baking surface. Because there was so much cookie dough and I wanted to keep things rolling, I used a jelly roll pan in addition to my two airbake cookie sheets. The airbake sheet cookies were more evenly cooked, while those on the brown jelly roll pan were crisper and sort of burnt on the bottom and edges. So, that debate is settled. Airbake it is!

Still working on getting them more uniform in size. Probably should invest in a cookie scoop.

So what does a person need to do to get a cookie that remains soft? More research is needed, to be sure! Jeff said these cookies overall were great, but that I shouldn't be afraid to continue my research. Luckily, this recipe made a monstrous amount of cookies, so we'll have plenty left to continue to sample and debate over. ;)

I have already received three more cookie recipes, with two more people saying they have a couple they'd like to share with me. So far, no two recipes are the same. So interesting how there can be so much variation! Not to mention, I have a few things I'd like to experiment with myself, such as use of different flours-- whole wheat flour, almond flour, and use of flax seed meal or oats. My Aunt also sent me a more unconventional recipe for chocolate chip cookies that I'm anxious to try-- calls for applesauce. And, I found a very interesting recipe online that I'd like to try that also has a very big surprise twist ingredient!

Stay tuned and keep checking in as the quest continues!