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> Tips for the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie
Tips for the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie
There's nothing better than eating
a pile of chocolate chip cookies
while drinking a tall glass of ice
cold milk. Whether you are a kid
or an adult, this time- tested
recipe should bring a smile to
your face and perhaps make you
emit a contented sigh. Oh yes, we
all know how to eat those little
pieces of heaven, but how exactly
do you make them?
Here are some tips to help you:
1) Use the freshest ingredients -
This will definitely help you make
sure that your cookies are of the
premium grade. Remember that old
computer principle "Garbage in,
Garbage Out"? Well, that works
with cookies, too. Despite how
well you bake an item, if it's
made of crappy ingredients, it
won't turn out well.
2) Experiment - Although you might
think that your grandma's recipe
is the best, you should definitely
try to create your own variation
of the cookie recipe. The most
basic thing you can do is to
change the amount of chocolate you
put in. Remember that this affects
not only the taste, but the
texture of the cookie as well.
Nestlé's research once showed that
people felt that the ideal cookie
had to have sic to ten chocolate
chips. Only a few people actually
wanted more.
Another thing you can do is play
around with different types of
chocolate. Sure, it would be most
convenient for you to use those
pre-packaged chocolate chips, but
in order to come up with the
perfect cookie recipe, you have to
live a little and do some hard
work. Try chopping up a chocolate
bar into chunks. You could also
try to use candy-covered chocolate
like M&M's to top your cookies.
You should also experiment with
other ingredients. Changing around
the quantity of shortening, the
butter and the shortening can
affect the texture of the cookie.
You should know that people have
different tastes when it comes to
the cookie's texture. There are
those who like it moist and soft
while other like it dry and hard,
providing great contrast with the
milk and chocolate.
3) Storage - Chocolate has an
unbelievably long shelf life. Milk
chocolate can actually be stored
for about six months, while dark
chocolate can be stored for as
long as a year. If you intend to
store chocolate for your baking
needs, you need to make sure that
you follow the right procedure.
Store them in sealed containers so
as to prevent moisture from
seeping through and develop the
whitish film called "bloom" on the
surface. Although this film is
harmless, it can be quite
unattractive. You also shouldn't
expose your chocolate to hot
temperatures. Although freezing is
okay if you plan to bake with it,
you shouldn't expose it to
temperatures above 78 degrees as
this may cause it to melt.
You might think that there's vary
little difference between melted
and solid chocolate if used for
baking especially since you can
just freeze it and it will turn
solid again. However, you should
realize that melting actually
causes the cocoa butter to
separate and your chocolate will
lose some of its creaminess.
4) To nut or not to nut - Nuts can
be quite controversial in baking a
cookie. There are people who swear
that nuts make all the difference
in their baking while there are
those who just hate it. Actually,
most Americans prefer their
cookies without nuts. This is
primarily because of the texture.
If you want the nutty flavor
without the texture, you should
try grinding some nuts into the
mixture instead of adding whole or
chopped ones.
5) Burn, baby, burn - A burnt
cookie is an inedible cookie.
Although the best way to avoid
burning your cookies is to
maintain constant vigilance, there
are a few other steps you should
try out. First you should make use
of a shiny baking pan. This will
help prevent burning. You should
also know that when you make use
of thin pans, the cookies are
likely to burn.
Another thing you should do is
make use of only the top and
middle racks of the oven. This
will help you make sure that the
chocolate chip cookies burn evenly
and that none are exposed to too
high temperatures.
About the Author - For more
information on chocolate, please
visit:
http://www.chocolatedotcom.com/
By Nathalie Fiset
Published: 9/15/2007
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