Three Pansies

First Drafts of Origami Flowers

Dang Excellent Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last week, just as the news that everyone already knew became official, i.e. that July was really really really hot, the seemingly endless summer heat wave finally ended. For eight weeks my oven had remained off-limits, and to celebrate its grand re-opening, I made a batch of these celebrated chocolate chip cookies. When the recipe first circulated about four years ago, it got a lot of press, most of it so fantastic I was skeptical. It must have made some kind of impression though, since I eventually printed out a copy and added it to the pile of papers in my acrylic recipe holder on my kitchen counter, where it has been gathering grease stains for a couple of years.

Now I have finally put the recipe to the test, I can add my own enthusiastic affirmation:  this is a dang excellent chocolate chip cookie! Often chocolate chip cookie recipes are divided into the categories:  thin and crispy, flat and chewy, and thick and gooey. These cookies however deserve I think their own category:  substantial. (My first choice adjective was actually "meaty," but I decided it has complicated connotations that I best avoid.)

Just a few kitchen notes:  I measured all my ingredients by weight, and made three modifications to the recipe.  First, I used regular chocolate chips. (Those recommended disks are expensive!) Second, I sized the cookies with a Zeroll #50 scoop. Third, I baked them at 325. Most of my dough I froze in portions, so the next big test is to see how it performs out of the freezer.

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