Drop Cookies

It's becoming apparent that my elder son is displaying some signs that he is undergoing a growth spurt lately. I feel that he has grown so much taller and the most obvious tell-tale signs are, he has increased his meal portions, and during the late afternoons, he will start looking around in the kitchen for food.

I bake cookies only occasionally as I find them far too fattening. Since my boy has been asking for Chipsmore, Tim Tam and Oreos more frequently than usual, I've decided that it's time that I start making homemade cookies as a routine. At least I know what goes into the cookies I made, than to have him snack on commercial biscuits which are usually very high in fat and sugar content.

So, here's the first batch of cookies I tried...they are none other than the familiar Chocolate Chip Cookies, originally called Toll House cookies. These must be one of the simplest form of cookies, as what all baking books will tell you, they are also know as Drop cookies. They are so called as the cookie dough is so soft that it drops off the spoon and onto the baking sheet. Drop cookies are mainly made by the Creaming method...where you beat butter and sugar till the mixture turn pale and fluffy. Eggs are then added in followed by flour and any other flavourings such as chocolate chips, nuts or raisins. It's pretty simple and straight forward. However, there are still a couple of things to look out for...besides bringing the butter to room temperature (take it out from the fridge and leave it at the counter for about 30mins); the eggs have to be at room temperature too. The butter mixture tends to curdle when eggs are added, especially if they are not brought to room temperature. To prevent curdling, it is always a good practice to add the eggs a little at a time (I do it a teaspoon at a time, I have a little helper who is always eager to give a helping hand whenever he sees me busy with butter, flour and eggs), and beat well with each addition. If the mixture does curdles, just add in 1 tablespoon of the flour before adding more eggs. To make sure the cookies do not spread too much, you can always chill the dough in the fridge before baking. I didn't have problem with these cookies though.

Another good thing about making these drop cookies is that you don't even need an electric mixer. A wooden spoon can complete the task, although it does require some arm power when you first beat the butter and sugar together. Let the machine do the job if you don't want to develop huge biceps ;)


As usual I seek my kid's opinion on what kind of cookies he would prefer, and without thinking, he requested for chocolate chips cookies, and he likes them to be crunchy, no chewy cookies for him. I went through 3 cookie bibles and almost gave up before I saw this basic chocolate chip cookies from this book The Cookie and Biscuit Bible. It is so basic that the recipe is found under the introductory pages instead of the rest of the chapters, I'm so glad that I didn't let it slipped away.

These cookies taste fabulous. They are the best chocolate chip cookies I have made. I'll have to attribute the rich flavour to the 3 main ingredients I have used: SCS pure creamery butter (those that come in a silver wrapper) which has got a very nice buttery flavour and reasonably priced; semi-sweet Ghirardelli chocolate chips which are really rich and creamy; and that one teaspoon of Madagascar Bourbon pure vanilla extract from Nielsen-Massey works wonder. It's amazing how good quality ingredients can make such a great difference to an otherwise ordinary batch of cookies. These cookies have also the right crunch, unlike store bough cookies which I find way too crunchy and dry.


Having raved about how good these cookies are, I still find it difficult to convince myself that homemade cookies can be in any way a much healthier choice. Till I can find a recipe that has been proven to yield both delicious and yet healthy cookies, it remains as a challenge, and requires some careful balancing act (I can't help for the pun!) to choose the right snacks for my growing up kid.



Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
(makes about 24 cookies)

115g butter, softened
115g caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
175g plain flour
175g plain or semisweet chocolate chips



Method

1. Preheat oven to 180degC. Line baking trays with parchment paper.
2. With a wooden spoon or electric mixer, cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until the mixture turns pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg gradually. Mix well after each addition. Add in vanilla extract, mix well.
4. Sift the flour over the mixture, fold in with wooden spoon or a spatula. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Drop tablespoonfuls of the cookie dough onto the prepared baking tray. Leave some space between the cookies to allow for spreading. Flatten each cookie dough slightly with the back of a fork, keeping the shape as even as possible.
6. Bake for 10 mins or until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Variations:
* Chocolate - substitute 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder for the same amount of flour.

* Replace chocolate chips with equal quantity of whole or coarsely chopped nuts such as macadamia nuts or hazelnuts; or use combination of both chocolate chips and nuts - 75g of each.

Recipe source: The Cookie and Biscuit Bible