high-bar baking

To my surprise, I’ve found that many people don’t like chocolate cookies. I’ve realized this is because many people are not idiots, and most chocolate cookies are over baked. 

This makes them dry, and no one sane likes a dry cookie. Chocolate cookies in particular are much easier to over bake than other kinds of cookies, because there’s no “golden brown” indicator that you can follow. You have to have faith. If the edge is set, even if you feel the edge is only actually “set,” you have to pull them. This is a difficult lesson to teach new folks. The cookies don’t look cooked! Trust the process, guys. 

So if you remember nothing else, remember to take them out of the oven before you think they’re done.

Other things that you should do is add flaky salt (Maldon is the brand) to the tops of the cookies. Salt is dessert’s best friend, and it will make the chocolatey flavour pop. I haven’t done a side-by-side scientific comparison, but Sarah swears that the effect works better if you sprinkle the salt on before they go into the oven. I believe her. I also do it because it’s much easier to get the salt to stay on sticky cookie dough than a baked top. I spilled half my box of Maldon salt on the floor a few months ago, I can’t afford to waste any more on my sheet tray! 

Today I made Maria’s Outrageous Chocolate Cookies; they were fine. When you add that much cocoa powder (Dutch processed, my fave!) to anything, it’s going to be great. But Sarah’s Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies (without the espresso; coffee is bad) are the best in this category and what I recommend. Always brown the butter if given the option, y’all. 

Does anyone else watch movies looking for plot holes? Like guys who are all hat and no cattle, sometimes I swear movies are all hole and no plot. But maybe I just need to find myself a better class of criminal. 

I’ll suspend my disbelief, don’t worry. I just have too much fun poking fun.