Cookie Love! Recipes

Today’s technology makes it easier than ever to turn out a batch of Chocolate Chip cookies so perfect that you might think they are a Godgiven, heaven-sent treat, making them the p-e-r-f-e-c-t handmade valentine treat!

Food stylist/photographer: Laura Kurella

There are many who love Valentine’s Day, but hate how commercial it has become. In all honesty, I think we should all revert to elementaryage thinking on this holiday and use our hands to create valentines for those we love that truly do come from the heart, construction paper, sticky glue, and most especially something home-baked should be included. After all, the best Valentine’s Days were the unpretentious ones from childhood, and no matter how many trips we take around the sun, the one thing that most of us all share in common is our love for both childhood and a good chocolate chip cookie!

In today’s world, where modern technology can help us dial up just about anything we like, and dial down what we don’t, it’s easier than ever to turn out a batch of cookies so perfectly tuned to your own heart’s desire that anyone who gets to bite into them just might think they’re a heaven sent treat from God coming through you!

For those interested in learning more about tweaking a favored cookie recipe to bring out its best taste, texture, and appearance, there’s an illuminating TEDEd animation on cookie science online.

For those who have some extra time available, Serious Eats also offers a full twenty-one, painstakingly-tested steps on how to create the perfect cookie, which includes kneading times, and even chocolate preparation techniques.

These two very deep dives into cookie dough deconstruction help to explain, at great length, the role that each and every recipe ingredient plays, which helps to illuminate the importance behind when and how you add the ingredients, and how big of a role it plays in the resulting taste, texture, and shape of your finished cookie. However, since time is precious for a good lot of us, I thought I’d offer my vastly abridged kitchen notes version, which makes for an easier future reference, too!

If you like your cookies extra ooeygooey then add more flour to the recipe at the very end of mixing the dough, and don’t stir too much, just gently fold in so it doesn’t get tough.

If you like caramelization then crank your oven temperature up to about 365 degrees to achieve a caramelcolored appearance.

If you like a crispy edge and exterior, but a softer center, blend in an extra 1/4 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda into the flour before you add it to the dough in your cookie recipe.

If you like cookies that are chewier, try substituting bread flour for allpurpose flour in your recipe, and most importantly, if you want to improve your cookie’s flavor, chill the dough for at least 24 to 48 hours before baking. This resting time allows flavors to penetrate and deepen, giving you a much more flavorful cookie! That said, 48 hours has proven to be optimal, while 72 hours appears to be too long, as it tends to cause the flavors to start fading. Personally, I have found that freezing cookie dough provides you the best of both worlds because it gives dough the time it needs for flavors to develop and not fade, and it provides you with ready-to-bake dough whenever a cookie craving comes along!

To this I must add in two absolute rules for cookie baking:

1.) Always use fresh baking soda, and baking powder because if they fail, so will your cookie.

2.) Slightly under-bake your cookies because it will make them more tender. They are a little trickier to handle like this, but if you leave them on the cookie sheet for a few minutes to stiffen slightly, it will make them easier to handle.

Here now are three technologically-engineered ways to blend up a veritable pile of amazing chocolate chip cookies for all the cookie lovers in your life. Enjoy and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Laura Kurella is an award-winning recipe developer and food columnist who loves to share recipes from her Michigan kitchen. She welcomes your comments at laurakurella@yahoo.com

Food stylist & photographer: Laura Kurella