ashleyd /

Neon Lights and Shrimp Done Right

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After a long day of travel and mourning, all we wanted was a no pressure evening of good food, multiple beers, and laughs.

Dad even had a piece of birthday corn. Oh well, guess it wasn’t the birthday he wanted. 😉

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ashleyd /

Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookie Recipe

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As I left my office last night, this sight provided me just the inspiration I needed. Instead of waiting in line at Buttercup Bake Shop, I wanted to bake my valentine a homemade treat.

I rushed home to make my Valentine his favorite dessert, homemade chocolate chip cookies. While we decided this year was going to be casual, I still wanted to surprise him. Instead of making traditional Toll House chocolate chip cookies, I spent a few minutes looking up recipes online before stumbling upon Epicurious’ recipe.

IMG_0333Luckily, I knew that I had delicious, high end dark chocolate in my pantry which Foodbuzz sent me last week. This chocolate, mixed with some added salt, would make the perfect cookies for Bo’s taste.

He prefers dark chocolate and craves savory treats. My goal was to combine these two tastes into one delicious cookie, inspired by Epicurious’ recipe.

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Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies  (Adapted from Epicurious’  2003 Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe)

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoons salt plus extra teaspoon salt for final sprinkle
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1  teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 Pure Dark chocolate bars chopped in chunks, ~ 6 ounces

     

    Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with Silpat or wax paper.

    Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

    Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Lightly beat 1 egg with a fork in a small bowl and add 1 3/4 tablespoons of it plus remaining whole egg to butter mixture, beating with mixer until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture until just blended, then stir in chocolate chips.

    Scoop 1/4 cup batter for each cookie, arranging mounds 3 inches apart, on 2 baking sheets. Flatten mounds into 3-inch rounds using moistened palm of your hand.  Form remaining cookies on additional sheets of parchment. Sprinkle each cookie with a dash of additional salt.

    Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until golden, 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool and continue making cookies in same manner using cooled baking sheets.

    Makes 9 large cookies.

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    I highly recommend this recipe for even the most discerning tastes. They were both sweet and savory while still having the wonderful “goo factor” required for the best chocolate chip cookies, in my humble opinion.

     

    Question: What is your favorite type of chocolate chip cookie? Crunchy? Chewy? Dark chocolate? Light?

    *Note: I received this chocolate sample free of charge through the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.

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