Episode 50 – Chocolate Chip Cookies and Snickerdoodles

Episode 50
May 15, 2011
Chocolate Chip Cookies and Snickerdoodles

When I first started the Aubergine Chef, I wasn’t sure if I would ever make chocolate chip cookies just because just about everybody who bakes knows how to make chocolate chip cookies.  Even the people who only bake one thing – that one thing always turns out to be chocolate chip cookies.  To be honest, I’m a huge fan of the toll house chocolate chip cookie recipe – but I’m not about to do an episode on a recipe that just about everybody is familiar with!  The chocolate chip cookie recipe in this episode is actually a recipe I picked up when I was working in a bakery.

Now I’m not going to say that the chocolate chip cookie recipe is the best recipe in the world or that even that it’s especially unique because to be honest it really isn’t.  What this recipe is is a simple honest-to-goodness chocolate chip cookie that was one of the top selling cookies at the bakery I worked at.  What makes this cookie different from the toll house cookies is when under baked in just the right way it actually develops an almost artisan bread-like texture where it’s soft and chewy but still has some bite to it.  The interesting thing about this recipe is that in the bakery that would make it with bread flour so feel free to use up that bread flour you having lying around!

I actually wasn’t exposed to snickerdoodles until more recently when I worked at the grocery store.  I’m sure I’ve had them before but I don’t think I ever knew what they were called.  Snickerdoodles, for those of you who don’t know, are basically sugar cookies with cinnamon added to them.  Most people feel that snickerdoodles have to be soft and chewy to really be snickerdoodles so plan on under baking these cookies.  If you do plan on making this recipe make sure you plan a day ahead of time because they need to be chilled in the fridge for at least an hour and up to 24 hours.

Cookies, unlike cakes for example, are a little more sensitive when it comes to baking.  Because they are so small and thin they are more likely to burn on the bottom and be over baked.  They are also more likely to be affected by hot spots or uneven temperatures in your oven, which probably every oven has.  They are a few ways to ensure your cookies come out perfect each time:

1.  Under bake your cookies.  If a recipe says bake for 10 minutes, check it in 7 minutes.  You may even just want to take them out of the oven.  This way you will always be sure that you never accidentally burn the bottoms or over bake them.  I had a chef from Europe in school who could never understand why Americans loved under baked cookies so much.  He felt that they were uncaramelized and didn’t develop a complex flavor.  For me, there’s something so comforting and nostalgic about an under baked chewy cookie.  However, there is a distinct difference to me between an under baked cookie and a chewy cookie.  A cookie that is under baked on purpose is irresistible.  A cookie that is purposefully made chewy (like by adding oil) just isn’t the same.

2.  Double pan your sheet pans.  If you have the extra sheet pans, and they fit into each other perfectly, then double panning your cookies will help prevent your cookies from burning on the bottom.  This isn’t perfect but it gives you some extra defense.  This isn’t always a great solution if you don’t have a lot of sheet pans, or if you have a lot of dough that you want to pre-portion out.

3.  Even out the heat in your oven by placing an empty sheet pan on the lower third rack of your oven.  This is the best way to prevent burnt bottoms on your cookies but it also doubles the total baking time because you have one less rack to bake cookies on – it doesn’t necessarily take longer to bake the cookies just that you can only bake one sheet pan at a time.  If you are notorious for burning your cookies this is the solution for you – just be prepared to be baking for a long time.

4.  Rotate your sheet pans.  One-third or halfway through your baking time open your oven and switch the top sheet pan with the bottom sheet pan.  While doing this, literally turn your sheet pan 180 degrees so that the cookies that were closest to the oven door are now closest to the back of the oven.  By doing all this movement you help expose your cookies to all the same level of heat – including those cookies that were sitting in the hot spot of your oven.  It also helps prevent the cookies that were on the bottom rack from burning on the bottom before they are completely done.

5.  Make sure all the cookies on the tray are the same size and thickness.  This is especially important for cut out cookies.  If you have different sized cookies on the same sheet pan some will get done before the others which creates a difficult issue.  Some cookies are way too soft after just being baked to remove from the sheet pan while others may be difficult to maneuver around to reach the ones that are ready to take out.  Keep it simple and make sure all the cookies are the same size and thickness before baking.

I hope all these tips help you out with your cookie baking adventure!  Enjoy the chocolate chip cookie recipe and the snickerdoodle cookie recipe – I know I did!  Below is the video!  Thank you for watching!