Anybody have a really good recipe for chocolate chip cookies that retain a
soft texture after baking?
Thanks

> wrote in message newsDlob.229262$9l5.33705@pd7tw2no...
> Anybody have a really good recipe for chocolate chip cookies that retain a
> soft texture after baking?
> Thanks

Here is a link to three variation of the cookie that result in different
textures. Try the "chewey"
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show..._17114,00.html

On Fri, 31 Oct 2003, Vox Humana wrote:

>
> > wrote in message newsDlob.229262$9l5.33705@pd7tw2no...
> > Anybody have a really good recipe for chocolate chip cookies that retain a
> > soft texture after baking?
> > Thanks
>
> Here is a link to three variation of the cookie that result in different
> textures. Try the "chewey"
> http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show..._17114,00.html

I love Alton Brown's show Good Eats, although he has been getting a little
weird lately. I saw that his recipe calls for kosher salt. Why does he
always want kosher salt? Is it because it is pure salt?

I was surprised to find out that some salt has other ingredients. I've
even seen a salt in the US that has sugar in it. I'm assuming that kosher
salt is just his way of ensuring it is pure sodium chloride (NaCl). Am I
right? Or is there some other reason?

--
Send e-mail to: darrell at cs dot toronto dot edu
Don't send e-mail to

"Darrell Grainger" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 31 Oct 2003, Vox Humana wrote:
>
> >
> > > wrote in message
newsDlob.229262$9l5.33705@pd7tw2no...
> > > Anybody have a really good recipe for chocolate chip cookies that
retain a
> > > soft texture after baking?
> > > Thanks
> >
> > Here is a link to three variation of the cookie that result in different
> > textures. Try the "chewey"
> >
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show..._17114,00.html
>
> I love Alton Brown's show Good Eats, although he has been getting a little
> weird lately. I saw that his recipe calls for kosher salt. Why does he
> always want kosher salt? Is it because it is pure salt?
>
> I was surprised to find out that some salt has other ingredients. I've
> even seen a salt in the US that has sugar in it. I'm assuming that kosher
> salt is just his way of ensuring it is pure sodium chloride (NaCl). Am I
> right? Or is there some other reason?
>

I agree that the show is becoming more bazaar. It seems to be the Food
Network way: style above substance. I use regular salt when I bake because
it has a smaller particle size than Kosher salt and distributes better and
doesn't get left behind in a sieve like Kosher salt. Most recipes are
formulated for regular table salt. If you want the same amount of Kosher
salt by weight you would have to use 1.5 times more Morton's Kosher salt and
2 times more Diamond Kosher salt than specified in the recipe. This is
because the different crystal sizes in each kind of salt pack together with
different densities.

Kosher salt doesn't have iodine or anti-caking agents added. I really doubt
that either of these things would be critical to a recipe in the amounts
used. Of course you can always get non-iodized table salt.

"Vox Humana" > writes:

>From: "Vox Humana" >
>Newsgroups: rec.food.baking
>Subject: Request - Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
>Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 16:10:34 GMT
>
>"Darrell Grainger" > wrote:
>>
>> . . . I saw that his recipe calls for kosher salt. Why does he
>> always want kosher salt? Is it because it is pure salt?
>>
>> I was surprised to find out that some salt has other ingredients. I've
>> even seen a salt in the US that has sugar in it. I'm assuming that kosher
>> salt is just his way of ensuring it is pure sodium chloride (NaCl). Am I
>> right? Or is there some other reason?
>
> . . . I use regular salt when I bake because it has a smaller particle
>size than Kosher salt and distributes better and doesn't get left behind in
>a sieve like Kosher salt. Most recipes are formulated for regular table
>salt. If you want the same amount of Kosher salt by weight you would have
>to use 1.5 times more Morton's Kosher salt and 2 times more Diamond Kosher
>salt than specified in the recipe. This is because the different crystal
>sizes in each kind of salt pack together with different densities.
>
>Kosher salt doesn't have iodine or anti-caking agents added. I really doubt
>that either of these things would be critical to a recipe in the amounts
>used. Of course you can always get non-iodized table salt.

One of the other attributes of "kosher" salt is that the crystals are
irregularly shaped with lots of nooks and crannies. This provides a
larger surface area for water and other liquids to be absorbed.

See the excellent electron microscope photo on the Boston Museum of Science
web page at http://www.mos.org/sln/sem/ksalt.html

Keep in mind that this salt is called "kosher" salt because it is used in
the preparation of kosher meat. One of the religious requirements of meat
being kosher is that the blood is removed. This is done by using salt to
absorb the blood from the meat -- and kosher salt's granuals are optimized
for this purpose.

These irregular shaped crystals are useful for recipes which use salt on
the surface -- sprinkled on, stuck on, etc. If the salt is to be desolved
into the recipe, the shape of the grains makes no difference except in
its effect on measurement as noted by Vox Humana above.

Cheers,
The Old Bear

> wrote in message newsDlob.229262$9l5.33705@pd7tw2no...
> Anybody have a really good recipe for chocolate chip cookies that retain a
> soft texture after baking?
> Thanks
>
I had been using the 3-way chocolate chip cookie recipe that Vox recommends
for quite awhile. Then I tried the following recipe that I picked up over
on alt.cookies.yumyumyum and everyone has asked that I keep using this one.
Hope you like it.

Judy

From: LindaVE )
Subject: Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
View: Complete Thread (3 articles)
Original Format
Newsgroups: alt.cookies.yum.yum.yum
Date: 2001-02-19 16:40:09 PST

* Exported from MasterCook II *

Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 96 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Cookies Drop
Chocolate Chips
Nuts

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 pkg(4 serv) instant pudding mix -- any flavor
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups walnuts -- chopped

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside. In a large bowl,
cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Stir in the
instant pudding until blended. Then stir in the eggs and vanilla. Add the
dry ingredients and mix well. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and
nuts.
3. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto unprepared cookie sheets. Bake
for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown.

"The Old Bear" > wrote in message
news
> "Vox Humana" > writes:
>
> >From: "Vox Humana" >
> >Newsgroups: rec.food.baking
> >Subject: Request - Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
> >Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 16:10:34 GMT
> >
> >"Darrell Grainger" > wrote:
> >>
> >> . . . I saw that his recipe calls for kosher salt. Why does he
> >> always want kosher salt? Is it because it is pure salt?
> >>
> >> I was surprised to find out that some salt has other ingredients. I've
> >> even seen a salt in the US that has sugar in it. I'm assuming that
kosher
> >> salt is just his way of ensuring it is pure sodium chloride (NaCl). Am
I
> >> right? Or is there some other reason?
> >
> > . . . I use regular salt when I bake because it has a smaller
particle
> >size than Kosher salt and distributes better and doesn't get left behind
in
> >a sieve like Kosher salt. Most recipes are formulated for regular table
> >salt. If you want the same amount of Kosher salt by weight you would
have
> >to use 1.5 times more Morton's Kosher salt and 2 times more Diamond
Kosher
> >salt than specified in the recipe. This is because the different crystal
> >sizes in each kind of salt pack together with different densities.
> >
> >Kosher salt doesn't have iodine or anti-caking agents added. I really
doubt
> >that either of these things would be critical to a recipe in the amounts
> >used. Of course you can always get non-iodized table salt.
>
> One of the other attributes of "kosher" salt is that the crystals are
> irregularly shaped with lots of nooks and crannies. This provides a
> larger surface area for water and other liquids to be absorbed.
>
> See the excellent electron microscope photo on the Boston Museum of
Science
> web page at http://www.mos.org/sln/sem/ksalt.html
>
> Keep in mind that this salt is called "kosher" salt because it is used in
> the preparation of kosher meat. One of the religious requirements of meat
> being kosher is that the blood is removed. This is done by using salt to
> absorb the blood from the meat -- and kosher salt's granuals are optimized
> for this purpose.
>
> These irregular shaped crystals are useful for recipes which use salt on
> the surface -- sprinkled on, stuck on, etc. If the salt is to be desolved
> into the recipe, the shape of the grains makes no difference except in
> its effect on measurement as noted by Vox Humana above.
>
> Cheers,
> The Old Bear
>
>

But really, even though not all salt is certified by an agency as kosher,
there is nothing to make salt - no matter the size of the grain "un-kosher".
I feel chefs refer to the larger grain of the salt when they call for kosher
salt. I mean, why else would one call for kosher salt in a pork or
shellfish recipe?

Jewish cook in Oregon,
tgt

"tgt" > writes:

>From: "tgt" >
>Newsgroups: rec.food.baking
>Subject: Request - Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
>Date: Sat, 01 Nov 2003 01:34:20 GMT
>
>"The Old Bear" > wrote:
>>
>> See the excellent electron microscope photo on the Boston Museum of
>> Science web page at http://www.mos.org/sln/sem/ksalt.html
>>
>> Keep in mind that this salt is called "kosher" salt because it is used in
>> the preparation of kosher meat. One of the religious requirements of meat
>> being kosher is that the blood is removed. This is done by using salt to
>> absorb the blood from the meat -- and kosher salt's granuals are optimized
>> for this purpose.
>>
>> These irregular shaped crystals are useful for recipes which use salt on
>> the surface -- sprinkled on, stuck on, etc. If the salt is to be desolved
>> into the recipe, the shape of the grains makes no difference except in
>> its effect on measurement as noted by Vox Humana above.
>
>But really, even though not all salt is certified by an agency as kosher,
>there is nothing to make salt - no matter the size of the grain "un-kosher".
>I feel chefs refer to the larger grain of the salt when they call for kosher
>salt. I mean, why else would one call for kosher salt in a pork or
>shellfish recipe?
>
>Jewish cook in Oregon,
>tgt

Yup. I guess that technically it should be called "koshering salt" or "salt
for preparing kosher meat" or something.

The term "Kosher Salt" is like "House Paint" or "Baby Powder" where the
modifying term describes how it is used rather than what it is.

And while House Paint is intended to be used to paint houses and Baby Powder
is commonly used on babies, there is nothing to keep you from using House
Paint to paint your lawn furniture or using baby powder on your adult self.



Cheers,
Will
The Old Bear

at Fri, 31 Oct 2003 04:34:43 GMT in <DDlob.229262$9l5.33705@pd7tw2no>,
wrote :

>Anybody have a really good recipe for chocolate chip cookies that retain a
>soft texture after baking?
>Thanks
>
>
>

Look on DejaNews for the recipe I posted a while back : 'Recipe: Big, Soft,
all-butter chocolate chip cookies". I've tested and perfected it.

In general, to achieve a softer texture, the key is to use a higher
proportion of eggs. A lot of people use shortening or margarine, which will
certainly soften the texture, but as I've said, this is an unnecessary
compromise. I think people end up resorting to shortening because they give
up on trying to tinker with ratios, which takes time and many tests,
especially when shortening yields the desired texture results in virtually
foolproof manner.


--
Alex Rast

(remove d., .7, not, and .NOSPAM to reply)

"Vox Humana" > wrote in message
...
>
> > I love Alton Brown's show Good Eats, although he has been getting a
little
> > weird lately. I saw that his recipe calls for kosher salt. Why does he
> > always want kosher salt? Is it because it is pure salt?
> >
> > I was surprised to find out that some salt has other ingredients. I've
> > even seen a salt in the US that has sugar in it. I'm assuming that
kosher
> > salt is just his way of ensuring it is pure sodium chloride (NaCl). Am I
> > right? Or is there some other reason?
> >
>
> I agree that the show is becoming more bazaar. It seems to be the Food
> Network way: style above substance.

Yes, most of the new shows seem to be like that. Although, I'm mighty happy
that Michael Chiarella has a new show on the Food Network. He's been a local
treasure here in No. Cal. for years. I adore him.

I use regular salt when I bake because
> it has a smaller particle size than Kosher salt and distributes better and
> doesn't get left behind in a sieve like Kosher salt. Most recipes are
> formulated for regular table salt. If you want the same amount of Kosher
> salt by weight you would have to use 1.5 times more Morton's Kosher salt
and
> 2 times more Diamond Kosher salt than specified in the recipe. This is
> because the different crystal sizes in each kind of salt pack together
with
> different densities.
>
> Kosher salt doesn't have iodine or anti-caking agents added. I really
doubt
> that either of these things would be critical to a recipe in the amounts
> used. Of course you can always get non-iodized table salt.
>
I use a particular French salt for everything. It is finer that regular
table salt and has a better flavor.

Martha

>

"MH" > wrote in message
...
> "Vox Humana" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > > I love Alton Brown's show Good Eats, although he has been getting a
> little
> > > weird lately. I saw that his recipe calls for kosher salt. Why does he
> > > always want kosher salt? Is it because it is pure salt?
> > >
> > > I was surprised to find out that some salt has other ingredients. I've
> > > even seen a salt in the US that has sugar in it. I'm assuming that
> kosher
> > > salt is just his way of ensuring it is pure sodium chloride (NaCl). Am
I
> > > right? Or is there some other reason?
> > >
> >
> > I agree that the show is becoming more bazaar. It seems to be the Food
> > Network way: style above substance.
>
> Yes, most of the new shows seem to be like that. Although, I'm mighty
happy
> that Michael Chiarella has a new show on the Food Network. He's been a
local
> treasure here in No. Cal. for years. I adore him.


I haven't seen that show. I had the unfortunate experience of seeing a new
show this weekend on Food TV. The hostess was from some magazine and she was
a complete spaz. It was too painful to watch for more than 10 minutes.
There wasn't a single redeeming feature about the show. Looking at the
schedule, the show was "Good food Fast with Family Circle." What a horror!
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ce

On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 15:36:42 GMT
"Vox Humana" > wrote:


> I haven't seen that show. I had the unfortunate experience of seeing
> a new show this weekend on Food TV. The hostess was from some magazine
> and she was a complete spaz. It was too painful to watch for more
> than 10 minutes. There wasn't a single redeeming feature about the
> show. Looking at the schedule, the show was "Good food Fast with
> Family Circle." What a horror!
> http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ce


What, you mean Sarah Molton? I'm sure 'executive chef' must be a
purely honorary title at 'Gourmet Magazine'.

Yeah, I remember how dumbfounded i was when she said, "now, if you have
problems with lumps in your roux, you can just use a flat whisk like i
do to get rid of the lumps"

I had to rewind with the tivo a couple times to make sure i hadn't
mis-heard it, and then call my buddy Clint to ask if he'd ever, ever had
a lump in his roux, 'cause i sure hadn't.

I don't go around calling myself a cook, let alone a chef. And *i
could have told you that if you get lumps in your roux, you need to slow
the heck down (or apply more heat) and wait until the water content in
your fat (butter, in this case) boils off. Flat whisk. what a maroon.

How hard can it be? You wait until it stops bubbling. At that point, if
you're sure the heat is still on and it hasn't stopped bubbling purely
because it's gone cold, you can safely add your starch.

I tell you, it was worse than the first time i saw that 'perfect
pancake' commercial, and had to watch it again in slow motion to figure
out how they managed to fold the pancake.

"Does this ever happen to you?!" "Uh, what? No. That never happens to
me. Wait a minute, how DID you do that?"

For the record, they first make the rookie mistake of flipping too
soon, and then, if you watch closely, you can see how the actress
rotates the spatula in her hand and then brings it down with
considerable force, flexing the flat of it against the folded pancake.
It actually looks like it must have taken some practice to get it right.
The torn pancake was just flipped too soon and cooked on too hot of a
surface.

"Eric Jorgensen" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 15:36:42 GMT
> "Vox Humana" > wrote:
>
>
> > I haven't seen that show. I had the unfortunate experience of seeing
> > a new show this weekend on Food TV. The hostess was from some magazine
> > and she was a complete spaz. It was too painful to watch for more
> > than 10 minutes. There wasn't a single redeeming feature about the
> > show. Looking at the schedule, the show was "Good food Fast with
> > Family Circle." What a horror!
> > http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ce
>
>
> What, you mean Sarah Molton? I'm sure 'executive chef' must be a
> purely honorary title at 'Gourmet Magazine'.
>

No. I'm afraid that this person was even worse!!! Hard to imagine, but she
was. She couldn't even use measuring cups properly. The set was ugly. Her
wardrobe was ugly. Her knowledge seemed limited. Take a look at the link.

The set is definitely ugly. She is almost ugly but more butch ugly not butt
ugly. Maybe it's lousy make-up. At least she can almost chop onions.
I am amazed what qualifies as a TV show these days.

Mr Pastry

"Vox Humana" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Eric Jorgensen" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 15:36:42 GMT
> > "Vox Humana" > wrote:
> >
> >
> > > I haven't seen that show. I had the unfortunate experience of seeing
> > > a new show this weekend on Food TV. The hostess was from some magazine
> > > and she was a complete spaz. It was too painful to watch for more
> > > than 10 minutes. There wasn't a single redeeming feature about the
> > > show. Looking at the schedule, the show was "Good food Fast with
> > > Family Circle." What a horror!
> > > http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ce
> >
> >
> > What, you mean Sarah Molton? I'm sure 'executive chef' must be a
> > purely honorary title at 'Gourmet Magazine'.
> >
>
> No. I'm afraid that this person was even worse!!! Hard to imagine, but
she
> was. She couldn't even use measuring cups properly. The set was ugly.
Her
> wardrobe was ugly. Her knowledge seemed limited. Take a look at the
link.
>
>

"Mark Floerke" > wrote in message
...
> The set is definitely ugly. She is almost ugly but more butch ugly not
butt
> ugly. Maybe it's lousy make-up. At least she can almost chop onions.
> I am amazed what qualifies as a TV show these days.
>
> Mr Pastry

The show could pass as a Saturday Night Live parody of a cooking show.






>
> "Vox Humana" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "Eric Jorgensen" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 15:36:42 GMT
> > > "Vox Humana" > wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > > I haven't seen that show. I had the unfortunate experience of
seeing
> > > > a new show this weekend on Food TV. The hostess was from some
magazine
> > > > and she was a complete spaz. It was too painful to watch for more
> > > > than 10 minutes. There wasn't a single redeeming feature about the
> > > > show. Looking at the schedule, the show was "Good food Fast with
> > > > Family Circle." What a horror!
> > > > http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ce
> > >
> > >
> > > What, you mean Sarah Molton? I'm sure 'executive chef' must be a
> > > purely honorary title at 'Gourmet Magazine'.
> > >
> >
> > No. I'm afraid that this person was even worse!!! Hard to imagine, but
> she
> > was. She couldn't even use measuring cups properly. The set was ugly.
> Her
> > wardrobe was ugly. Her knowledge seemed limited. Take a look at the
> link.
> >
> >
>
>

On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 19:05:44 GMT
"Vox Humana" > wrote:
>
>
> No. I'm afraid that this person was even worse!!! Hard to imagine,
> but she was. She couldn't even use measuring cups properly. The set
> was ugly. Her wardrobe was ugly. Her knowledge seemed limited. Take
> a look at the link.


Oh, now i get it. That 'magazine' that Kraft has been littering my
mailbox with for the last few months has a TV show. Great. So far I've
been judging 'family circle' by the cover and dropping it off in the
trash on my way back from the mailbox. Never even makes it inside the
house, but I'm incredibly averse to marketing.

If i hadn't seen the enormous Kraft logo on the back i would have
presumed it was yet more mail for any of the dozens of people who've had
this address before me. Four years I've been here and i keep seeing new
names on the mail. It's not just junk mail, that i could understand.
It's the fact that i get inch thick packages of papers from law firms
and personal-looking letters and christmas cards and, stuff that you
figure people would want sent to the right address. I get reams of mail
for people who haven't lived here in at least six years. how hard is it
to fill out a change of address form? wait a minute, I'm just ranting at
this point. sorry.

Maybe they ought to be more honest about the content and simply list it
as "Paid Programming" . . .

- Eric