I am beginning to feel a certain amount of pressure regarding potluck-esque affairs. The thoughts begin tumbling into my brain: What do I bring? How many allergens can I safely include? We do still all eat gluten, right? And of course… I should probably stick to dessert. And so, when Evan and I were invited to a very large Reinblatt gathering this past weekend, I decided to keep it simple. Chocolate Chip Cookies. Who doesn’t love those? Plus, my recipe can easily yield 60 cookies. But really - who am I kidding? I can’t just make regular ol’ cookies. And so, I created what shall now be referred to as Diet Kryptonite (after Evan’s cousin called it her’s) |
So first thing's first. If you want to make Diet Kryptonite, start with the cookies. I decided to make two different types of cookies: Chocolate Chip Cookies and Butterscotch Cookies. Both of these have the same base that I teach all of my students in our first baking class every session.
Cookie Base
- 1 cup softened, unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- sprinkle of my super secret ingredient
Cream together the butter and sugars until it is light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
Sift in all of your dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) and fold everything together.
At this point, you can fold in 1 cup chocolate or butterscotch chips, or roll the dough into a log and freeze it (just in case you crave a single cookie every now and then)
I decided to change how I put my cookies together for this dessert, because I wanted the different chips clearly visible. Here is what I did:
On a lined baking sheet, I rolled tsp-size balls of dough and lined them up. Do not press down on the dough- that will prevent their cute domed tops!
Bake for 5 minutes at 375 F. After 5 minutes, pull the baking sheet out of the oven and place your chocolate/butterscotch chips on top.
Bake for 5 more minutes, pull out, and allow to cool
Wait - what's that? I never mentioned the secret ingredient? Alright, here it is:
After adding the chocolate/butterscotch chips, I sprinkle the entire tray of cookies with kosher salt. Not only does this offset the sweetness of the cookies, but the salt will enhance the caramelized flavour that comes from the 3/4 cups of brown sugar.
So now you know!
- 1 cup softened, unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- sprinkle of my super secret ingredient
Cream together the butter and sugars until it is light and fluffy. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
Sift in all of your dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) and fold everything together.
At this point, you can fold in 1 cup chocolate or butterscotch chips, or roll the dough into a log and freeze it (just in case you crave a single cookie every now and then)
I decided to change how I put my cookies together for this dessert, because I wanted the different chips clearly visible. Here is what I did:
On a lined baking sheet, I rolled tsp-size balls of dough and lined them up. Do not press down on the dough- that will prevent their cute domed tops!
Bake for 5 minutes at 375 F. After 5 minutes, pull the baking sheet out of the oven and place your chocolate/butterscotch chips on top.
Bake for 5 more minutes, pull out, and allow to cool
Wait - what's that? I never mentioned the secret ingredient? Alright, here it is:
After adding the chocolate/butterscotch chips, I sprinkle the entire tray of cookies with kosher salt. Not only does this offset the sweetness of the cookies, but the salt will enhance the caramelized flavour that comes from the 3/4 cups of brown sugar.
So now you know!
And now to totally kill your diet: the extra chocolate
For the Chocolate Chip Cookies (which feature milk chocolate chips), I melted an entire package of bittersweet chocolate, and spread it evenly across wax paper. Then I piped 1/2 cup of white chocolate over top, and sprinkled (ok, ok -- carefully placed) pieces of chocolate chip cookie on top.
For the Chocolate Chip Cookies (which feature milk chocolate chips), I melted an entire package of bittersweet chocolate, and spread it evenly across wax paper. Then I piped 1/2 cup of white chocolate over top, and sprinkled (ok, ok -- carefully placed) pieces of chocolate chip cookie on top.
For the Butterscotch Cookies, I made a chocolate base of milk and dark chocolate (I had some lying around). Then, mostly to complement the colours of the cookies, I melted Peanut Butter Chips and piped them on top of the base. Again, I gently placed my cookie pieces on top. For this version, I sprinkled a little bit more kosher salt on top.
You can let these cool on their own, or give them a little push by throwing them in the freezer like I did
When the chocolate can be easily pulled away from the wax paper, you know it is ready. Now you can break it apart like a regular chocolate bark, but I opted to use my 9-inch chef knife because I wanted to keep my cookie pieces intact.
When the chocolate can be easily pulled away from the wax paper, you know it is ready. Now you can break it apart like a regular chocolate bark, but I opted to use my 9-inch chef knife because I wanted to keep my cookie pieces intact.
So there you have it - Diet Kryptonite!! I have to admit - I didn't even get a piece. Have fun ruining your diet, everyone! |