Chinese people don't bake. We steam, we fry, we sauté, we grill, we boil, we sous-vide, we braise. We do not bake. I vaguely remember my mother trying her hand at various "healthful" vegetable (zucchini, carrot, pumpkin) cakes frosted in sour cream (as in, she simply slathered the rounds in unadulterated Daisy) and viscerally recall a (browning) banana + (expiring) cheddar cheese casserole (surprisingly tasty), but for the most part, the white, electric oven of our first home in America slumbered peacefully for seven years, guarding the the stock pot, various strainers, and B-list pans.
In the 90's, my parents completed their graduate degrees; Dad received an associate professor posting; we packed our bags for the Heartland. In our new (old) house, the oven, determined to shed its ill-assigned security detail, slowly promoted itself into a more appropriate and inspiring position: Mom embarked upon a quest (that spanned two decades) to perfect low-fat cheesecake; Dad discovered Costco, bringing home family-size racks of ribs that slow-roasted for an entire day until meat and bone parted with a porky whisper; I became our resident baker.
It started out simple and utilitarian: brownies for bake sales, snickerdoodles for class parties, and then quickly escalated to more elaborate edibles: dark chocolate biscotti with tart Montgomery cherries and hazelnuts for Ravinia Festival outings, marble cake with chocolate raspberry pudding and cream cheese frosting for birthdays, Christmas box sets comprising 6-12 varieties for holiday parties.
These days, every family member has claimed a perennial favorite: pecan puffs rolled in powdered sugar for Mom; peanut butter cookies made only with Smucker's Natural for Dad; lemon bars spiked with extra zest for Tao. (Hubs' choice will be added to this distinguished list come Christmas 2016.) As for me, whose sweet tooth barely registers on the sugar scale, I am all about the chocolate chip cookie (C^3).
Does the blogosphere need yet another C^3 recipe? Absolutely not. But I've probably made a quarter of the recipes out there, and this is my long-standing favorite. Based on the drop cookies in Joy of Cooking, sifted with the wisdom of David Lebovitz, sprinkled with notes of WGT, these cookies come out crispy on the outside and dense and chewy on the inside; each bite pregnant with toasted nuts and humming with just enough sweetness.
- Cut 1/2 c. (= 1 stick or 8 TB) unsalted butter into pea-size cubes. (Tip: You want the butter somewhere between just-out-of-the-fridge cold and room temp. Too cold and it will be difficult to combine with the sugar; too warm and the cookies will spread too much when you bake them.)
- Beat with 1/2 c. granulated white sugar + 1/2 c. packed light brown sugar until smooth.
- Mix in 1 large egg + 1 tsp. vanilla extract + 1/2 tsp. baking soda.
- In a separate bowl, mix 1 1/4 c. AP flour + 1/2 tsp. salt (+ 1 tsp. ground cinnamon). Add to the batter and mix until smooth.
- Mix in 1 1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chunks) + 1 1/2 c. toasted walnuts. It will seem like there's not enough batter to incorporate the chips and nuts. Trust me, there's just enough. (Tip: Chopping the walnuts BEFORE you toast them = exponentially more toasted goodness.)
- Drop 2TB scoops onto parchment, leaving ~3 inch buffers. Bake at 300 degrees for 15-18 minutes until just starting to brown.
- Eat excessively while they're warm. Cool thoroughly before storing.
Oh, hey, here's a completely gratuitous photo of Pinot pup because she's just soooo damn cute ... patiently waiting at my feet .... willing me to drop some cookie dough. Guess I'll be adding puppy cookies to the Christmas bakeathon.