Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies

   


   It's a red day.


   My body was scrunched up into a ball. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the pain away. Beautiful blondies to be made, cookie recipes to try, cakes to drool over... I fell asleep.


   Some eight hours later I was back in the kitchen, thinking of what to make. Mum made some kuah durian- how do I translate that to English... durian gravy I suppose, which you can eat with slices of bread or roti jala, a nice sort-of-pancake that's yellow in colour. I'll try to get Mum to write an estimation of the ingredients needed for the recipe and post it here (she usually just bungs in the amount she thinks is needed and they always turn out lovely).


   Meanwhile, I sat watching Mum cook. Then I stared at the oven. It stared back. I decided to make Tate's Chocolate Chip cookies, a recipe I took from Gwyneth Paltrow's lovely site called Goop.  I'm on this search for really nice crispy and crunchy chocolate chip cookies because that's how Mum and my younger brother likes them. So far I haven't had much success but maybe I haven't tried enough.


   I posted my version of the recipe, but I think it's best if you go with the original version. After cutting down on the sugar (it has become a habit now), the cookies were still quite sweet but you could also taste the baking soda a little, which is a no-no. I'm still thinking of how I can cut down on the sugar but avoid the bitter taste.


   I also only had a small amount of chocolate chips left, so I put a measly amount of 1/2 cup into the batter. The original recipe called for 2 cups! I know, I know. Mean! But I had a craving for something else with chocolate chips so I wanted to save some for that.


   I also used soft brown sugar instead of dark brown sugar, which is why the colour didn't turn out as dark as shown in Goop. 


   The cookies really spread so be sure to space them far, far away from each other. Two inches, to be exact. Next time I'll add some nuts.

*********************************************************

Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies

taken and adapted from Gwyneth Paltrows's site, Goop

[click HERE for original recipe]

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature (I used margarine)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup soft brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tsp water

1 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 cup chocolate chips (next time I'll definitely put more)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease or line baking sheet with baking paper.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in one bowl. 

3. Use a wooden spoon to beat the butter around a bit and then add the sugar. Mix well.

4. Add water and vanilla and eggs. Mix well.

5. Add flour and mixed until just combined.

6. Add chocolate chips and your favourite nuts, if desired (highly recommended). Mix until incorporated.

7. Drop teaspoonfuls of batter onto prepared baking sheet (but of course you can choose how big you want your cookies to be)

8. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are nice and brown.

9. Cool on a rack before lifting the cookies off and storing in an airtight container.