Mmmmmm...Big, Moist, Chewy Cookies

Cafe Society
1

Get your minds out of the gutter for a moment and reflect upon the holy grail of cookie baking - not a Holy Grail, like the kind that Indiana Jones went searching for, only to run into Nazis (was anybody else confused by Nazis showing up in a show about religion?) who apparently needed to complete a silver pattern, but a different grail altogether, and one you wouldn’t pour wine into - the large, chewy cookie, crisp around the edge and soft and moist in the middle, not unlike the suntanned beauty from Ipanema that Joao Gilberto sang about in the 60s with his sister, Astrud, and accompanied by Stan Getz.

Okay, now I’m about to share a very simple cookie secret with you. It’s not really all that secret, as most accomplished bakers know about this technique and utilize it to great success and acclaim. Anybody can make a moist cookie. But to make a proper moist and chewy cookie with the aforementioned combination of crunch and chew requires patience.

So here is a recipe for oatmeal/raisin/walnut cookies, and feel free to add your own versions.

Dry ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (or use baker’s flour for a better texture)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 heaping tsp Baking Spice
1/2 tsp Vietnamese Cinnamon

Whisk these ingredients together in a large bowl. If you don’t want to buy the spices, you can use any combination of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, anise, cardamom, etc. that suits you. Remember, that can of spice that’s been sitting in your cupboard for the last three years is dead and should be put out of your misery, unless you really like sawdust in your food.

Wet ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla (not imitation vanilla)

Cream these ingredients together with a mixer. Then stir in the dry ingredients by hand, or stir the wet into the dry; it doesn’t really matter, just don’t overwork it.

Add in:
3 cups oats (not instant oats)
1 cup raisins (I prefer golden)
1/2-1 cup broken walnut pieces

Now here is the critical part. Most people make cookies when they’re either hungry for them or need to get them out the door quickly. That’s fine, but if you want a superior product you MUST do the following: cover the cookie dough (in the bowl) with plastic wrap, making sure to contact the dough surface with the plastic, and refrigerate 24 to 36 hours. This is not negotiable. What takes place on a micro level cannot be rushed. Don’t leave it for more than 36 hours.

Heat your oven to 350F/175C. Using either a spoon or a scoop, form the dough into balls about 2" in diameter. Try not to compact the dough excessively, as it can make the cookies dense. Place the balls on an ungreased (or lightly greased, depending on your sheets) cookie sheet (or on parchment paper on cookie sheets) and flatten slightly with a fork. These will make cookies about 3-4" in diameter, so leave enough room between the balls. I usually only put nine per batch. You can sprinkle a few grains of course kosher salt on each cookie, but that’s optional.

Bake 10-13 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly and golden. The tendency is to overbake, as the cookies may appear to not be done. If you can still see moisture in the middle, or through any cracks, they’re good to go. In fact, I’ve taken them out when there’s still a puddle of buttery, sugary goodness in the middle. Remove from the oven and let sit on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes to make removal easier. Slide onto a wire rack to finish cooling and store in an airtight container.

2

Well, Typo Knig once proposed marriage to a co-worker’s boyfriend when said co-worker (and boyfriend) brought in some really good chocolate chip cookies to the office… so he can’t complain about me proposing to you, now can he? :wink:

But seriously - what’s with the letting the dough rest for 24 hours? Does it allow the moisture to penetrate the oats or something? If you don’t wait, is the texture not as good?

(Oh, an aside to anyone reading this thread who might be tempted to use “brownulated” brown sugar in this or any other cookie recipe - don’t. We make mix-in-a-jar gifts every Christmas and the brown sugar layer is always a bit of a hassle, so one year I had the brilliant idea to use the brownulated stuff. The package claims the stuff is good for baking, as well as sprinkling etc. The package lies. The cookies tasted OK, but the texture was, well, not right. Dryer than usual, or something. )

3

Not the oats. The resting period gives the flour time to absorb the liquid in the mix, resulting in a firmer dough and better final cookie texture. If this doesn’t happen, dry cookies result. Most people who don’t like oatmeal cookies cite dryness as the reason, but there’s no reason for that to be the case.

The following chocolate chip recipe was posted on the New York Times and is as close to heaven in a cookie as you’ll get. I use minimum 62% cacao chocolate bars and chop them up, since that’s what I can get locally. Last time I made them, I used chocolate bars that contained espresso, and threw in a bunch of chocolate nibs I had lying around, plus some walnuts. You have to watch these closely or they’ll get too brown on the bottoms. They’re done earlier than you think, and 18-20 minutes was too long, IMO.

Time: 45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons

(8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)

Sea salt.

  1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

  2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

  3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

  4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.

4

Sorry. While the resting thing sounds good, and the recipe sounds yummy, I’m not a fan of huge, soggy cookies. I prefer bite-size or normal size, and while soft in the middle is wonderful if you are eating them warm from the pan, after a few days they just fall apart. I need cookies that are crisper. And eating a giant cookie is a commitment of calories I can no longer afford to make…a bite-size cookie lets me have great taste and flavor without using up half the day’s calorie allotment. My coworker always makes giant cookies because she says she’s lazy and only wants to bake a pan or two…and then sighs because she can’t lose weight.

But I will try the recipes…I especially love the salt on top. I’ve tried that before, and it went over very well, and it was surprising how many people couldn’t identify the taste…just knew that they liked it!

5

Thanks for the method.
But I prefer the Ipanemians exclusively soft and moist, with wine poured into.

6

Mmm, might have to try this. For mostly the past six months I have been perfecting pies. Mmm, PIE. I have taken good advantage of all of the summer fruits, and am starting to feel sad that the selection will soon begin to dwindle. Might be a good winter to perfect cookies!

7

They’re not soggy. I don’t like those either. They’re crisp around the first half inch of edge, and moist and chewy in the middle. The ones I make don’t fall apart.

Oh, and you don’t have to eat the whole cookie at once, you know. :smiley:

8

My little homage to the Bulwer Lytton entries.

9

I’m sorry…those words individually have meaning, but put together I cannot understand what you’re saying. :wink:

10

I feel your pain. And these are so damn good, your tongue goes into tractor beam mode, and you try to bite yourself if you attempt to remove the cookie from your mouth area.