The Petit Four

Sometimes I have this weird ability to make myself insanely busy. Or overcomplicating things. And I don’t always match said weird talent with a companion talent like say, being able to balance everything.

So when I feel like I’m trying to dodge an impending ball of work (think opening scene of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark), nothing clears my head and calms me down quite like baking. The methodical sifting, stirring, pouring, folding massages out the lines of frustration etched onto my day. No matter how many times I mess up a verb conjugation or my tired brain says “garbaaage” instead of détritus, I can’t really mess up baking if I just follow the directions.  What matters is that I bake chocolate chip cookies while listening to This American Life.

The chocolate chip cookie has a certain allure to it. It’s a basic combination of flour, butter, sugar and chocolate, but it somehow has managed to create this certain je ne sais quoi that gets people up in arms about the perfect cookie. Some people, like the New York Times, think they have the Chocolate Chip Cookie’s “come hither” taste down to a science, claiming that it is the ultimate chocolate chip cookie. Others have certain rules and procedures they follow when making the “perfect” cookie. But I say to hell with it. Part of the reason why the Chocolate Chip Cookie is great, why it has that certain je ne sais quoi quality, is because it’s true essence lies in its simplicity. You, a bowl, and a wooden spoon. A powerful combination that can result in something that will make most men weak in the knees. If you try and deconstruct the cookie you’re missing the point. So, I won’t claim this is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe, I’ll just say that it’s just damn good and the act of making it is therapeutic perfection.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Dorie Greenpan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2/3 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
12 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment or spray with cooking spray.

In a small bowl, whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together.

In a large bowl, beat butter on medium speed for about 1 minute until smooth (you can use a wooden spoon if you want.)  Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes until well blended.  Beat in the vanilla.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each egg is added to fully incorporate into the batter.  Reduce mixer speed to low to avoid spraying, and slowing add the dry ingredients in 3 portions, mixing only until each addition is fully incorporated.

With a wooden spoon, mix in chocolate and nuts if you are using them.

Dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Spoon the dough by slightly rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between spoonfuls.

Place the cookies in the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. At the midway point during baking, rotate the baking sheet.  The cookies will be done when they are brown around the edges and golden in the center.  Pull the baking sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 5 minutes before transferring to cool on racks.

Chicago is a confused city right now.  Some days it snows.  Some days there are monsoons.  Some days the sky is so blue, the sun so brilliant that shadows sharply etch their shape onto the sidewalk.

Fortunately, yesterday was a day that Chicago weather and I were friends.  It was hard not to feel the itching call of warm weather as I walked home, scheming of future croquet parties and grilling escapades.  It finally felt like the city was shucking off the winter shackles and ready to leap into spring.  I couldn’t be happier. That is, until Renee called.

“Want to come over to bake and drink beers?”

Oh my, it’s a good feeling when friends speak your language.

After taking care of a nasty flat tire on my sister’s car, I found myself in her beautiful and oh-so-very-navy blue dining room ready to get down to business.  Billie Holiday was playing, there was a cold bottle of Steam Anchor Porter in my hand and chocolate was melting in the makeshift double-boiler we created.  People, these things are the makings of a perfect night.  All you need to make it better is a handful of Chocolate Espresso cookies.

These cookies will win hearts and minds.  You could subdue the nastiest of people, prevent unrest, and end wars with these cookies.  People will be powerless in the face of the fudgy, chocolatey insides and the hint of coffee.   Give me your weak, your tired.  I will give them cookies.

Chocolate Espresso cookies from Gourmet

Reading through the reviews of this recipe I knew it was going to be a winner when somebody gave it a bad review because they “felt they were too much like brownies.”  Trust me, this is no problem.  This is a delicious happenstance.

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3 large eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons finely ground dark-roast coffee beans
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F and grease 2 baking sheets.

In a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, melt unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup chocolate chips, and butter, stirring until smooth.  Remove from heat.

In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat eggs, sugar, and ground coffee on high speed until very thick and pale.  The mixture will form a ribbon when beaters are lifted.  Beat in melted chocolate mixture.

Mix in flour, baking powder and salt until fully incorporated.  Stir in the remaining chocolate chips and walnuts if you’re using them.

Refrigerate batter for about an hour.  This will firm it up and make it easier to scoop up batter.  After chilled, you can drop batter by tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto the baking sheets.  Or you can hand roll the batter into little balls and place onto baking sheets.  Place in oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  The cookies will be puffed and cracked on top.  Cool cookies on baking sheet for a minute or two before transferring to racks to cool completely.

I would suggest underbaking the cookies just a little bit to make them extra soft and chewy inside.

Yield: Enough to turn an entire office into putty in your hands.