Martha Stewart's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I should call these "Cassie's Martha Stewart's Chocolate Chip Cookies." Martha may have written the recipe. But 'twas I who slaved over the hot oven to reproduce said recipe. Therefore I'm claiming these wonderful cookies! However, Martha and I must both give credit to the insightful article written in the New York Times last July that gave away the secret to making perfect chocolate chip cookies. The article states that by refrigerating the dough for 12 to 36 hours you are "allowing the dough and other ingredients to fully soak up the liquid — in this case, the eggs — in order to get a drier and firmer dough, which bakes to a better consistency." I've always been intrigued by the idea that cookie dough could be like a fine wine, getting better with age. I decided to test it out with a recipe from Martha Stewart's Cookies (my new go-to for cookie recipes). I used her recipe for Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. I made only half of the recipe, because we still had cupcakes leftover from wing night. I scooped out two cookies from the dough to be baked immediately. I put the rest in an airtight container and tucked it in the back of the fridge (away from hungry eyes).

The first two test cookies were good. How could a homemade chocolate chip cookie NOT be good? They had a slight crispness around the outer edge, but for the most part were very soft. I had no complaints. Almost 48 hours later (yeah I know the article said 36 hours, but I was busy Thursday night), I baked the rest of the cookies. First, I tasted the dough and I could definitely tell a difference. It's hard to describe but it seemed to be a more round flavor. I scooped the dough straight from the fridge, placed them on baking sheets and baked them for 14-16 minutes (about 2 minutes longer than the room temperature dough). The 2 day old cookie dough baked up a little taller and had a slightly softer, cakier (but still chewy) center. The crisp edges extended a bit farther inward. My results were similar to those described in the NYT article..."First there’s the crunchy outside inch or so [1/4 inch on my smaller cookies]... A nibble revealed a crackle to the bite and a distinct flavor of butter and caramel... Then there’s the center, which is soft." I can confidently say I will never make another chocolate chip cookie without refrigerating the dough first!
Read the entire article here OR Conduct your own experiment!


Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Martha Stewart’s Cookies
MAKES ABOUT 3 DOZEN (I halved it and got 15 3-1/2” to 4” cookies)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted but­ter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (Mine were a little yellow because I used vanilla butter nut flavoring)
2 large eggs
2 cups semisweet or milk chocolate chips, or a combi­nation (about 12 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour and baking soda in a bowl. Put butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add salt, vanilla, and eggs; mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Mix in flour mix­ture. Stir in chocolate chips.
2. Drop heaping tablespoons (I used a #30 disher) of dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies, ro­tating sheets halfway through until edges turn golden but centers are still soft, 10 to 12 minutes (14-16 for refrigerated cookies). Let cool on sheets on wire racks for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely. Cookies can be stored between layers ­of parchment in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.­

Oreo Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

The winning flavor with 55 votes is.... Cookies and Cream! Hallelujah, because I've had a major desire to bake these since I started cupcaking back in April. My original plan was to use the recipe in the book Crazy About Cupcakes, but someone recommended the recipe in Cupcakes From The Cake Mix Doctor. For a little while (a VERY little while) I was one of those "I'm too good for cake mix" types. But I can't deny the deliciousness, so any recipe that uses cake mix is alright by me! Everyone loved these cupcakes, especially my dad who wanted to eat 3, but I convinced him that 2 was a healthier number to stop at.

Also, I got some silicone baking cups last month for my birthday. I was leery about using them, because I've heard some folks say that cupcakes actually do stick to them. However, mine worked perfectly. I love the way the cupcakes baked up and stayed perfectly round on top. If it wasn't such a pain to wash and dry 24 of those things, I'd use them all the time!

ingredients half of an Oreo in the bottom of each cupI didn't completely demolish the Oreos into crumbs.

You can see some distinguishable cookie pieces. filled silicone cups ready for the ovenCheck out the beautiful rounded tops that did not sink while they cooled!TADA! Oreo cookie, meet your new fate! Soooo delicious! I know you can't wait for the recipe!

The cupcakes are really incredible! They're so easy to make. You gotta try them! The recipe in the book says to use regular buttercream frosting with the cookie pieces pressed into the tops. But I knew that would be tooth-achingly. Instead, I used the whipped buttercream recipe from Bake & Destroy. I mixed the Oreos pieces into the frosting.

Cupcake recipe from Cupcakes From The Cake Mix Doctor by Anne Byrn.
Frosting recipe adapted from Bake & Destroy.

MY NOTES: The recipe didn't specify, but I let my sour cream come to room temp. I don't know if it was because of the silicone cups, but my cupcakes took about 22 minutes to bake thoroughly.

COOKIES AND CREAM CUPCAKES
MAKES 22 TO 24

30 Oreo cookies
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.
2. Count out 12 Oreos and separate the top and bottom wafers. Make sure each has some of the icing on it. Place one wafer, icing side up, in the bottom of each paper liner. Set them aside. Place the remaining 18 Oreos between sheets of waxed paper or in a large, closed zipper-lock bag and crush them by rolling over them with a rolling pin. Set these crumbs aside.
3. Place the cake mix, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 1 1/2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. Measure out 1 1/2 cups of the crushed Oreos and fold these into the batter until well incorporated. Set aside the remaining crushed Oreos for the frosting. Spoon or scoop 1/3 cup batter into each lined cup­cake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place the pans in the oven.
4. Bake the cupcakes until they are lightly golden and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cup­cakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your finger­tips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.

Store these cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. If you plan to freeze them, don't add the cookie-crumb topping. Wrap them I in aluminum foil or in a cake saver and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw the cup­cakes overnight in the refrigerator and top with cookie crumbs before serving.

COOKIES AND CREAM FROSTING

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
a pinch of salt
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
remaining crushed Oreos

Mix together butter, confectioners sugar, and a pinch of salt until it’s creamy. Increase your mixer speed to high and beat until its light and fluffy. Add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat until its smooth. Fold in crushed Oreos. Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes.

Cupcake Poll #6 - Cookie Cupcakes

Is it just me or has it been a while since you guys have chosen a cupcake flavor for me? Anyway, here is a brand new poll featuring three recipes from Crazy About Cupcakes by Krystina Castella.

This week's poll:

• Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Cupcakes:
  A cupcake with the flavors of an oatmeal raisin cookie is topped with maple cream cheese frosting and what else? An oatmeal raisin cookie, of course!
  
• Oreo Cookie Cupcakes:
  Also known as "Cookies and Cream," a vanilla cupcake with crushed Oreo cookies baked inside is topped with vanilla buttercream with crushed Oreo cookies mixed in! Am I being redundant?
  
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes:
  This is not your typical chocolate chip cupcake. A brown sugar cupcake with a baked-on chocolate chip cookie topping is slathered with vanilla frosting and topped with a mini chocolate chip cookie! (But if the cookie topping is spectacular, I may be tempted to leave well enough alone and not use any frosting at all!)