Best ever Chocolate cookie Recipe

This is a recipe , from  Meredith Graham, a friend I know from church here in Eindhoven. Cookie. Chocolate. Who can't resist. So I made an excuse to bake these with my boys. Elijah wasn't too enthusiastic about it. He made it clear by saying:Elijah very angry!.Mind you, he is only 2 years old and check out that attitude. Humph. Benjamin, my sweetie was all in for cookie baking. He loves to help make stuff. Well, mostly the licking part. So, I thought I would test out Meredith's recipe and give it is "BEST EVA" title.

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies (I got around 35 cookies)
77 g butter @ room temperature (1/3 cup)
120 g crisco- vegetable shortening (2/3 cup)
157 g granulated sugar (Fijn Crystal suiker) (3/4 cup)
187 g packed brown sugar (light bastard suiker) (3/4 cup)
2 eggs
2 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
270 g all-purpose flour/ zeuwse bloem(2 and 1/4 cups but please use a scale for the flour)
250 g chocolate chips (9 oz)

Ingredients needed for the cookies

1. Pre-heat conventional oven to 375 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Cream the butter and shortening until light and fluffy. 
3. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until well blended. 
4. One at a time, add the eggs, scraping down the bowl after each addition. 
5. Add the milk and vanilla and mix just until combined. 
6. In a separate bowl, sift the salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour. 
7. Add flour mixture to butter/sugar mix a bit at a time, mixing just until combined each time, and scraping the bowl often. 
8. Once flour is almost completely incorporated, add the chocolate chips, mix just until distributed. 
9. Drop by rounded spoon onto cookie sheets (I use the two spoon method, scoop with one and push the dough out of the spoon with another spoon) and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. 
10. If you like your cookies very soft, take them out just before you think they are done. If you like a bit of crisp on the outside, leave them until they just begin to brown. Rotate your cookie sheet half-way through baking if your oven is uneven (most are).

Elijah not so happy and made it clear that he was angry

Here are the steps in pictures:

Elijah adding the Crisco

All the butter and Crisco mixed. And licked too!

Benjamin cracking his first egg. And Elijah ready to wear glasses to avoid splashes

Mastering the spooning technique

All set to pop into the oven

Klaar!

I definitely would have got at least 40-45 cookies. But some didn't survive the cookie monsters. They didn't even make it on the baking tray before baking. Monster tactics used: speed licking and eat one spoon-scoop on one spoon. Meredith, I got to say they were the best. I even wrapped a few in baking paper and tied a bow. Benjamin went and gave it to our neighbors on either side. They absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the wrapped goodies before they were whisked away to the neighbors.

They were baked wonderfully in exactly 10 minutes. Left it out to cool and into the box when the next batch came out of the oven. Some of them had funny shapes , but what the heck, they tasted superlicious!


Meredith, has an interesting blog of great bakes, among other things. She has found places to get those baking,cake decorating items in Eindhoven, that long timers like me haven't discovered yet. And she has been here for just a couple of years.Thanks Meredith for your Holland adventures!

Seville Orange Tart

Serves 8
Takes 1 hour to make. 1 hour 10 minutes to cook. Plus cooling.

Ingredients:
4 Seville oranges (or the grated zest of 4 small oranges and the juice of 2 lemons and 2 oranges)
6 medium free-range eggs
250g caster sugar
150ml double cream

For the pastry:

175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
50g icing sugar
100g chilled butter, cut into small pieces, plus extra for greasing
Finely grated zest of 1 small orange(not sevile)
1 large free-range egg, separated
2 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice


1. To make the pastry, sift the flour, icing sugar and a small pinch of salt into a food processor, add the chilled butter and the orange zest. Pulse until it looks like fine breadcrumbs, then tip into a mixing bowl.

2. Mix the egg yolk with the orange juice, add to the bowl, then stir with a round bladed knife until the mixture starts to come together into a ball. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until the mixture forma a smooth dough.

3. Roll the pastry out thinly on a lightly floured surface, then use to line a lightly greased, 4 cm deep, 23 cm loose- bottomed flat tin. Prick the base all over with a fork, then chill for 20- 30 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 200 C/fan 180/ gas 6. Line the pastry case with a crumpled sheet of baking paper and a thin layer of beans or rice, then blind bake for 12- 15 minutes until the edges of the pastry are biscuit colored. Carefully remove the paper and beans/rice, then return the pastry case to the oven for 3-4 minutes.

5. Beat the egg white until slightly frothy, then brush it over the bases and the sides of the pastry case. Return the case to the oven for another 1-2 minutes until set. Remove and leave to cool. Turn the oven down to 120C/fan 100 C/gas 1/2.

6. For the tart filling, finely grate the zest from the oranges, then set aside. Squeeze the juice from the seville oranges (or from the lemons and 2 of zested oranges) to give 180ml. Break the eggs into a bowl, add the caster sugar, then whisk gently with a fork until just mixed but not frothy. Strain the citrus juice, add the double cream, then mix briefly. Strain through a sieve into a large measuring jug, then stir in the citrus zest.

7. Partly pull out the shelf of the preheated oven, slide the pastry case onto it, then pour in the filling. Carefully slide the shelf back in and bake for 40-45 minutes or until just set.
(I thought why do i need to play around with the filling in the oven, so took it out and poured it on place on the kitchen counter. When I had to walk with the tart ,real slow and not to spill the filling , while i walked toward the oven, I understood why that step was very important and was just not some fancy thing to do! :( ). It should still be a little wobbly in the centre, but will firm up as it cools. Remove and leave to cool, but don't refrigerate. This is best served, cut into wedges, on the day it's made.

And my Tart was.......
The zester (does this word exist)that I used made long thin rinds. I should have used a zester that cut them in thin small pieces, like sprinkles. But it tasted really nice and even the pastry was so delicious. It does take some time to get all the juices and did use more dishes than needed, but worth it and was fun to make. I served this to my Mums and Tots group, as they are indeed my guinea pigs to my testing to sweet things!