Season’s Greetings with a story and a recipe!

12/15/2018 by Laura 4 Comments

Happy Holiday’s! It’s been awhile since I showed up in this space. In case you didn’t know the reason for my absence, I’ll explain now. Late last winter we decided it was time to move out of Seattle. We had been talking about it for a few years. For most of my career, I was tethered to the airport, so our choices were limited. Once I cut those ties, we were free to move “almost” anywhere. We wanted to stay fairly close to family and friends, and ensure Dave could continue with his band. We moved Northwest about 70 miles to Camano Island. Dave had spent many wonderful summers here on the island, and knew it was exactly where he wanted to be. I took a little more convincing, but I finally came around. It is an island only due to a slough that separates it from the mainland. But, that separation makes a huge lifestyle difference!

It was the first time we sold a home, the first time we bought a home the conventional way, and the first time Dave made a major move in over 40 years. The purging, packing, laughing, sorting, E-Baying, Craigs Listing, dumping, storing, and donating, continued for about 5 months. There were repairs to be made to our home; including the last minute remodel of the main bath I insisted on. When we weren’t packing, purging, repairing, or painting, we were house hunting. Just typing this exhausts me. Our house was finally listed in early July. The Seattle market had been so crazy, we were concerned when it still hadn’t sold 3 weeks later. Alas, we had a buyer and accepted an offer. We agreed on a closing date of September 9th. It was all of a sudden really real! Dave was leaving his home of 40 years and I was leaving my home of 26 years. And, we did not know where we were going.

The house hunt heated up. We were all over the place in the Northwest corner of Washington, aided by our amazing relator, who has since become a dear friend. We were determined to not be the ones that broke her record for number of houses looked at, which was 60 something. We got to 40 something August 6th. We fell in love with a house. That date is significant, as our closing date was September 9. We planned to close on both houses on that day, as we wanted to avoid putting the rest of our things in storage and moving twice. I coordinated with the movers, the escrow companies with the detail and follow up required to get the Voyager to Mars, even though it was only a 70 mile move! I am pleased to say, we did indeed close on both houses on the same day, the movers were where they were supposed to be, when they were supposed to be and we spent our first night in our new home on September 9th.

That first night was something. Having lived on a very busy road in Seattle for over 25 years, we were both freaked out by how quiet it was in our new home. It took a few days to adjust, but believe me, we have totally adjusted. Listening to the wind rustle through the tall trees in our yard is better then any relaxation tape I have ever heard.

There are still a many boxes in the garage to sort through and both of us are figuring out how to best accommodate our hobbies in our new home. I can tell you that my landscaping and gardening hobby is alive and well. Between the fall sales, the amazing nurseries, and fantastic fall weather, I spent our first six weeks changing many things in our yard. I planted nearly 500 bulbs that will bloom in spring. We planted a dozen trees: fir, spruce, cedar, pine. A dozen bushes: hydrangeas, azaleas, and ferns. We have a long way to go, and I love every minute of it.

In addition to gardening, I’ve reunited with my yarn obsessed, knitting self of my past. It has brought so much joy, friendship and community. Not to mention, added many new pieces to my wardrobe.

What about cooking? Yes there’s cooking. I gave up an amazing gas range when we moved and we are both trying to figure out the electric stove situation. We do have propane and a gas range is in the future. I have not organized my photography gear as efficiently as I like, which makes shooting and blogging recipes fairly challenging. I do take a lot of Instagram photos with my phone, and most of the dishes I prepare can be found here, in the blog archives.

I make these cookies, ON DEMAND, every year. They are everyone’s favorite, including Santa’s. Don’t worry Santa, I will have a nice warm batch of these waiting for you on Camano Island, just like every other year in Seattle.

So there you have it. We are happier then happy, more blessed then we deserve to be and grateful for all things. We hope you have a kind and peaceful holiday season and a healthy and happy New Year!

Have a wonderful evening and thanks for stopping by.

More Savory Less Sweet

Laura, Dave, Jasper and Cooper

Santa’s Favorite Chunky Chocolate, Cranberry and Pistachio Cookies

The combination of dark bittersweet chocolate chunks, tart cranberries and salty, crunchy pistachios is divine. The festive dark red cranberries and the bright green pistachios make this the favorite Christmas cookie at our house. It may become the favorite at your house too!

(I doubled this recipe)

2 1/2 cups organic all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup organic packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup pistachio nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

1 cup dried cranberries

14 ounces bittersweet chocolate chunks

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

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla on medium speed just until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly incorporated, beating 3-5 minutes after each egg. Add 1/2 the flour mixture and gently mix on low one or two minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Add the remaining flour, nuts, chocolate, and cranberries and mix with your hands until all is thoroughly incorporated.

On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough into thirds. Shape each third into a log. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, preferably for 24 hours. (You can refrigerate up to 2 weeks or freeze up to one month.) When ready to bake, let the dough sit at room temperature about 15 minutes, while oven heats.

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Slice the logs into disks 3/4 inch thick and place the disks 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. If the nuts or chips crumble out, simply push them back in.

Bake, rotating the baking sheets midway through baking, until the cookies are very lightly browned in the centers, about 10 minutes. If you like soft chocolate chip cookies, err on the side of under baking. Cookies always continue to bake a little after they have been removed from the oven.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.

Santa will be so pleased to find these cookies waiting for him on Christmas Eve!

Cookies??? Did someone say cookies????

Calling all lovebirds…a special meal for Valentine’s Day

02/04/2017 by Laura Leave a Comment

I previously mentioned we are trying to create a little excitement at dinner time this year. One way we are doing this is to randomly grab a cookbook, open it and make whatever is on that page! I have to say, this “experiment” is working out very well! While I did not make all three recipes below on the same day, I do think they would make an inspired meal for your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day, or any other “show the love” day for that matter.

This post is a little different, as I am going to just “refer” you to the recipes. I am endorsing all of them as truly inspired and delicious, and I hope you will give them a try. I have provided you links to the books and the specific recipes. The photos are from the dishes I prepared for Dave and I. I am privileged to own a copy of all the books referenced.

The Chocolate Orange Beet Cake with Cream Cheese Walnut Frosting, is absolutely delicious. It is from Vivian Howard’s new cookbook, Deep Run Roots and was also featured on her PBS series A Chef’s Life. The book is heavy on southern, seasonal produce. I cannot wait to cook from it this summer, when the fresh ingredients are readily available at the farmers market. I made only 2 changes to the recipe. I used two 9″ layer pans, rather than 3 8″ layer pans. I also frosted the entire cake, sides and top. It all worked out perfectly.

My next “open the book and cook” recipe is from Top Chef Master, Floyd Cardoz. His new book Flavorwalla is filled with recipes inspired by what he cooks at home, what he grew up with and a few from the menus of his restaurants. The Grilled Shrimp with Fennel and Radish Salad, is something that he served at Tabla. It makes a wonderful first course, or a light meal. It gave me the chance to use my mandolin! It’s a must for slicing the fennel and radishes perfectly thin.

I seem to be going backwards with the courses. But hey, you can certainly start with chocolate cake if you want to….with a little ‘bubbly, and come back later for the rest of the meal!

The main course is also from Flavorwalla! This one was not a random recipe, but one I chose due to a craving for fresh, seared scallops. It’s quite an unusual take on traditional pan seared scallops, with the Cider Glaze over the top and the Cumin Scented Cauliflower Puree underneath. It all works! It’s an amazingly flavorful dish. Here is the link for Cider-Glazed Seared Scallops with Cauliflower Puree. I especially love the addition of cumin, ginger and shallot to the cauliflower puree. It adds a wonderful depth of flavor and you will not miss the cream or butter at all!

So there ya go….Valentine’s or any other special occasion meal, all laid out for you. All you have to do is shop and cook, pour the bubbly and light the candles.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a wonderful evening!

Laura

A few production photos….just for fun!

“Familiar” Lunchbox Cupcakes

01/25/2016 by Laura Leave a Comment

I’m still cooking for one and it is not any easier than it was a couple months ago. Dave is doing amazingly well; unfortunately his throat is still too swollen to swallow more than a smoothie, or an occasional IPA! The doctors tell us this is not unusual as it takes a long time to heal from intense radiation treatments. Dave being Dave, he has taken to making my dinner. It’s a nice break for me, but I believe it must be torture for him!

Flipping through Food & Wine magazine Friday night, I became intrigued with Mindy Segal’s Chocolate Buttermilk Snack Cakes. The truth is, I really miss baking. I used to bake before Fentons band practice as I knew whatever I came up with, would be gone in a few hours. I actually like “the baking” more than I like “the eating”. I am happy with one or two cookies, or as in this case, one cupcake. I knew our friend Jeff would be thrilled with a “clean” version of that familiar and “toxic” lunch box treat. Jeff and I frequently discuss possible recreations of our childhood favorites! I baked the cakes on Saturday, filled, frosted and delivered them on Sunday. The only resemblance to the elementary school lunch-box version, is the squiggle on top! The rich, moist dark chocolate cupcake is filled with creamy marscapone cheese and sweetened whipped cream and topped with a bittersweet dark chocolate glaze. My adaptation of Mindy’s recipe is below. And yes – that is Dave’s original lunch box!

For the cupcakes

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup strong, brewed coffee, cooled

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup canola oil

1 large egg

Pour the buttermilk and the coffee into a 2-cup measuring cup. Add the vanilla. Set aside.

Place the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Fluff with a whisk to break up any clumps and mix all ingredients together. Set aside.

In a large stand mixer, beat the sugar and the oil until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated.

With the mixer running on low, add 1/3 the flour mixture and 1/3 the milk mixture. Repeat until all ingredients are incorporated.

Heat the oven to 350′. Oil two 12 cup cupcake tins, with coconut or canola oil spray. Place 2-3 Tablespoons of batter in each cupcake cup.

Bake for 6 minutes, rotate pans and bake another 6 minutes. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let cupcakes cool slightly and remove to a rack, placed over a baking sheet. Meanwhile, make the filling.

For the filling

1 cup mascarpone cheese

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of kosher salt

Beat the heavy cream with the powdered sugar for a few minutes to thicken up a bit. Add the vanilla and the mascarpone cheese and continue to whip until smooth and thick.

Two options for filling the cupcakes:

Slice the cupcake 2/3 of the way through and place filling in the middle of each one with a spoon.
Remove the center “core” of the cupcake and fill them using a pastry bag fitted with a metal tip. This is what we did. We used a large straw to “core” the cupcake.

Fill all cupcakes, and return to the wire rack placed over a baking pan. Meanwhile, make the glaze.

For the dark chocolate glaze

(inspired by this recipe)

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of Salt

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, combine the heavy cream with the sugar and bring to a simmer, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Pour the warm cream over the chocolate and let stand until melted, about 5 minutes; whisk until smooth. Whisk in the butter, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Let the dark chocolate glaze cool until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes.

Drizzle a large spoonful of glaze over each cupcake. Please the cupcakes in the refrigerator to cool, at least 30 minutes.

I used Betty Crocker white frosting in the tube, with the tip provided, to make the squiggles on top. You could use homemade Royal icing. I chose not to, as I needed such a small amount.

I hope you enjoy these!

Have a wonderful evening,

Laura

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread – Epicurious Holiday Cookie Contest

01/03/2015 by Laura Leave a Comment

It started with this email, received December 15, 2014:

“‘Tis the season for holiday baking and sharing! We invite you to recreate an Epicurious cookie recipe for the chance to win a Vitamix Professional Series 750 (valued at $639) and your cookie photo featured on Epicurious.com.”

How fun, cookies, photos – right up my alley; for December. The blog is More Savory, Less Sweet, after all! This will be my last sugar, chocolate, calorie laden post for awhile…Well, at least until Valentine’s Day! There was a list of six cookie recipes to choose from. I love shortbread cookies, and I happened to have a lot of chocolate on hand, so my choice was easy. I did change it up a bit. The recipe called for cutting the shortbread in rectangles, I chose to cut the dough into rounds instead. It is amazing to Dave and I how much the chocolate changes the flavor of a plain shortbread cookie. They are just delicious. Enjoy!

Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread

yield
Makes about 3 dozen cookies

With its cloak of pure chocolate, this buttery cookie is sublime. For the best flavor, use a high-quality pure vanilla extract and the best chocolate you can find — preferably Valrhona. Melting the chocolate in two stages helps keep it at an even temperature — insuring that it will set evenly.

Ingredients

(I used all organic ingredients, where possible)

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
8 ounces high-quality semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
Sparkly sugar, if desired

Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 325°F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt at medium speed just until smooth. Add flour and mix at low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and shape into 2 disks.

On lightly floured work surface, roll out 1 piece dough to 1/4-inch-thick rectangle. Using fluted pastry wheel or large knife, cut into 2- by 1-inch rectangles, or 2″ circles. Transfer cookies to baking sheets, spacing 1 1/2 inches apart. Repeat with remaining dough.

Prick each cookie several times with tines of fork, then chill 10 minutes. Sprinkle with decorators, sparkly sugar, if desired. Bake until edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on pans 5 minutes, then transfer to racks and cool completely.

To decorate: Line baking sheet with clean parchment or wax paper. In medium heatproof bowl set over saucepan of simmering water, melt half chocolate. Add remaining chocolate, remove bowl from heat, and stir occasionally until smooth. Pour into small bowl.

Dip each cookie halfway into chocolate, let excess drip off, and place on baking sheet. Let stand until chocolate is set, about 1 hour. Store in airtight container at room temperature. (Do not refrigerate.)

Happy New Year, and thank you for following More Savory, Less Sweet!

Santa’s Favorite Chunky Chocolate, Cranberry, Pistachio Cookies – 2014 Food Blogger Cookie Swap

12/15/2014 by Laura 5 Comments

When I signed up for the 4th Annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap, there was no doubt in my mind which cookie I would be making. Everyone seems to love this cookie. It’s not frilly or fussy like a lot of holiday cookies. The combination of dark bittersweet chocolate chunks, tart cranberries and salty, crunchy pistachios is divine. The festive dark red cranberries and the bright green pistachios make this the favorite Christmas cookie at our house. It may become the favorite at your house too!

Santa’s Favorite Chunky Chocolate, Cranberry, Pistachio Cookies

(inspired by David Lebovitz, Chocolate Chip Cookies, from Ready for Dessert)

(I doubled this recipe)

2 1/2 cups organic all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup organic packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup organic cane sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup pistachio nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

1 cup dried cranberries

14 ounces bittersweet chocolate chunks

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

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Slice the logs into disks 3/4 inch thick and place the disks 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. If the nuts or chips crumble out, simply push them back in.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to handle, then use a spatula to transfer them to a wire rack.

Santa will be so pleased to find these cookies waiting for him on Christmas Eve!

Happy Holidays from More Savory, Less Sweet.

Cookies??? Did someone say cookies????

A Chocolate Covered Sunday…. Fleur de Sel Caramels, Chocolate Wrapped Caramels and Peanut Butter Cups

02/10/2014 by Laura 1 Comment

We set out this weekend to make a few caramels for Valentine’s Day. When it became apparent the first batch was probably going to crystallize, I remembered a trick I learned the previous weekend at a candy making class. I added about 1/3 of cup of cold, heavy cream to the simmering mixture and the caramel snapped right out of its downward spiral! Not 100% convinced it was going to be ok, we made a second batch. They were both perfect! Feeling extra brave, fresh off the newly learned caramel save, I decided we would dip half the caramels in melted chocolate, since I had also learned to temper chocolate at last weeks class. (The class http://thepantryatdelancey.com/, taught by Ashley Rodriguez http://notwithoutsalt.com/.) Nearly done with the salted and chocolate coated caramels, I still had a lot of melted chocolate on hand. I remembered the candy mold I had bought awhile ago, and I thought WHY NOT Peanut Butter Cups! The mold was a silicone mold and I hated it. I will purchase solid molds prior to ever doing molded chocolates again.

For the Fleur de Sel Caramels (Ina Garten’s recipe, which I tripled to make 120 caramels – a 10″ x 15″ pan)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup of water

1/4 cup light corn syrup

1 cup heavy whipping cream

5 tablespoons butter, unsalted

1 teaspoon fine fleur de sel, plus extra for sprinkling

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Butter an 8″ square baking pan, set aside.

In a deep, heavy saucepan combine 1/4 cup water, the sugar and white corn syrup, mixing very well. Take the pan over to the sink. Dampen your hand with cold water and “wash down” the sides of the pan to ensure NOT ONE single grain of sugar is on the side of the pan! Repeat all away around the pan until no sugar crystals are stuck to the side.

Move the pan to the stove and bring the sugar mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until the mixture is a warm golden brown. Don’t stir — just swirl the pan. Very important to prevent the formation of crystals.

While the sugar syrup is cooking, in a small pot, bring the cream, butter and 1 teaspoon of fleur de sel to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat and set aside.

When the sugar mixture is done, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Be careful — it will bubble up violently. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon.

Cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F (firm ball) on a high quality, reliable digital thermometer.

Very carefully (it’s hot!) pour the caramel into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with fleur de sel. (DO NOT SALT THE CARAMELS YOU INTEND TO ENROBE IN CHOCOLATE.) Cool until firm, overnight or in the fridge for a few hours.

When the caramel is firm, pry it from the baking pan. Cut into strips and then cut into squares on a cutting board. Wrap the candies.

For the Caramels Wrapped In Chocolate

About two pounds great quality chocolate – I used a combination of Divine 70% Bittersweet Baking Bars (3 x 5.3 ounce) and Ghirardelli Premium Baking Bar 60% (4 x 4 ounce) – chopped

Additional chocolate, about 1 pound as “seed” chocolate for tempering – chopped

Melt the two pounds of the chopped chocolate in a bowl over a double boiler, over a low simmer. Make sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Bring the chocolate to a temperature in the range of 114′-120′.

Remove the bowl from the double boiler. Add about 1/4 of the remaining chopped chocolate. You are going to reduce the temperature of the chocolate to 88′-91′, by adding the cold chocolate and stirring.

(The temperature is reduced by the addition of chocolate….not by the ambient temperature.) Continue adding the “seed” chocolate, stirring and taking the temperature. Once the desired temperature is reached (88′-91′), your melted chocolate is ready to use.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Have the cut caramels ready to go. Using a chocolate dipping fork or two dinner forks, roll the caramel in the melted chocolate. Remove the caramel, tap the fork on the side of the bowl to remove the excess chocolate. Place the tip of the fork on the pan, and push the caramel off with the second fork.

For the Peanut Butter Cups

Check the temperature of your chocolate. You may need to repeat the tempering process, if it is too cool.

Coat a candy mold with tempered chocolate. Swirl, invert the mold over a bowl to remove the excess chocolate. Scape the mold to remove the extra chocolate from the edges. You may need to repeat the “chocolate rain” (letting the excess drip into a bowl) one more time. Once the mold is covered evenly, add the peanut butter filling. Place peanut butter in a pastry or zip lock bag. Cut a tiny hole and pipe the peanut butter into the center of the chocolates. You will need to remove any excess that is too close to the top.

Cover the mold with the tempered chocolate, scraping away the excess with a pastry scraper or spatula. Chill until set, about 30 minutes. Remove candy from mold. Keep cold until ready to serve. Place in candy cups.

Possibly The Best Brownie

04/17/2013 by Laura Leave a Comment

Having recently been gifted treats from Bouchon Bakery as well as a copy of the book, I have been anxious to do some serious baking. I also recently received “ad hoc at home” and will likely make every recipe in the book! For some reason, I decided to start with Chef Keller’s Brownie recipe. Thanks to Amazon Prime for the quick delivery of the Silicone cake pans*, and the Chef Shop for some amazing Italian chocolate and cocoa powder, I was able to whip up a double batch this afternoon.

Ingredients

As I have mentioned before, I use organic ingredients wherever possible.

3/4 cup of flour

1 cup unsweetened alkalized cocoa powder

(I used the fabulous Pernigotti Cocoa Powder from Italy)

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature (yes – that IS 3 sticks)

3 large eggs

1 3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste or vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups 64% chocolate chips or chopped chocolate of your choice

(I used Agostini Single Origin Peru 70%)

Garnish – Powder Sugar

Preheat oven to 350′. If not using Silicone, grease and flour a 9×9 cake pan. Set aside.

Sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt into a medium bowl.

In a small microwaveable bowl, melt 1/2 of the butter. Cut remaining butter into small chunks. Add to the melted butter and stir until mixture is very creamy and only tiny bits of non-melted butter remain.

In a stand mixer, mix eggs and sugar together for 3 minutes on low speed, until very pale and thick. Add vanilla.

With the mixer on the lowest speed, alternate adding the 1/3 of the sifted dry ingredients with 1/3 of the butter mixture, until all is combined. Add in the chopped chocolate. I also added one cup of chopped, toasted pecans at this stage.

Spread batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes. Be careful not to overcook. Completely cool brownies in pan before cutting. (If using Silicone baking pans, remove brownies to a cutting board to cut.) Dust with powdered sugar just prior to serving.

*About my decision to try the Silicone pans: I have always hated the outside edges of brownies, cakes or bar cookies that inevitably end up dry, crunchy or even burnt when baked in a glass or metal pan. When Chef Keller recommended using Silicone, I decided to give them a try. They were not expensive – just hard to find, other than on-line.

Kitchen Therapy – Baking Cookies

03/24/2013 by Laura Leave a Comment

If you search Google for “The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie” you will end up with hundreds of results, as I did on Sunday morning. I’ve grown tired of the recipe on the back of the yellow bag of “chocolate” chips. I wanted to try something new. I found Jacques Torres recipe on Martha Stewart’s web site. I was pretty sure that combination would produce a darn good cookie, and I was right!

There are hundreds of professional baker bloggers, who have fabulous advice. As a home cook, I will tell you the most important things I have learned about baking:

You must measure precisely
You must follow the steps in the order written
Check your oven temperature for accuracy
Make sure your flour, spices, baking powder and baking soda are fresh

A few things that have made me a much better cookie baker:

Use the best butter, chocolate, nuts and flour you can
Line your baking sheets with parchment paper
Use a dough scoop to ensure consistency in size and even baking
Make a “test” cookie
Cookies will continue baking after being removed from the oven
Let them settle on the baking sheet before moving them to the cooling rack

Ingredients

Recipe adapted from The Martha Stewart Show, May 2007

1 pound unsalted butter

1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar

4 large eggs

3 cups plus 2 tablespoons pastry flour

3 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 pounds Jacques Torres House (60 percent cocoa) Chocolate or other best-quality semi-sweet bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped. I used 3 bags of 62% Dark chocolate chunks, as I did not feel like chopping chocolate.

I added 2 cups of chopped, toasted pecans just before adding the chocolate chunks

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. (If you have a convection baking option, use it if you plan to bake more than one sheet at a time.) Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Toast 2 cups of pecans for 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add both flours, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, pecans and chocolate; mix until well combined.

Using a 4-ounce scoop for larger cookies or a 1-ounce scoop for smaller cookies, scoop cookie dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly browned, but still soft, about 20 minutes for larger cookies and about 15 minutes for smaller cookies. Cool slightly on baking sheets before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.