Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Tuesdays With Dorie: Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies


This week for Tuesdays With Dorie, our recipe was mocha chocolate chip cookies. I checked out the recipe and it pretty much looked like the standard Toll House cookie recipe, minus a bit of flour.

I hate that recipe.

Hate it. Hate it. Hate it.

I can make Italian, Swiss, and French buttercreams. I can make marshmallows. I can make croissants. For the life of me, I can't make the Toll House cookie recipe generate a cookie that I'd actually want to eat. I've tried every trick I can think of to make that recipe create something other than a flat, fragile, lacy debacle: I've tried using melted butter instead of room temperature solid butter. I've tried refrigerating the dough. I've tried baking on cold sheet pans. I've tried using parchment and Silpats. I've tried ungreased cookie sheets. Still, the same result. The most success I've had is either by using more flour or by using bread flour. (I did have some moderate success using the recipe in the book from the One Girl Cookies folks, but can't quite recall how they have tweaked it.)

When I looked at this recipe, my first thought was, "This is total filler in this cookbook. It's a Toll House cookie with instant coffee in it. Big deal." I made it anyway. Clearly, I took a slightly different tack.

First, I did substitute bread flour. After letting the dough refrigerate for 24 hours, I opted to bake two test cookies to see what would happen. They flattened out more than I wanted, so I went to plan B. I lined a 9x13 pan with nonstick aluminum foil (a completely genius product), dumped in the remaining dough, and baked it for 25 minutes. Listen, I used a pound of Ghirardelli double chocolate chips in this batter. I wasn't going to end up with a batch of something inedible. Hence, hello, bar cookie!

They are perfectly adequate. I'm not sure I love the combo of coffee and diced apricots, but whatever. They're edible, and I know they'll get eaten.

For the recipe, visit this week's host!


6 comments:

Sweet and That's it said...

First of all, my respect for baking them even if you "hated!hated!hated!" them.
They look great even as "bars", kind of Mocha chocolate chip brownies,
but I am so sorry that you did not love them as much as I did.
Did you ever try adding pecan or other nuts to them?
Hopefully April recipe will suit you better...

Sara said...

I was so unimpressed with these cookies. Everyone who had one liked them, except for me. The frail, crispy cookie is definitely not my thing. And I agree with you on the Toll House cookie recipe. I've never liked it either. I hope April brings something a bit better!

Jessica of My Baking Heart said...

I love bar cookies. Nice save! :)

Have Apron....Will Bake said...

Okay, that's brilliant! And they look so good as a bar. Good thinking!

gfcelebration said...

Love your bar cookies. Years ago, that's how I made all my cookies. They always turn out great, and the baking and prep. time is shorter.

Cathleen | My Culinary Mission said...

I love the bar look! Great idea. I'm sure I would have passed on this recipe if I felt as you do about Toll House cookies. I liked the flavor combo if this recipe. Then again I lean toward the odd recipes. :)