Operation Chocolate Chip Cookie: Trial 4

Yeah, yeah, if you've been paying attention, you will have noticed that I skipped Operation Chocolate Chip Cookie: Trial 3. Well, that version was a Bobby Flay recipe from the Food Network. The cookies were all right, soft, and cake-like. Also, they called for chopped dark chocolate. Even though I thought that I was leaving the pieces fairly large and chunky, apparently I didn't as the chocolate was sort of lost in the cake-like cookie. There, now you have a recap of Trial 3. Moving on to Trial 4...

Good news: I have recently purchased a book called "The Search for the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie" by Gwen Steege. Here's the back story: There was in this inn that served chocolate chip cookies as a bedtime snack to its guests. In 1987, they sponsored a nationwide contest to find the very best chocolate chip cookie to serve. This book is a compilation of some of the best recipes and the winning recipe. There are many versions of the chocolate chip cookie and the chocolate-chocolate chip cookie in this book. There are also many, many variations. Today I made the Chocolate Chip Cookie I recipe.

These were good cookies- quick and easy to make make. The recipe called for equal parts of brown sugar and granulated sugar- a ratio that wasn't too bad. This was very, very similar to the Betty Crocker recipe. The cookies were buttery and soft in the middle with crisp edges. I omitted the nuts, because well, I didn't have any and I'm not sure if I like chocolate chip cookies with nuts. My poor-quality oven makes the mission for the best chocolate chip cookie quite a challenge-- the edges and bottoms of the cookies are done a lot quicker than the middle. I will have to play around with oven times and temperatures.

"These taste like my mom's," said a friend as he sampled this cookie. I trust that this is a compliment. Hey, I like baking anything for friends if it reminds them of home, loved ones, etc. I mean, seriously, I'd love it if someone, say, threw a snowball at me. Anyway, these cookies tasted better the next day- so, so soft and chewy. I'm going to stick with this book for now. Stay with me as I jump around and bake my way through the book. In other baking news, I have successfully baked carrot cake cupcakes. yup, the 3rd time must be the charm. Now if only I could say the same about Rice Krispy Treats-- I've tried making these 3 times and have been completely unsuccessful.

In academic news, my qualifier is coming along. I've hit a plateau and must get over it this week. Feedback has been good and has motivated me to keep going. We are halfway through the quarter, and I'm thinking ahead to class papers, the next qualifier, stats mid term, etc. By the way, I'm going to be in San Francisco in a few weeks for a stats workshop. I know, I know, super geeky, but I'm kind of excited to learn logistic regression.