Tender is the Chocolate Chip Cookie

Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day with this small-batch recipe

Today is Independent Bookstore Day! I’m lucky enough to live within walking distance of our local bookstore. And, as they allow dogs inside, Norman and I regularly make the store our walking destination, which is kind of dreamy.

I’d be honored if you would pre-order my cookbook, The Secret Life of Chocolate Chip Cookies Cookbook through them here, or at your favorite independent bookstore. It’s currently on sale for $22.99.

I created a chocolate chip cookie to honor Independent Bookstore Day. It’s a tender, cakey cookie, enriched with malted milk and chunks of milk and semisweet chocolate. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks personally and in the news, and I yearned for a kinder, gentler cookie.

Some notes on the making of the cookie:

• The recipe as is, makes about 16 2-inch cookies, but can be easily doubled.

• Annoying as it sounds, this dough is better after a 24 hour nap in the refrigerator, which gives it time to develop flavor and hydrate the flour. As I am only human, I always bake off 1 or 2 to tide me over immediately, then put the rest in the refrigerator.

• To achieve the rich flavor and yielding bite, I use a blend of bread flour and all-purpose flour. The bread flour has more protein, and the result, is a denser, chewier cookie.

• A small amount of confectioner’s sugar adds tenderness thanks to corn starch, and the secret ingredient is malted milk powder. I started adding it to cookies recently and haven’t looked back since. Even a small amount adds a nutty caramel flavor.

• Chunks of good quality milk chocolate (I used Tony’s Chocolonely), plus some semisweet morsels, play nicely with the malted milk powder. I suggest amounts, but you do you.

• A sprinkle of sea salt after baking is a good idea.

• Don’t overbake!

Tender Chocolate Chip Cookies

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printable recipe!

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Oh-So Tender Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 14 cookies

What You’ll Need:

• 3/4 cup (90 grams) all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup (60 grams) bread flour

• 2 tablespoons malted milk powder

• 1 tablespoon confectioner’s sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

• 1/3 cup (80 grams) light brown sugar

• 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 tablespoon vanilla

• 1 1/2 cups (240 grams) milk chocolate chunks

• 1/4 cup or so semisweet morsels

What You’ll Do:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, bread flour, malted milk powder, confectioner’s sugar, baking soda and salt.

2. With a stand mixer (or by hand, as the butter should be quite soft), cream together the butter, brown and white sugars until blended and lighter in color, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and the vanilla and beat until creamy. Stir in the flour mixture, then add the chopped chocolate and morsels. Refrigerate, covered, for 24 hours before baking.

3. When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease or line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Shape the dough into 2-inch balls and place 3-inches apart, as they will spread. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, until light golden with some darker brown spots. The center should no longer look wet. Do not overbake. Cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, before transferring to a baking sheet to cool completely.

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I’m sitting in my backyard as I write this, so I will soon be covered with a fine green dust of pollen. Norman is lying next to me, his head shielded by a large plastic cone. He was neutered yesterday, poor thing. I explained to him all the reasons why it was important, how it was his responsibility as a male dog, how all the other cool puppies are doing it and how he would be back to his puppy-like antics soon. His response was to walk into a wall. Cone of Shame indeed. Poor pup.

It used to was that I could work on copy for my Substacks a few days in advance of sending them out. If I were to talk about some news event that happened on Wednesday for a Substack going out on Saturday, you’d still remember what I was talking about a few days later. But the past 100 days have been…the past day, for lawd’s sake (as Nanny would say to Eloise) has been overwhelming and chaotic, with one story after another being as important to note. Judge in Wisconsin arrested? It’s famously Trump’s M.O., so no surprise there.

It’s just a lot. And it’s more than just overwhelming.

Should I list the most troubling news of the week? In order of the most un-Constitutional? The most impact on the future of America’s standing? Which government programs have been most undercut? Which population of Americans has been most attacked? I could go on.

I think I’ll bake more cookies instead.

NICE THING:

In case you missed it, a few weeks back I created a Jersey-style vegan coffee cake to honor Senator Cory Booker’s filibuster for The Contrarian. And, on the 17th I got to present the cake to him at a birthday celebration in his honor. Read the story of why I created the cake and get the recipe at The Contrarian.

My Senator takes the cake.

Do you have a nice thing from your week? Want to share it here, so we can all get a little bit of lightness?

I’m offering a deep discount on an annual subscription, in the hopes it will be more affordable for many of you. I truly appreciate your support, it literally makes this possible.