Chocolate Chip Cookies - the verdict

Cutting the flour by half in the Nestle's recipe gives a very moist, chewy chocolate chip cookie. I otherwise followed the package's recipe to a "T." Next time ( and there will be a next time) I am going to try to bake the cookies at a lower temperature for a longer period of time. The Nestle's recipe recommends 375º for 9 to 11 minutes. My cookies were too brown for my taste. Next time I will try backing them at 325º and see if I can end up with a lighter colored cookie.

In case you were wondering, cooking them at 375º for a shorter time period left them raw in the middle.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie - revisited

Last fall I wrote about my discovery of the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe. I now have another nominee for this title, which I tasted at a picnic this past weekend: Nestle's Original Toll House Cookie recipe with the amount of flour cut in half!

The proportions of these two recipes are different enough that I believe they are different recipes.

I'm getting ready to whip-up my first batch of these cookies. I'll let you know if they are as delicious as those I tasted this weekend, and my original October posting. I'm not writing the recipe in this post, it is printed on the back of every Nestle's semi-sweet morsel.

Stay tuned!

Passover Sweets - Flourless Chocolate Cake to the Rescue

For generations, Jews have relied on sponge cake and its variants to provide a sweet ending to their Passover meals. Yes, there was the occasional meringue, and there were always the exceedingly sweet macaroons, but something that could fill the shoes of a chocolate cake? No!

Traditionalists argue it is that absence of the everyday which helps emphasize the meaning of the holiday. Broader thinkers point out that the explosion of kosher for Passover cake mixes and brownie mixes (none of which are very good) have already reduced the number of everyday treats off-limits during the holiday.

Thank goodness for the flourless chocolate cake. This taste treat came to prominence in the late 1990's. Consisting of semi-sweet (or bittersweet) chocolate, eggs and butter, this dessert will satisfy the pickiest of chocoholics. My go to recipe is from Bon Appetite, January 1999, which is easily found on Epicurious.com.

This recipe includes a chocolate glaze frosting. To me this is overkill. I prefer the cake just dusted with confectioner's sugar and a garnish of strawberries. Enjoy.