The chocolate chip cookie. Probably one of the best baked snacks ever created. But boy, can it be difficult to bake one.
The last time I tried to bake any kind of cookie, I ended up with flat, mushy pads of dough. I posted a picture of the #bakingfail on Instagram, and someone told me I had made one crucial mistake: using margarine instead of unsalted butter.
“Unsalted butter” has always sounded like one of those pretentious baking words to me. I mean, what is really the difference between Rama and whatever fancy brand the recipe calls for? Also: who has the money?
Well, it turns out I did. A few months ago when the sourdough frenzy had calmed down but people were still doing fun experiments in the kitchen, I got really into Tasty and convinced myself that I had what it took to pull off a tricolour cheesecake. I had a springform cake tin and enough time on my hands to believe that a dessert I had never made before would come out perfectly the first time.
The ingredients — most of which were new to me — included unsalted butter, and this time I was determined to buy some. After all, half the success of baking is getting the best ingredients, right?
I found the block of fat — which certainly didn’t look different than anything else I had used — and proudly took it home with me, ready to make the best cheesecake I had ever had.
Since this is a post about cookies, it’s safe to say that the cheesecake never happened. (I still think about it from time to time, when I chop up chunks of the pricey cooking chocolate I bought for flapjacks.)
At least three times a week, I think to myself, “I want some cake.” Fortunately, I do know how to bake cake — I just don’t always have the time, or the energy, to do it.
But a few weeks ago, after I made three fat chocolate flapjacks and ate them with liberal amounts of Caramel Treat, I thought I should find a recipe that would put the ingredient to better use. That’s how I decided to make caramel chocolate chip cookies.
You will need:
200g butter (unsalted)
130g sugar
360g tin Caramel Treat
5ml caramel essence
420g cake flour
10ml baking powder
3ml salt
chocolate chips/cooking chocolate (optional)
To make the cookies:
Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy and pale. Add caramel essence; beat well.
In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Add this to the caramel mixture. Mix lightly until a soft dough forms.
If you are using chocolate chips, add them now.
Cool the cookie dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (or overnight) before baking.
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Using a soup spoon, scoop out small quantities of the dough and mould them into balls. Lay them on a greased baking tray, leaving enough space between each cookie for spreading. This is very important if you don’t plan on baking one large, flat biscuit.
Flatten each ball of dough slightly with a fork.
Bake for 12-15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack before serving.
Here’s what I learned: unsalted butter makes all the difference! Seeing the cookies hold their shape throughout baking made me feel like an accomplished adult woman. I also learned that not all cookie recipes need milk or eggs. Did you know that? And I should mention that I was proud of myself for remembering to chill the dough before baking it, for even better chances at retaining shape.
This was a very successful experiment. Things went so well that I had the courage to take on that other intimidating kitchen staple, homemade bread. But that’s a story for another day.
Nkhensani Manabe 