Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Cookies
The other day it occurred to me that many of the foods I love as an adult are unlike the foods that delighted me as a child. Spicy broccoli is a good example. This dish is made by lightly sauteing broccoli florets with diced garlic, sea salt and red pepper flakes, the result of which will satisfy most health-conscious, heat-loving foodies. I frequently fall back on this favorite when a quick side dish is in order, but as a child no amount of bribery could have convinced me to eat it. In the opposite direction, when I was in elementary school I had a strange fondness for raw apple cider mix. On many a sunny afternoon I would take out a small package, wet my index finger, then dip it into the powdery stuff before inserting that same finger into my mouth. I don’t know why I started eating cider like this, but it was sheer bliss and my mother kindly looked the other way. With such fond memories to go by I tried eating cider mix a few weeks ago - let’s just say some things are best left to nostalgia.

And then there are those foods that stand the test of time. Chocolate chip cookies, for instance. As a little girl I loved to eat them a few minutes after they finished baking, when the chocolate was still gooey and the surrounding cookie was so deliciously warm. A cold class of milk was the best companion, sometimes merely for drinking, but more often for dunking purposes as well. The warm-cookie cold-milk combo was standard practice and woe unto anyone who tried to steal my cookies! My brother learned this lesson early on, but then he learned how to bake the best cookies ever and suddenly I wasn’t in charge anymore.

To this day my cookie loving habits haven’t changed. But while milk was the beverage of choice during my kiddie years, I now have my infatuation with coffee to consider. Milk is obviously the liquid of choice at night. In the morning coffee always wins. And here we find yet another example of something I love as an adult, yet abhorred as a child. I’ll never forget how good my Dad made his morning coffee look as he read the paper and nibbled on a piece of pan dulce. Then one day he mischievously suggested I sample his cup, knowing full well (I presume) that coffee served black would hardly please the taste buds of a seven-year-old. I jumped at the chance, and as a result I hated coffee until my graduate school years when sleep-deprivation forced me to seek an alternate source of energy.

Given this fondness for cookies and coffee, you can imagine my joy when I found a recipe for chocolate chip cookies infused with liquid coffee concentrate and instant coffee. Be still my heart! Having neither liquid coffee concentrate nor instant coffee on hand I used espresso instead, and the resulting morsels were sheer contentment. I dunked them in milk that night (eating them afterwards of course), then enjoyed them with coffee in the morning. It was coffee-on-coffee bliss, the perfect combination of my childhood and adult inclinations. Substituting plain old Hershey’s chocolate for five-ounces of Scharffenberger semisweet chocolate upped the ante. And then, there were the macadamia nuts. Coffee loving cookie fiends, do I have your attention? May I present, Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Cappuccino Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from “The Cook’s Book” by Jill Norman
Required equipment: Cookie sheet, parchment paper, electric mixer
Ingredients: Makes 25 cookies

• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• scant 1 teaspoon wildflower honey (regular honey is OK too)
• 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons freshly brewed espresso
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
• 5-oz chopped Scharffenberger semisweet chocolate (or any other good quality chocolate)

With an electric mixer cream the butter in a bowl. Mix in the sugar, honey and salt. Add the egg and espresso, then beat on low speed for 3 minutes. Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda, then beat for 3 more minutes.

Mix in the macadamia nuts and chocolate, then transfer the dough to a large sheet of parchment paper. Starting in the middle of the paper, spoon out the dough in a long line that runs down the length of the paper. Leave about 4 inches of clear space on either end of the line. Now roll the parchment paper into a cylinder shape 2 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in cellophane and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Take the dough out of the fridge and cut into slices 1/2 inch thick. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches of space in between each slice. Bake for 14 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack.

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Book Review : The recipe featured in this post was adapted from “The Cook’s Book” by Jill Norman, a text that has increased my kitchen skills by leaps and bounds. Regular pizza became stuffed pizza pie, ordinary chocolate chip cookies took on a cappuccino flare, and maduros were added to our realm of savory side dishes. More than these particular dishes, “The Cook’s Book” expanded my knowledge of cooking techniques. I learned, for example, how to make an array of sauces, ranging from velouté to berbere and many places in between. But before you are even given a specific recipe the first page of the “Sauces and Dressings” chapter takes you step-by-step through the terms used when making sauces (skimming, sieving, deglazing), then explains the various ways in which sauces can be thickened (roux, butter, arrowroot, etc). All this is done through the use of clear explanations and - get this - photographs for every step. By page 57 an entire world of possibilities had opened before my eyes, and I hadn’t even reached the “Foam,” “Soups” or “Flavoring” sections, not to mention the remaining 537 pages of the book! It’s astounding what a well-written, beautifully photographed cookbook can accomplish. The Editor, Jill Norman, collaborated with some of the world’s best chefs when putting it together, including Rick Bayless, Pierre Hermé and Greg Malouf. I have to say that while working through this book you feel as if you are learning directly from the chefs you admire.

In addition to the chapters mentioned above, “The Cook’s Book” includes sections on eggs & dairy products, fish & shellfish, poulty & game birds, vegetables, pasta & dumplings, breads & batters, and pasty & sweet doughs. The list goes on. These topical chapters are supplemented by sections on Indian cooking, Chinese cooking, Thai cooking, Mexican cooking and Middle Eastern cooking - each presented by a chef who has mastered the area and has created a menu for you. Hence, the Mexican cooking chapter written by Rick Bayless includes recipes for squash blossom-filled corn masa boats; tortilla soup with chili, cheese & avocado; braised pork in red chili sauce and lime ice cream with cajeta. Chapters in “The Cook’s Book” are relatively short and by no means comprehensive, but that’s alright because the point of this text is to teach you essential skills that will enhance your overall ability. Recipes range from simple (how to cook rice perfectly), to challenging (how to make frankfurter kranz), to difficult (how to make croissants), but I appreciated this fact. This is a cookbook that engages you, the cook, on every level. I had to make the stuffed pizza pie referenced above twice before it came out the way I wanted, the same goes for my gnocchi from semolina flour. Yet the end results were delicious and I gained a tremendous sense of accomplishment from learning such tasty new skills.

There isn’t much that can be said about this book that would fall into the negative category. It is a huge text and hence a bit cumbersome, but that is to be expected from a book that transmits such a monumental amount of knowledge. At times the ingredients are a bit esoteric, yet I don’t see how this can be avoided in a book that truly tackles the gourmet side of cooking and baking. Most of the less-common ingredients can be found at Whole Foods or your local speciality food store, and if those avenues fail there is always the internet. Overall I strongly recommend this book to cooks and bakers of every level.

Passover ends in approximately 20 hours and let me tell you: am I excited. Not that I’ve been keeping track or anything, but it has been 168 hours since I last buttered a warm piece of bread. 604,800 seconds since anything was lovingly mixed and kneaded in my kitchen. I acknowledge how eight days without flour makes you appreciate the magic of baked goods, but we went grocery shopping this afternoon and the bagels now sitting on our counter are mocking me. Damn you bagels! Revenge shall be mine.

While it would be reasonable to assume that I’ll be placing dough in my oven at sundown tomorrow, the truth is that my renewed adventures with baking will have to wait until Wednesday morning. Why the delay? Because tomorrow also happens to be our second wedding anniversary and we’ll be out celebrating. We have an entire foodie day planned, with pommes frites and chocolate in the afternoon (before bread is allowed) and tapas in the evening (with as many flour-inclusive dishes as possible). Two years! Hard to believe, but true.

On Wednesday morning we’ll revive our oven with a loaf of Honey Vanilla Challah, which is a sweet version of the popular Jewish egg bread. I’ve included the recipe in this post and it’s near and dear to me because this was the first bread recipe I ever called my own. After baking many loaves and following many recipes, one afternoon I decided that I wanted to combine the best aspects of each loaf into one. The result was the bread you see here, which is sweet, but not too sweet, fluffy, and yet firm. I love to eat it plain or with a generous swath of apple butter. It also makes fantastic french toast.

Before the recipe, two things: First, I want to thank everyone who took the time to comment on my last post. I know it was a bit of a downer, but you cheered me tremendously and for that I’m grateful. You’re the best! And second, I want to point out the rotating food factoids and quotations next to the “Baking and Books” header, as well as the Recipe Index, both of which are new features. There is a new layout as you can see and, while modifications will continue over the next few days, for the moment I’m happy with how everything looks. Feedback, as always, is very much appreciated.

Honey-Vanilla Challah (My Recipe)
Adapted from “The Bread Bible” by Beth Hensperger, “The Good Enough to Eat Breakfast Cookbook” by Carrie Levin, “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” by Peter Reinhart and “The Bread Bible” by Rose Levy Beranbaum, among others.
Ingredients: Makes 1 Loaf

• 1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of warm milk (whole is best, low-fat is ok too)
• 2 eggs + 1 for the glaze
• 4 tablespoons of olive oil + 1 teaspoon for greasing the bowl and another for the glaze
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon honey

In a large bowl using a whisk combine the yeast, sugar, salt and 1 cup of the flour. Add the warm milk, 2 eggs, 4 tablespoons of olive oil, then the honey and vanilla. (Add the olive oil first, then use the same measuring spoon to add the honey - residual oil on the spoon will make the honey slide right out.) Vigorously mix the ingredients until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl halfway through, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, switching to a wooden spoon when the dough becomes too thick for the whisk. Continue mixing the dough until it is too stiff to stir.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft and springy, about 4 minutes. If the dough is sticky, dust with flour 1 tablespoon at a time - just enough to prevent it from sticking to the surface. The dough is done when it’s smooth and small air bubbles show under the skin. If you press your thumb into it the impression should bounce back. This is a slightly firm dough, which is exactly what you want for easy braiding later on.

Place the dough in a deep container greased with 1 tsp of olive oil. Turn the dough once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly grease it with non-stick spray. Gently deflate the dough by pressing your fingers into it, then turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
Divide into 3 equal portions, and roll each portion out into a smooth, thick strip about 20 inches long, with the ends slightly thinner than the middle. Lay these ropes side-by-side, not quite touching.

Beginning in the middle and working towards you, braid the lower half of the three ropes. To braid, alternately move the outside ropes over the one in the center - left over, right over, left over -until you come to the end. Now go to the other side of your working space and braid the other half, this time moving the outside ropes under the center one. Braid tightly - you don’t want any gaps. When you finish braiding each side crimp the tapered ends together, then tuck them under.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and place the braided dough on your baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled in bulk, 30 to 40 minutes.

Just before the rising time has finished whisk together 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of olive oil, this is going to be the glaze for your bread. Gently brush the dough with a thick layer of it. Place the dough in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the bread is a deep golden brown and sounds hollow when you thump it on the bottom. Transfer to a baking rack to cool. Allow to cool completely before slicing - or at least wait until it’s warm, not hot - then enjoy!