Cakey chocolate chip cookies

Hands up who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies! Not many I guess...

But do we need another recipe for chocolate chip cookies?

I would say yes, in particular considering that I am not going to share one of those recipes giving the perfect (but what is perfect? what we like I think) balance of chewiness, softness and crunchiness, the combination of textures typical of the worldwide popular American - style chocolate chip cookies.

In fact the recipe I'm giving today makes another kind of sweet baked  good, having the texture of a cake, a crumby crust with a soft and light center...but small like a cookie: a sort of miniature chocolate chip cake.

Nearly the opposite of this chocolate chip cookie-cake that is the size of a cake and the texture of a cookie.

Dark chocolate cookies with chocolate chips

It's getting warmer and warmer here in Dubai, with temperatures that in Europe are typical of sunny summer days. I'm not complaining about this, as I actually prefer hot weather than cold.
And even in a weather like this, while there are many people preferring light and refreshing desserts, I still ask for chocolate ones, whether I am at home or dine out - and  when out I often "have to" skip dessert as some restaurants change their menu eliminating those heavy-sounding dishes, whit chocolate desserts usually being among the first items subject to seasonal review.
But I don't give up anyway; I can always make chocolate desserts at home. Including baked goods.
And in fact, with the heavy conditioned buildings we have here, turning on the oven is not so bad, even in the middle of summer. I take advantage of this, and bake in all seasons, from bread and focaccia to cakes, tarts, muffins and cookies, many of them full of chocolate.

Cantucci (Italian almond biscotti)

If you travel to the Italian region of Tuscany, you'll likely end most of your meals - especially if consumed in places where regional food is served, like trattoria, osteria, agriturismo - with some cantucci (or cantuccini), crunchy almond cookies usually served along with coffee, often with a glass of vin santo, a sweet wine perfect for dunking.

Cantucci are in fact the most renowned and representative sweet of the whole Tuscany, and in particular of the city of Prato where the original recipe was developed in 1858 by the pastry chef Antonio Mattei; due to their origin these cookies are also known as Biscotti di Prato. The 19th century original recipe for cantucci included not only almonds but also pine nuts and did not have any raising agents or butter, something that differs from almost all modern recipes.

The peculiarity of these cookies is the double baking process: in fact they are first shaped into a sort of flat log, which is baked then cut into thick slices and baked again, until dry and crunchy. 

Digestive biscuits

I particularly love making (and eating also) cookies! And the number of recipes for cookies published on the blog so far are a clear demonstration of this passion of mine.
Excluding few types that I really don't like, I hardly can say no to a cookie, be it simple or of a rich and more sophisticated variety.

I'm not a big fan of store bought cookies (indeed not only cookies); as I have already said in previous posts, two are the main reasons for which, when possible, I prefer to make from scratch as many foods as possible: the first is that it is not possible to know the quality and origin of the ingredients used in industrial stuff and the second is the presence, in all store bought products, of additives (only few of which are necessary for hygienic or conservation reasons) and flavors, in most cases artificial (that usually taste good but are not the real, natural flavor of what we are eating).
Anyway there are few industrial products that I continue to buy, because I like them no matter what they are made of. And one of these are Digestive biscuits. I've always liked their rustic texture, as well as the sweet-savory taste: simple things can sometimes be very pleasant and enjoyable.
But recently I started thinking of making them on my own: considering how simple they seem to be, they are probably also easy to make at home, I thought. And I was right.

Honey thumbprint cookies

Honey is an amazing product...and for several reasons. First of all let's think of honey makers: the idea that tiny, fragile insects like bees are able to collect / extract nectar and other substances from flowers and plants and transform them into a range of products - honey first, but also royal jelly, propolis, and beeswax- for feeding and sustaining their perfectly organized communities (and not only) may seem hard to believe (like other impressive things we find in nature though). Second honey is packed with nutritive properties: it isn't just a sweetener, a natural sweetener, it is a food. In fact, besides glucose and fructose - that are natural sugars - honey contains minerals and vitamins; it has antioxidant, antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties. The possible health benefits of consuming honey have been documented since ancient times, and in many cultures, honey had associations that go beyond its use as a food, being considered a religious symbol or used in religious celebrations. And even if not all the honey's health claims have been scientifically confirmed by rigorous studies, it is widely used in many home remedies, some of them actually effective: honey is a natural relief for sore throat and cough, helps to sleep better (the popular cup of milk and honey before going to bed...), is an energy booster and therefore very useful before a workout but even everyday physical strain; it can also be used as a natural ingredient in homemade skin and hair care products. The only warning is that honey should not be fed to infants younger than 1 year to avoid the risk of possible allergic reactions.

Sablés chocolat à la fleur de sel

I've already confessed my addiction to chocolate, which also explains why most of the sweet recipes I make (and of course share on the blog) have chocolate in it. And today's recipe is no exception.
But these cookies are so good and I have baked them so many times that the recipe has to be published on my blog. Even if, to be honest, these cookies are already renowned all over the world (and the world wide web too). Their story begins in France, where they were created by the famous pastry-chef Pierre Hermé (the recipe is featured in his book "PH10"); the American cookbook author Dorie Greenspan, who worked in France with Hermé, included the recipe in her book "Baking From My Home to Yours" and let them know also on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean; then the web made the rest of the story and these cookies have become iconic, and not just for chocolate lovers. If you google you will find that they are also known as World Peace Cookies, and if you are curious to know why they have been so named you can read the whole story on Dorie Greenspan blog (follow this link). What I can say is that, even if they probably cannot bring peace in the world, for sure they are able to make happy anyone who eats them. Because they are absolutely amazing and (I am afraid) addictive, due to a mix of factors: first of all they have a peculiar, unique texture - like sablés, they are sandy and melt-in-the-mouth but lightly chewy thanks to the presence of brown sugar - then they have a strong chocolate flavor - the dough contains cocoa plus is packed with chunks of hand chopped dark chocolate - and finally they are salty, since there is a relatively high amount of salt, and in particular fleur de sel, which is a white, moist and coarse French sea salt, typically used to garnish and finish dishes just before serving. And the salt enhances the already profound chocolate taste, making these cookies particularly attractive.

Banana- Chocolate Chunk Cookies

A banana cake with chocolate chips that I prepared not long ago (recipe here) made me completely reconsider the use of bananas for making cakes and other sweet baked goods. Since then I am not worried anymore when bananas I buy start becoming overripe...I can always use them to prepare something good for breakfast!
Bananas makes baked goods particularly moist and flavorful (bananas have their own peculiar flavor that is not easy to hide) and absolutely pleasant...These cookies are a combination of two bakery most beloved classics: chocolate chip cookies (who doesn't love them?) and banana bread. The result is really enjoyable: a light crust encloses a soft pastry enriched, both in flavor and texture, by pieces of chocolate and rolled oats (the original recipe calls also for walnuts, that I cannot eat and don't like and therefore omitted). The recipe comes from "Cookies" by Martha Stewart, a book I love as it gives me great inspirations: this time I just eliminated walnuts and reduced butter and sugar (as I do most of the times I follow an American recipe). Absolutely worth trying!

Cocoa and vanilla braided cookies

December has arrived...the last month of the year, the month of Christmas. And when Christmas approaches, for many people it's normal to start baking: cakes, traditional Christmas sweets, rich breads and, of course, cookies. Cookies are probably the most simple and versatile of all: can be made also with help of children, can be served to relatives and guest coming to visit us, but also given as a sweet, homemade present (that I always appreciate much actually). And there exist so many varieties of cookies that it can be fun to bake different types, so as to serve or give a nice assortment during Christmas season.

So it's time to share a new recipe for cookies, not a traditional Christmas cookie, but a pretty, nice, simple cookie that can be a good addition to your baking repertoire.

I find them perfect for afternoon tea, but they go very well also with a cup of coffee.

Chocolate chip sablè cookies

Out of the millions existing recipes for chocolate chips cookies, I want to share my favorite one. Even if, to be honest, these cookies are not proper "chocolate chips cookies", as they do not have the peculiar characteristics of this much loved family of cookies: crisp (less or more depending on the recipe) at the edges with a softer, chewy interior (same comment as before). No; these chocolate chip cookies have a more friable, crumbly texture and for this reason I called them sablè, to distinguish them from the iconic American cookies. It's not that I don't like the traditional choc-chip cookies; on the contrary I enjoy trying different versions of them, in search for the impossible-to-find perfect one, and also I always take note of new interesting recipes whatever the source is (blogs, magazines, cookbooks, friends, ...). To try them all I should bake a batch of cookies every single day! On this blog I have already published the recipe for a traditional chocolate chip cookie by French pastry chef Christophe Michalack and that for a chocolate chip cookie-cake; it is finally the time to share one of the cookies I make more often.

The recipe author is one of the most famous Italian pastry chef, Maurizio Santin (sorry but his website, except for the name, is in Italian), whose creations are usually amazing, even if sometimes a bit challenging for home-patissiers. This recipe (that I have lightly adapted) is instead very easy to make and always much appreciated by both children and grown-ups; actually, based on my experience, they don't last long if there are children around. And the other good thing is that, as the result is much better if the cookie dough is cold and firm, the dough can be made in advance, shaped into logs and kept in the freezer until you are ready to bake your cookies: they are perfect in case of unplanned visits in the afternoon or after dinner, for a sweet breakfast (paired with a cup of milk) or just when craving for something sweet (but not too elaborate). And in fact, having a look into my freezer it is likely to find a couple of logs of these cookies, just waiting to be baked.

Milk cream cookies

Like in many other fields, also in the Food and Beverage world there are products which, for some reasons, are so popular and loved to become somehow iconic - and consequently also imitated by many. Often their fame is supported by massive, highly effective marketing campaigns, but usually these products taste absolutely good (oh, yes) and have something original and unique.
While some of these products are "stars" at global level (think for example to Coca-Cola), the majority are recognized on a smaller scale, usually national, sometimes cross-national. This is the case of a cookie, super popular in Italy, whose name, Macine, the Italian word for "millstone", comes from their round shape with a small hole in the center, which reminds just that of a millstone.

Launched in the '80s, these cookies still have a leadership position in the Italian market of baked goods, even if since then many other cookies have been created and many international brands have entered the Italian market with a wide range of cookies. And the imitations? For sure all retailer private labels have these cookies in their assortment, but also other brands have something similar (all with different names, of course). I remember that, as a kid, I loved them with a cup of milk, at breakfast, but also on their own at any time in the afternoon while doing my homework. If my "extended" family living in Italy is representative of an average Italian family, I understand why these cookies are still so popular: they are the favorite of my sister's eldest son who (I saw him directly last summer) can eat half packet each morning helped by his sister; and something similar happens in my husband's sister family where the ten years old boy prefers them as an afternoon snack; and the rest of the family usually helps too.
And they are very simple, no chocolate or other additions, no filling, no cream, just a friable texture and a delicate flavor. According to the label, their unique taste should come from the fresh milk cream used in the recipe. I trust, even the 2% cream claimed on the label is not that much! Anyway, since they are so simple, I wanted to make them at home: it's funny and gratifying to replicate industrial foods at home. And also I love home-made cookies: they always taste more "natural" than the store bought one, and are potentially healthier, of course if high quality ingredients are used: no artificial flavors, real butter, fresh milk and eggs, no preservatives (even when the label says that they do not contain any preservative, industrial foods always keep much longer than home-made, and this is still a mystery for me).

Chewy cocoa cookies with chocolate chips

I spent almost two months in Italy, on holidays, and the blog had a vacation too. Not because I did not cook or try new recipes; in fact I made several interesting trials, mainly sweets and pasta recipes, that I want to make again soon and share on the blog. But, how can I say, the context was not ideal for working at the blog. The main issue was actually how to take decent pictures: in a "normal" family food is prepared to be eaten; it has to be good and tasty, how it looks is of secondary importance, especially if it is supposed to be served straight away after preparation (think for example to a plate of pasta). And so I did not feel like involving the whole family (I mean both mine and my husband's where I stayed during these months) in the weird rite of taking pictures of the plates before eating them, even if really deserving to be shared, and desisted from publishing on the blog. But now I am back home, where I can take more time to prepare a (sort of) photographic set, arrange food in a nice manner and take as many pictures as I want (even if sometimes no one of them comes out good enough to be published).  

And the first thing I want to share after summer holidays is a recipe for cookies, better, a recipe for chocolate cookies. Is there anything better than chocolate to make anyone happy, even if he or she has to come back to work? Very interesting is the fact that these cookies are really easy and fast to make: in less than one hour you will have a delicious, rich and flavorful treat perfect as a dessert as well as an elegant snack, with a cup of coffee or tea (but also with some liquor like rum). And also they are not too fat and heavy: in fact the amount of butter is relatively low and there is no egg in the batter (there is plain yogurt instead). 

I made these cookies many times, changing only the type of cocoa and yogurt because I think that they are wonderful this way, but if you want to try alternative versions you can refer to the suggestions of the blog Orangette, where I found the recipe.

Buckweath and chocolate cookies

I like to use non-wheat flours when I bake. With a different flour a recipe can completely change: the texture, the taste, the smell and the color also. And for a more intense and rich flavor I like whole grain flours instead of refined ones (and they are healthier too). One of my favorite grain is spelt (even if my blog is very young I have already published a spelt apple cake and a no-knead bread where spelt flour is used) but I love also rye, barley, and buckwheat which is not a grain but a pseudo-cereal from which it is possible to produce a flour suitable also in a gluten-free diet. I like buckwheat's deep dark color, its intense flavor and nutty taste and I use it sometimes also to make bread.
In these buckwheat and chocolate cookies I used a combination of buckwheat flour, whole grain spelt flour (for an even nuttier taste), and cocoa powder (for enhancing the color and the chocolate flavor) to make a very original and unusual version of chocolate chip cookies. Since whole grain flours tend to produce a dough on the dry side, I used brown sugar to increase moisture. For flavoring, I added vanilla extract and a pinch of cinnamon that can be substituted for other spices (for example cardamom or nutmeg) or even nothing). Swapping spelt flour for a gluten-free one (like rice or almond or corn or other of your preference) makes these cookies completely gluten-free.
They go well with a cup of tea, especially if flavored (cardamom, cinnamon, ...), with coffee or with a glass of milk, then they are perfect for an afternoon tea but also as a guilt-free sweet treat.

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies with dried cherries

I have always at least one good reason to make cookies, and to try new ones. I have already tested many recipes, even more are waiting to be prepared and for sure there many others that I have not discovered yet. And I am happy of this. Because I love to make cookies: preparing cookies let me relax, sharing them with my family or guest gives me satisfaction and enjoying them makes me happy.
Today's cookies are a combination of flavors and textures: whole wheat flour gives a particular rustic taste, oat flakes add a crunchy texture, the sweetness of cherries is perfectly balanced by dark chocolate. For a richer version it is possible to add to the dough pecans or walnuts or other nuts you like.

Soft "cookie-buns" with milk chocolate chunks: an idea for kids breakfast and snack

In my original intention this recipe should have not been published on the blog, because it was an experiment, a real experiment that only the family should have tried. I had to make something for my kid's breakfast, and I wanted that it was first of all healthy, then easy and fast, but also tasty (sometimes healthy things are not really appetizing, especially for kids). With this goal in my mind I put together a mix of flours (all-purpose and whole grain spelt), some unrefined cane sugar, a good amount of plain yogurt (in order to eliminate any kind of oil or butter), one egg to keep everything together, baking powder to add softness and milk chocolate and vanilla to balance the yogurt sourness. What came out was something in the middle between a cookie and a soft bread, not too sweet, airy and really enjoyable; it's difficult to believe it does not contain any butter.
A very satisfying result both for me and my kid: he was happy to eat them and me to have achieved all of my objectives. So I changed my mind and decided to share the recipe: I thought that maybe there are many other moms wishing to make something easy, fast, healthy and yummy for their children (and - why not - also for themselves) and this recipe is perfect.
Moreover it is very versatile: you can change the filling depending on what is available in your pantry and decide to use chocolate or nuts or dried fruit or a mix of all; you can also modify the size, choosing a small or a bigger one, with a different result in terms of tenderness (be careful to adapt baking time to the selected size); or finally you can shape the dough into balls or into small hot-dog buns or whatever your fantasy suggests.
After deciding to share the recipe the most difficult task was to find an adequate name for the final "product": it is not properly a cookies, but not even a brioche (that would require a much longer rising time) not even a bread. After some thinking I coined the name "cookie-buns" because they remind me at the same time a cookie and a bun. If anyone finds a better name I will be very happy to re-name them.

Raspberry Thumbprints

I bake a lot of cookies! Cookies for breakfast, cookies for coffee, cookies for my kid, cookies for an after-dinner treat - usually these fall into the chocolate cookies category - and sometimes, cookies for making baking experiments. Cookies are perfect for the last scope. In fact usually they are quite easy and fast to prepare (and thanks to the outside temperature here in Dubai I do not even have to wait long for butter to get soft), made with ingredients generally available at home and, let's say, "easier" to eat than for example a cake or a tarte: who can refuse a two-bite dessert? I know, there also some giant cookies that are much more challenging than a layered cake, but I consider them an exception.
Today's cookies are exactly an experiment inspired by a recipe, seen on Martha Stewart's website, for thumbprint cookies whose ingredients included cornmeal. Since I love the crunchy texture given by this flour (some regional Italian cookies made with cornmeal are in my opinion delicious) I wanted to try; I also loved the presence in the dough of orange zest which gives a fresh hint.
The original recipe called for cranberries in the filling jam: not being cranberries available here, I used raspberries which I like and paired perfectly with the base (but I think that also strawberries would work well). I made few adjustment and the result was even better than expected: crunchy on the outside thanks to the sugar crust, with a crumby and nutty interior texture due to the presence of cornmeal; the slightly acidity of raspberry filling perfectly balanced by the sugar crust; all perfumed by the orange flavor. Delicious!

Chocolate chip cookies façon Christophe Michalack

Chocolate chip cookies. For sure one the most renowned cookie all over the world. And like for other famous recipes their origin is a mix of history and legend (see for example the stories about "Tarte Tatin", chocolate ganache, in Italy Panettone or even pizza). The certain fact is that they are good, very good. In my personal opinion (and I am neither a pastry-chef nor a food professional, just a food lover), chocolate chips cookies are the most valuable American contribution the world of pastry-making. And they are so famous and so beloved that anywhere you search (on the web, in cook-books, in magazines, specialized in food or not) you find for sure somebody who wants to share the recipe for "the original chocolate chip cookies" or, even more frequently, "the best chocolate chip cookies ever"; and some have even different versions of the "best chocolate chips cookies ever", each one described as an improvement of the previous one.
In addition to this there are many theories regarding the characteristics of these iconic cookies: how large and/or thick they should be, what is the right ratio between chewiness and crunchiness, should they be made with butter or vegetable shortening, should the chocolate be dark or milk, in chips or chopped, and so on.  
In my opinion (am I having too many opinions today?) it is difficult, better impossible, to label a recipe "the best" one, because many factors influence the judgement, first of all personal tastes and, why not, specific mood. Yes, I think that one day one person may like something and, after a while, for many reasons, the same person can like something different and maybe dislike what he or she liked before.
But anyway, among the hundreds recipes for chocolate chips cookies that it is possible to find, or create, I have recently tested one signed by the famous French patissier Christophe Michalack.
Typically chocolate chips cookies recipes contain more sugar than flour, something that I can hardly accept (for my taste I mean and, also and maybe more important, for my glycemia level) and this is way the recipes I try are somehow non-orthodox; this recipe makes no exception to the weird rule. But I have to say that the final result is worth trying, because these cookies are really very good: not too sweet as I like, soft in the middle and crunchy on the outside, and they go well with the traditional glass of milk (this is how my kid has them), with tea (like I do), with coffee or even on their own.    
One note: since the recipe creator is French he uses cassonade, which is a kind of sugar very common in France but not so easy to find outside: a good substitution is brown sugar; I used the light brown sugar (if you are interested in the topic, here is an interesting article by David Lebovitz about French sugars and their substitutes).

Cocoa cookies with cranberries and chocolate chips

I love cookies. And I love any cookies containing chocolate, or at least cocoa. I don't know how many chocolate cookies recipes I have collected: some of them are written by hand on a notebook; some others have been selected on the web, gathered into a huge file and printed on paper so that I can easily consult them and take note of my changes and my comments; others are cut out recipes from magazines, stored into a binder; finally others are only listed on a page of my recipes notebook, with name and source because I haven't had time to copy them. And this collection increases as soon as I chance upon something inspiring.
And I also have a personal scale for rating them.
These cocoa cookies are part of the notebook list, even if the original recipe was (as usual) a bit different from the one I made. The result here is surprising, in particular with regard to the texture which I would define "sandy", due to the combination of flours, mostly gluten free. The cookies are in fact made with rice flour, corn starch and a small quantity of spelt flour, which can be replaced by a gluten-free flour in case of intolerance. My child in particular really appreciated them!

Chocolate and muscovado sugar thumbprints

This is the recipe I had originally chosen to kick-off the blog, before changing my mind and deciding to start with a cake, a zero birthday cake. Why these chocolate cookies? I don't know exactly, the choice had come out by itself, but if I try to give an explanation I would say that it is because I always have a jar of home-made chocolate cookies to grasp when craving for something sweet and chocolatey or to offer to guests coming for a cup of coffee; and these are so cute that look good also in a non-professional picture like mine.
Anyway, going straight to the recipe, this is a very easy one. In general, I like thumbprints cookies very much, on one side because I find funny to press the finger into the dough to make the little hole (kids will love the activity too), on the other because the final result looks really pretty. Chocolate lovers will like this version.