Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Cookie cookie cookie
I love to bake cookies. I actually don't eat all that many of them. But there's something about making the dough, dishing it out, the smell of the house, that I just love. I make 2 batches a month, on average. Winter, especially near Christmas, sees the most of my baking. I'm still on the "great spice cookie quest" and every once in a while will try a decorated cut out cookie.
As I've made cookies over the years, I've found some favorite tools. I used to just spray Pam on whatever cookie sheet was clean and bake. Getting the cookies off the pan was pretty easy and I'd just grab any random spatula and I'd put them wherever I could find a spot. Then, a friend who is a gadget guy got me 2 Airbake cookie sheets. I was flirting with parchment at this time, but wasn't convinced. The Airbakes wouldn't fit in the dishwasher, and despite the wastefulness, parchment kept me from handwashing them all the time, so parchment it was. Spatula, still whatever I grabbed from the drawer. Then, one year when I must have been a very good girl, Santa brought me 2 half-sheet pans and two silpats. I'd watched enough Food Network to want an offset spatula. At less than $10, it was a reasonable splurge. They're usually used to ice cakes, but I love it to move cookies from baking sheet to cooling rack, which I finally started using. The more cookies I make, the more I have to use my non-favorite tools. Tonight, I couldn't find my offset spatula and my tiny Pampered Chef one just doesn't do for cookies bigger than my palm.
For all that I like trying new recipes, I never mess with my Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I did ONE time and still remember the chewing out I got. I did, however try a couple of different things with my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip tonight, most notably, the addition of cinnamon. I like cinnamon and oats together, so I hope it turned out OK.
As I've made cookies over the years, I've found some favorite tools. I used to just spray Pam on whatever cookie sheet was clean and bake. Getting the cookies off the pan was pretty easy and I'd just grab any random spatula and I'd put them wherever I could find a spot. Then, a friend who is a gadget guy got me 2 Airbake cookie sheets. I was flirting with parchment at this time, but wasn't convinced. The Airbakes wouldn't fit in the dishwasher, and despite the wastefulness, parchment kept me from handwashing them all the time, so parchment it was. Spatula, still whatever I grabbed from the drawer. Then, one year when I must have been a very good girl, Santa brought me 2 half-sheet pans and two silpats. I'd watched enough Food Network to want an offset spatula. At less than $10, it was a reasonable splurge. They're usually used to ice cakes, but I love it to move cookies from baking sheet to cooling rack, which I finally started using. The more cookies I make, the more I have to use my non-favorite tools. Tonight, I couldn't find my offset spatula and my tiny Pampered Chef one just doesn't do for cookies bigger than my palm.
For all that I like trying new recipes, I never mess with my Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I did ONE time and still remember the chewing out I got. I did, however try a couple of different things with my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip tonight, most notably, the addition of cinnamon. I like cinnamon and oats together, so I hope it turned out OK.
