Cookies from the Kitchen
Prepare a Batch of Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Cookies and Congo Bars
You probably remember the joys of coming home from school and enjoying one or two freshly baked cookies right from the oven. And while some of us have such memories in our distant past, there's one thing we haven't outgrown: our love for a great cookie.
One of the greatest features of cookies lies is their uniqueness--they're not all created equally. There are drop cookies and cut-out cookies, refrigerator cookies and bar cookies. Cookies are great for bake sales, family gatherings or just as an extra-special treat. One of the most important tenets in cookie baking is to follow the directions carefully if you want accurate results. How you prepare the dough before baking will greatly affect the finished cookies' shape and texture. And once you have carefully followed the instructions, your reward (in twenty minutes or less) will be a tray of mouth-watering delicacies baked from your home kitchen.
This week, our focus is on cookies and we're our recipe for a drop cookie--Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies--and a bar cookie, the Congo Bar.
RECIPES
Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Makes 12 Large or 3 Dozen Medium Cookies
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice during mixing. Add the egg; mix on high speed to combine. Add the vanilla; mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2. Combine the rolled oats, flour, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture, then mix on low speed just to combine, 10 to 15 seconds. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and stir in chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. with two racks centered. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. Use a large (2 1/2 ounce) or small (1 1/4 ounce) ice-cream scoop to form balls of the dough. Place the balls of dough about 4 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake until golden and just set, rotating the sheets between the oven racks halfway through baking to ensure even browning, about 16 minutes for large cookies and 12 minutes for small cookies. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.
Congo Bar
Makes 18 bars
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
1 1/2 cups dark-brown sugar, firmly packed
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
12 ounces best-quality unsweetened chocolate, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (or you can substitute almonds, peanuts or walnuts)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. with a rack in the center. Generously butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan, and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter-sugar mixture in the mixing bowl and beat well. In another mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture; beat just until incorporated.
3. Fold in the chopped chocolate and nuts. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan; use a rubber spatula to push the batter into an even layer in the pan. Bake until the edges are dry but the center is still soft, about 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cut into 2 1/4-by-3-inch squares, and store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
