Cookies 3: Drop Cookies

Our first cookie last night was chocolate chip, the quintessential cookie. The recipe was for a soft, chewy cookie, so to that end, pastry flour was used for tenderness. After mixing up the dough with a paddle, we used a #24 ice cream scoop to make uniform balls of dough. I like the speed and consistency of using a scoop; it certainly beats using two spoons. Not only will the cookies come out the same size (important if you're selling each one for the same price), they will also finish baking at the same time. Since these cookies were so soft, and since they continue to cook out of the oven, we left them on the trays to cool completely.

During cleanup, we were informed that the College had shut off the hot water for maintenance (!!!). Couldn't they have done that later in the evening? Some of the sinks ran out of detergent too, so we all tried to clean buttery mixing bowls and tools with cold water alone. In the end, we started to heat water on the stove. Sigh, George Brown disappoints yet again.

Our second drop cookie for the night was oatmeal raisin. These used much less butter, as well as bread flour. To produce a higher yield, we measured the dough with a #40 scoop. Arranging them on trays in alternating rows of four and three (to allow for spread), we baked them for about 12 minutes in a moderate oven.

Cookies like these are pretty easy to make, so I wasn't surprised when we were able to leave after about two and a half hours. I mentioned to Chef R that I would enjoy taking a more advanced class to do more challenging cookies like macarons or financiers. Perhaps the College will offer such a course in the future, since Chef has already put together a proposal for another cookie class.