The Great Chocolate Chip Cookie Debate

thin and crispy VS. soft and gooey

Ok. There are millions of chocolate chip cookie recipes out there. But really, there are only two types of chocolate chip cookies in my world. Thin and crispy, or soft and gooey.

(Well, there are three. Warm, slightly undercooked pizza-sized, chocolate chip cookies from the Pirate's Cove in Gambier, Ohio. At 3am. Preferably as a chaser to a night of drinking Boone's Farm wine and after a thin crust Cove pizza with pepperoni, pineapple, onions and green peppers. Sadly, the Cove closed its doors soon after I graduated from college. Which is almost 13 years ago, but I'm not counting or anything.)

Soft and Gooey

Thin and Crispy

So, currently, there are only two types of chocolate chip cookies. Twin 1 and Man Mountain like soft and gooey. (Man Mountain actually likes raw best. I think I would too if I didn't keep thinking salmonella!). Twin 2 and I like thin and crispy. Now, making two whole batches of cookies takes time patience and effort, things I have little of during football season (with the Giants losing to the freakin' Cowboys!), so I decided that it was time for a family taste-test to choose one, once and for all!

Little Bitefuls, who will consume chocolate chip cookies in ANY form, would be the tie-breaker.

For thin and crispy, no one, NO ONE (not even my beloved Ina) can compare to Tate's. Kathleen King of Tate's Bake Shop in Southampton, N.Y. invented a recipe that is absolutely addictive. And the recipe on the back of Nestle's Morsels tends to be the generic go-to for soft cookies around here. But I wanted to change that up.

Sidebar: Man Mountain makes a heckuva chocolate chip/oatmeal/walnut cookie that is baked in mounds as big as Goliath, but I wanted to keep it a little simpler. 

So after an exhaustive, but drooling day of research, Twin 2 and I decided on this.

And it was good. REALLY good.

But it had NUTHIN' on Tate's.

Even Man Mountain agreed.

The homemade ones retained a slight softness in the center that made them EVEN better than the ones from the stores. Ridiculously good. Little Bitefuls concurred. She had to try each one three times though before she made up her mind. Ah, the capriciousness of youth!

So, we declared Tate's....The WINNER!!!


Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe 


from Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook by Kathleen King

Yield: 4 1/2 dozen three-inch cookies.

• 2 cups all-purpose pour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup salted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (Chocolate quality MATTERS. I used Ghiradelli Mini Chocolate Chips)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two cookie sheets or line them with Silpat, or parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. In another large bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Add the water and vanilla. Mix the ingredients until they are just combined.
4. Add the eggs and mix them lightly. Stir in the flour mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips. Don’t over mix the dough.
5. Drop the cookies 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets using two tablespoons or an ice cream scoop. (I used ONE tablespoon for the pictures in the photo)
6. Bake them for 12 minutes or until the edges and centers are brown. Remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Bacon, Bacon, Bacon...Pancetta!

There is something about bacon...

I have people who are peripherally related to me by marriage that are vegetarians, with one exception - yup, bacon.
Some say that bacon is a food group unto itself.

And there is a whole subculture within this food group.

It is known as FOREIGN bacon.

One such bacon beacon of delight is from Italy. Pancetta. Crispy and delicious, salty, rich. Sorry Oscar Meyer, but the Italians have us on this one.

And it is with pancetta that I make a little party favor that I take to cocktail parties. I had the original at a friend's house for book club, and tinkered with the recipe to make it into a sandwich.

The "Happy Pig" Sandwich

Sliced ciabatta roll, brushed with olive oil, lightly toasted, or grilled
Schmear of goat cheese (Beltane. To die for!)
Fresh spinach leaves

1/4 inch slice of ripe, but not too ripe, Bartlett pear OR 1/8 inch slice of Granny Smith apple

Half-moons of crispy pancetta*

Fresh thyme leaves, cracked black pepper and clover honey to garnish

*To cook pancetta - Preheat oven to 450. Place 1/4 inch slices on aluminum foil on rimmed baking sheet. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes until crispy. Voila!

Try it with a fried egg, yolk warm and oozing, on top.