Improvisation: Double Chocolate Peanut Cookies

Chefanie here (with some help from George the Random)! I just did something pretty hard in baking.  I improvised. I was working on my favorite cookie recipe, and I accidentally forgot to check if I had the right amount of chocolate chips.  We didn’t, so I used 3 tablespoons of Hershey’s cocoa powder and, for a little crunch, 2 cups chopped peanuts.  The outcome was delicious! The moral of the story: improvisation sometimes leads to greatness.

Big and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hi! This is Chefanie here. For a while now I have been working on my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, Chef’s Illustrated’s Big and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. The first time I made them they were all burnt and icky and who wants to eat burnt and icky cookies.  So I got to work! The recipe said to cook them for 20 minutes.  I made a few batches, decreasing the cooking time until I ended up with 15 minutes.  The recipe also said to make the balls the size of a tablespoon using a tablespoon.  I started making them by hand and making them bigger, about 2 tablespoons.  They turned out delicious.  The trick is to wash your hands before and after.  The moral is that you should probably tinker with your recipe a little bit.  Now my cookies are big, chewy, and awesome!