My life, by the numbers:
Twelve: the number of bags of chocolate chips I found in my pantry (Three open and half-used).
Nine: the number of bags of brown sugar I found (Six open).
Three: the number of boxes of cake flour I found. (All open. For the record, I do not recall ever having used cake flour.)
One: the number of bags of bread flour I found. (Unopened. Because it had been hiding behind a box of cake mix.)
I’ve been cleaning out my pantry this week, a project that I had clearly postponed for far too long, judging by the insane numbers of excess bags and boxes and cans I have found.
And, of course, one of the reasons I have postponed this task for so long is that I truly despise wasting food. It seems like one of the greatest sins a person is capable of: to hoard and waste a product that can give life.
The good news is that most of things I found were salvageable or in such small quantities that tossing them did not feel like a major waste.
But, of course, that means I have been baking an awful lot.
We had banana cake with cream cheese frosting last Monday.
On Wednesday, I mixed a yellow cake mix with a stick of melted butter and dolloped it over a few sliced, overripe peaches to make a semi-homemade cobbler.
This Saturday, I knew I would be seeing a few old friends the next day, so I decided it was the perfect time to break out some of those boxes of cake flour and the bread flour.
It was time to make Fancy Cookies.
That’s not their real name, but I think of this recipe because it seems fussy to me: two types of flour? Sifting? RESTING OVERNIGHT?
But I had eaten them before, and I knew the results would be worth the effort.
My mom actually found this recipe first, years ago. She shared them generously with friends and family alike, and both begged her for the recipe.
In fact, people still occasionally stop me in Walmart to say, “I’m still making your mama’s cookies!”
Technically, they are Jacque Torres’s cookies. He developed the recipe and published it in the New York Times. But it was Mama who brought them to Starkville, as far as I am concerned.
While I might have bitten off more than I could chew by doubling this recipe – the doubled version does not fit into the bowl of my stand mixer, causing me much consternation as I wrestled the stiff dough into submission – results will not go uneaten.
And that is because they are absolutely delicious, creating what I consider to be the perfect chocolate chip cookie texture of thick and chewy throughout.
Plus. PLUS. PLUS! It used up the remainder of TWO boxes of cake flour.
In the end, it worked out extremely well to mix up the dough on one day and bake the cookies the next. And yes, it was worth the extra effort.
Thanks, Jacque. And thanks, Mama.
FANCY-DANCY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Ingredients
8.5 ounces cake flour (a scant 2 cups)
8.5 ounces bread flour (1 2/3 cups)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter (2 1/2 sticks), room temperature
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar 10 ounces
8 ounces granulated sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds dark chocolate chips (I used a mix of chunks and mini chips)
Directions
■ Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
■ In another bowl, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate chips in and fold them in. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
■ When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop dough in golf-ball-sized portions. Bake in oven for around 13-18 minutes.
Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].
Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
