Chewy gooey crispy crunchy melt-in-your-mouth cookies

384 Pages·2010·1.11 MB·English

by  Alice Medrich

CHEWY GOOEY
CRISPY CRUNCHY
MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH
COOKIES BY
ALICE MEDRICH
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CHEWY GOOEY
CRISPY CRUNCHY
MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH
COOKIES BY
ALICE MEDRICH
PHOTOGRAPHS BY
DEBORAH JONES
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Copyright © 2010 by Alice Medrich Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Photographs copyright © 2010 by Deborah Jones Medrich, Alice.
Chewy gooey crispy crunchy melt-in-your-mouth cookies /
by Alice Medrich.
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced—
p. cm.
mechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including
ISBN 978-1-57965-397-2
photocopying—without written permission of the publisher.
1. Cookies. I. Title.
TX772.M432 2010
Published by Artisan 641.8'654—dc22
A Division of Workman Publishing Company, Inc. 2010019491
225 Varick Street
New York, NY 10014-4381
DESIGN BY MORLA DESIGN
www.artisanbooks.com
ART DIRECTION AND PHOTOGRAPHIC STYLING BY SARA SLAVIN
Printed in China
First printing, October 2010
preceding spread: Robert's Brownies Transposed (page 226)
page 8: New Classic Coconut Macaroons 2.0 (page 166) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION | 6 CRISPY | 29 COMPONENTS | 335
USER’S GUIDE | 9 CRUNCHY | 83 INGREDIENTS | 348
QUICK START | 12 CHUNKY | 129 EQUIPMENT | 360
FAQs | 13 CHEWY | 147 RESOURCES | 362
GOOEY | 181 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | 364
FLAKY | 243 SMART SEARCH | 365
MELT-IN-YOUR- INDEX | 368
MOUTH | 275
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INTRODUCTION
Cookies are easy, enticing, and fun. They invite creativity did I say, “These are good, but let’s do it again with a little
and reward experimentation—no rocket science required. more of this, or add some pepper, or what about whole
Yet, even in this era of culinary obsession, chefs ignore wheat or oat fl our”? Indeed, “What about this? What
cookies, and home cooks cling to the recipe on the bag about that?” was my constant mantra.
of chocolate chips. So I asked myself: What if cookies Even plain fl our gave me pause. I’ve always insisted that
refl ected our modern culinary sensibility—our spirit of bleached fl our makes more tender cookies. But now, after a
adventure and passion for fl avors and even our dietary career-long, oft-stated commitment to simple ingredients
concerns—without losing their universal friendly appeal? and pure fl avors, I confronted my bleached-fl our habit.
What if cookies were hip (but not too hip)? And why not Tinkering and tasting, I found that I could get tender, even
celebrate the physical and sensual appeal of cookies by melt-in-your-mouth cookies with unbleached fl our, and
grouping them by texture? Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy . . . that the plainest cookies not only tasted but also smelled
is my response to these, life’s larger cookie questions. better when I used it! I revised my recipes (as necessary) for
I began by revisiting my own repertoire, always asking, unbleached fl our.
“Do I still like these? Do they appeal to modern tastes?” I What else is new? Classic crispy wafers called tuiles
changed leavenings, baking temperatures, and pan liners come in fl avors from vanilla bean to saffron, lavender,
to improve textures. I sometimes cut sugar or butter tarragon, and thyme. Nutty Cocoa Cookie Bark fl aunts
(for more fl avor!), or added more spice, or new spices. I Parmesan and pine nuts. Or forget the cheese and make
tried olive oil, herbs, and pepper. I adjusted salt to offset it kitschy and kid-friendly for the holidays with crushed
sweetness and heighten fl avors. I tuned up cookie classics peppermint sticks and drizzled white chocolate!
like snicker doodles, sugar cookies, coconut macaroons, My collection of bittersweet brownies remains
even brownies, with a shower of grated cinnamon stick or priceless, including Less-Is-More Overnight Brownies.
nutmeg, or with fragrant sugars spiked with cardamom, Look for Buckwheat Linzer Cookies with cacao nibs as
garam masala, chili powder, or star anise. How many times well as Spicy Linzer Bars. You’ll also fi nd an inspired
6 INTRODUCTION
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handful of gooey caramel-fi lled Latin American cookies “Crunchy,” just in case. Browse the “Chunky” chapter for
called Alfajores. cookies or bars chock-full of nuggets and bumps. If what
My classic chocolate chip cookies with melted butter you are looking for has nothing to do with texture, go to
are here, but so are shatteringly crisp, ultrathin chocolate “Smart Search” (pages 365–67) to fi nd quick-and-easy
chip cookies that redefi ne the genre. Look for cookies cookies, wheat-free cookies, cookies with whole grains, or
with whole grains such as Great Grahams (addictive!) cookies for Weight Watchers, for example.
and Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies—right next I aimed for the highest standard: if a cookie that was
to superb Wheat-Free Chocolate Chip and Wheat-Free lower in fat, wheat-free, or whole grain was just “pretty
Double-Oatmeal Cookies—and more. Indeed, I adored good,” then it wasn’t good enough! Thus cookies that meet
the creative challenge of making delicious cookies without these criteria are not segregated, and omnivorous cookie
wheat and I used a variety of strategies to that end. lovers should not ignore them.
Sometimes I used a single non-wheat fl our; other times I Most of my recipes are short and simple, but each
blended fl ours and starches. Rather than seek or rely on a includes the essential details to ensure great cookies.
one-size-fi ts-all blend of fl ours, I wanted the best taste and Throughout the book you will fi nd loads of information
texture for the particular cookie at hand. and help if you need to brush up on beating or folding egg
Meanwhile, if you think you know meringues, try whites, piping meringue, handling phyllo dough, and other
Banana Pecan Meringues, Peanut Butter Clouds, or common cookie tasks.
meringues loaded with salted nuts and milk chocolate A personal collection such as this is not meant to
chunks, then think again. You’ll also fi nd ethereal French be encyclopedic. I hope you fi nd this one whimsical yet
Macarons—and everything you need to know to make practical, quirky but comforting, eccentric but engaging. I
them successfully. hope that Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy will pull new bakers
My recipes are organized by texture. If you love crispy into the kitchen for the fi rst time and inspire seasoned
cookies, go directly to the “Crispy” chapter, then check out hands to ever greater heights of cookie creativity.
7
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USER’S
GUIDE
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