Sunday Curmudgeonly A Nice Cookie is a Good Thing
Butterscotch and Chocolate Chip Cookie with Pecans
If I had a personal chef, there would be an ever present plate of cookies: small, accompanying tea in the afternoon, along with clotted cream, currant scones, lemon curd, tea sandwiches optional.
Today, in an effort to satisfy my cookie craving, I turned to a book that my husband brought home recently, “The Minimalist Cooks at Home “ by Mark Bittman. The author of “How to Cook Everything”, his recipes are usually spot on, simple, and non-fussy. He posits that cookie recipes need streamlining. For instance, he talks about one batter made in the food processor that can be finished in four different ways, calling it “the mother of all butter cookies”.
For those of you with a curious (read: scientific) bent, Michael Ruhlman in his book “Ratio”, talks about the basic cookie recipe: 1 part sugar, 2 parts fat, 3 parts flour, and whatever flavorings you choose.
I took Bittman’s basic recipe and decided to go in a butterscotch direction. My friend, Vicki, makes a great butterscotch chip and coconut cookie that I love. Not having any shredded coconut in the pantry (time for a Market Basket run), I decided to go with butterscotch and chocolate chips. There was a small amount of Heath Bar toffee chips from a previous version, so I tossed those in as well. In place of just granulated sugar, I substituted a mix of light brown and granulated to emphasize the butterscotch notes. Also, a touch of molasses.
The dough from the food processor method still needed to be finished in a mixing bowl, so next time I’ll go with the stand mixer. Unfortunately, the dough was very wet, too much milk, I think, the structure was lacking. The toffee probably contributed to that as well, as it tends to liquify above 350º. I ended up foisting them on the next door neighbors, our team of test kitchen tasters. Leave a comment below if you’d like to join the team.
Bittman rarely steers me wrong. His Chocolate Mousse recipe from How to Cook Everything is fast, delicious, and easy. Relying on him for basic waffle, pancake and muffin recipes is reflex. Except for Blueberry Muffins, where Cook’s Illustrated has the very best even though it is longer and more complex. Apologies to the iconic New England Jordan Marsh version!
So, I revisited my husband’s chocolate chip cookie recipe and grafted on the butterscotch flavor. Here is the resulting Butterscotch and Chocolate Chip Cookie with Pecans.
Recipe
Ingredients
1 stick room temp butter
½ cup vegetable shortening
¾ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp molasses
¾ tsp espresso granules
2 cups AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup butterscotch chips
⅓ cup chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
⅓ cup granulated sugar with 1 ¼ tsp salt mixed in a bowl for topping
Directions
Cream butter, sugar, shortening, salt, espresso, baking soda, vanilla, and vinegar in a stand mixer on medium high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add the egg and molasses, mix on low for 30 seconds or so until incorporated.
Add ½ the flour, mix on low. Use spatula to scrape sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the rest of the flour until just combined. Don’t overmix.
Add both chips and nuts, combine.
Chill overnight.
Preheat oven to 375º
Scoop dough with a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop, roll in sugar/salt mixture, bake for 9-11 minutes.
Remove to cookie rack to cool.
can't wait to try them - sounds delicious