I've gotten a lot of really positive feedback on my two recipe-in-progress photo series, so I started a new category: Picturing.
Going forward, I'll add two posts for each of my cookies. One post will have the cookie recipe as well as the story behind the cookie. The second post will have the pics of the recipe in progress.
As promised, here's my recipe for Blueberry Muffin Top Cookies in process.
Cook the blueberries until they break down, release their color, and thicken to the consistency of jelly. Set aside to cool.
Grind the Nilla Wafers. (Shhh! They're my secret ingredient.)
The creamables. I always use dark brown sugar and (shhh, again) salted butter.
Add the vanilla to the cooled blueberry mixture and whisk to combine. I wait until now to add the vanilla because I don't want it to evaporate over the heat of the stove. That's right: There are no eggs in the wet ingredients.
Add the wet ingredients to the creamables. Take everything for a spin.
Add the dry ingredients. Remember to refrigerate the finished dough for about an hour. This will allow the dough to firm up, which is essential for avoiding a too-cakey texture. I also keep the dough in the fridge when I'm not scooping out dough balls.
Scoop out the dough balls and give them a roll in turbinado sugar. Bake. Try not to eat the whole batch! PS: These will leave your house smelling incredible.
I made this batch of Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies this morning and sent it off this afternoon to Jon's cousin Rachael, who's away at music camp. (Playing the piano can be tiring. I hope these cookies give Rachael a nice pick-me-up before she performs.) Here, with my best imitation of the photography over at Smitten Kitchen, is a visual process analysis of making cookies.
Grind the oats and assemble the dry ingredients. When it comes to the chocolate, I advocate the KISS method: Keep It Simple, Stupid. Hershey's milk chocolate and Nestle semisweet chips are perfect.
Cream together the creamables: the butter and dark brown sugar.
Combine the wet ingredients: the eggs, vanilla, and milk. I like to scramble everything together to ensure that all the wet ingredients are evenly distributed before I add them to the creamables.
Add the wet ingredients to the creamables. Give everything a whirl in the mixer.
Add the dry ingredients to the combined wet ingredients and creamables. (Mmm...smells good.)
Use a cookie scoop to form the dough into balls. (Try not eat all the raw dough). Bake. Let cookies cool...or not, depending on whether you like your cookies served hot or cooled.
