Yet another choc chip cookie, with a twist
A chocolate chip cookie is always a classic. It's a staple item. Sweet morsels give it a richness. I could go as far as saying it is almost a part of everyone's food chain, because who doesn't love a cookie (not just chocolate chip. Not omitting the healthier versions either)!
I love a good old cookie every so often. I mean, can you tell? I have already written a post about them recently, so clearly I'm still on the cookie train...I've baked them more times during the lockdown than I ever had before. They're easy and quick. If someone says they disagree with the pleasure of a chocolate chip cookie, they're simply not enjoying life correctly. And, with that, maybe this post will change your mind and heart...(amiright?).
This time around I made Cherry Bombe's chocolate chip cookies with toasted walnuts by baker Avery Ruzicka, who is partner and head baker of Manresa Bread and a 2020 James Beard finalist. Before I dive into the cookie, this book holds a special place in my heart, because it was gifted to me by one of my dearest friends and if you don't already know, this book is female written and features only female owned recipes and stories. Cherry bombe celebrates women through food. That is why this cookie deserves its feature, because it is not just a cookie that spans across all cultures and cuisines with its evolution, but this one in particular has been conjured up over time by an amazing female baker, and it's simplicity with a twist are what make this one of the greatest ones I've ever tried.
What I have not yet mentioned is that this cookie is made using wholewheat all purpose flour; something I don't often use. I didn't actually have any wholewheat all purpose flour handy, so I made my version using white all purpose flour, and it still turned out great. The difference between the flours is that wholewheat provides an extra nutty flavor to it, outside of the toasted walnuts, including a higher protein content, so I haven't even given this the absolute quality that it deserves. Avery adds another spin by toasting the walnuts, which adds a subtly smokey bite, quickly counterbalanced by the bittersweetness of the chocolate. I've never much enjoyed walnuts in my chocolate chip cookies, but Levain's was my only allowance. Then Avery's arrived via the Cherry Bombe cookbook. It opened a whole new taste world for me, when toasted. There's smoke, and nuttiness, but it's not overpowering. It is important not to miss the toasting step. You're not supposed to buy pre-toasted walnuts, but do this yourself. You'll be prouder of the outcome, knowing you watched and poured yourself into every method of it. I know it's a frightfully simple cookie; but this version carries a richer taste, and that is thanks to its humble origins.
The chocolate chip cookie is a drop cookie that originated here in the US. Circa 1938, Ruth Graves Wakefield adopted the basic cookie recipe by adding in broken chunks of a Nestlé chocolate bar. From that, the Toll House Cookie was invented a la Wakefield herself. She and her husband ran the Toll House Inn, hence the origins of the name that Wakefield gave Nestlé the rights to, and you can still find the very same recipe printed on the back of every bag of their semi-sweet chocolate chips. The chocolate chip cookie is an $18billion generating market space in the US. That's wildly rich! Moreover, this cookie specifically was the great antidote to the Great Depression. The New Yorker puts it perfectly, "in a single inexpensive hand-held serving, it contained the very richness and comfort that millions of people were forced to live without in the late nineteen-thirties. Ingesting a warm chocolate-chip cookie offered the eaters a brief respite from their quotidian woe." This speaks volumes to what we are experiencing in 2020, with the Coronavirus. It called for a state of despair, a plummet in the economy, and unseen unemployment rates overnight. Is this why we often turn to cookies when in need, or needing to fill a void mentally or physically, or even both? It is a comfort to think of a cookie. It sounds simple, but ask yourself how many times has a cookie cheered you up? Or a sweet treat? The Second World War also spiked popular interest in the chocolate chip cookie, where care packages containing the Toll House cookies were included and shipped to American soldiers oversees. Like Coca-Cola, the war boosted the fame of the cookie thanks to wartime soldiers consumption.
The Baby-Boom generation, raised on Toll House, even seemed to re-create evolutionary versions of the cookie, most notably with Famous Amos and Mrs. Fields when you come to think of it. The cookie dough is still one of the leading flavors of Ben & Jerry's, more than two decades later. There is something to be said about this recipe - it is simple and unassuming, but rich and powerful in as little as three bites. Baking doesn't always need to be complicated, or impressive. It just needs to have heart and method. You need to understand that this cookie is a universal item. Found everywhere around the world, in all its forms and evolutionary styles and shapes. It doesn't hurt anybody, it simply gives sweetness and a moment of comfort. It unifies, and reminds you that you're allowed a cookie break.
There is also something to say about the method, though, because you don't always need to refrigerate your cookie dough before baking, but it does a whole lot to the process when you breakdown the science. Chilling cookie dough before baking solidifies the fat, i.e. the butter. Once you bake them, the chilled fat will take longer to melt than when left at room temperature, and the longer it takes to melt, the lesser the cookies spread and flatten. I like depth to my cookies, I guess I've never been partial to the very flat or crisp versions anyways. You're also allowing the sugars in the mixture to absorb liquid, when it's in the fridge, and the carbohydrates in the flour begin to break down into the sugar. This reaction makes for a deeper flavor and sweetness. Ultimately, by chilling your dough you're allowing for a softer baked cookie, giving it extra chew when you take that first, warm bite. The best bite.
Next time, don't purchase or order a cookie, instead make a fresh batch from scratch. You will compliment, and thank yourself.
To the love of cookies, worldwide!