THE GREAT COOKIE QUEST :: the end! ::

thanks kaitlyn for the photos!

for my final act as high inquisitor of chocolate chips, i decided to throw a little cookie tasting party. swanky type stuff. i was curious to see how some of my favorites measured up against the discerning palates of my friends. also, any excuse to eat more cookies and decorate my apartment...

my mom and i ran around town wednesday morning collecting some of my favorite cookies, and then we threw together a few decorations and baked about seven million batches of cookies, just to be real thorough. my apartment smelled amaaaaaazing. and yes i WILL take a moment to brag here, because i made seven batches of cookies in one afternoon, and no i do not own a mixer. those butters were all creamed by hand. my intensely muscular hand. what else is a blog for if not for celebrating these kinds of accomplishments?

after the party i counted the votes, and of the professional bakeries, levain took first (duh), with city bakery at a close second, choco bolo at third. the momofuku compost cookie was the decided disappointment of the night. (which is weird because i LOVE those momofuku cookies.)

the top three scoring cookies of the night were all homemade. my friend janelle's cookie recipe won by a landslide, which is not surprisingly because she makes a killer chocolate chip cookie--so good even *i* couldn't screw it up. (it calls for both butter and shortening, and a generous sprinkling of flaky sea salt just before baking). ashley brought the number two cookie. she swears by the joy of cooking recipe in case you want to look it up. my personal favorite was a reader-submitted vegan recipe, which came in third. vegan! i'm completely obsessed with them. (recipe below!)

and now, for some light nerding: making that many batches of the same cookie in so many different variations was fascinating. i have never had so much fun in the kitchen. i kept shouting at my mother from the kitchen, "MOM! THIS IS INSANE!" the tiniest change in measurements create a hugely different cookie, each dough had an entirely different flavor and consistency, and required all different baking times, and always baked up in the most surprising ways. i mean, you know these things, but seeing it happen that many times really sent me over the edge. it was a very science-y moment for me. someday if i have children who strugge in science class, i'll set up a cookie tasting experiment with them and help them bake up a bunch of different recipes of the same cookie. my mind was blown. 

it was a great night. it was so fun to have my friends come over, and i was giddy to see them take their task so very seriously. and many congratulations to our cookie victors of the evening! such honors.

some of my bloggy girls in attendance: ashley, kaitlyn, erica, and meg (not pictured: becca)

it was such a fun night. thanks to all who came and tasted!

and now:

chelsea's 

vegan chocolate chip cookies

ingredients:

1 cup margarine, chilled

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon molasses

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

directions:

preheat oven to 350 degrees

cream together margarine and sugar until fluffy

add vanilla and molasses

add the dry ingredients and mix well

(i had to add a few tablespoons of water, and mixed using my hands to get the dough to stick together.)

fold in chocolate chips

drop onto cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes
allow to cool completely (better cooled than warm, i found)

//links to other published recipes tasted that evening// 

the new york times recipe

(fascinating accompanying article HERE)

martha stewart's recipe