While I know changing anything about an America’s Test Kitchen is madness, as they test everything 1,000 ways to find the very best methods (and don’t worry, I did retain their unusual stirring method!), I am quite pleased with the results from replacing nuts with freeze-dried strawberries. Chocolate and strawberry is always a good combo, and the browned butter rounds out an irresistible cookie!
Thick and loaded with things!
Ingredients:
- 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup lightly crumbled freeze-dried strawberries, measured after crumbling (or, if you must, chopped and toasted pecans or walnuts)
Place one oven rack in the center and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line to baking sheets with parchment and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking soda and set aside. Cut 4 tablespoons of the butter into tablespoon-sized chunks and place in a large heat-safe bowl, then set aside.
Heat the remaining 10 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until melted, then continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the melted butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty scent. Pour the melted butter over the 4 tablespoons of butter in the large bowl and stir until evenly melted.
Whisk in the sugars, salt, and vanilla.
Add the egg and yolk, whisking until no lumps remain, about 30 seconds.
Let the mixture rest for 3 minutes, then whisk a further 30 seconds, rest another 3 minutes, and repeat the whisking and resting a further 2 times. Allowing the sugars to melt into the butter like this apparently adds a bit of a toffee flavor to the finished cookie, and by the looks of it also works some extra air in (lightening the color) while it cools a bit.
Using a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture until just combined.
Add the chocolate chips and strawberries, again stirring until just combined.
Divide into 16 portions, each roughly 3 tablespoons in size, and place on the lined baking sheets, about 2″ apart.
Bake one sheet at a time, rotating the pan halfway through, 10-14 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown, with set edges but soft centers, then repeat with the second pan. I cooked my first batch for 12 minutes and they weren’t burnt, but were more baked than they had to be, and my second batch for 10 minutes which was just right with the oven I was using.
12 minutes total
10 minutes total (and I was out of parchment)
Let cool on the pan for several minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (or eat warm, who are we kidding?!).
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lightly adapted from The Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook 15th Anniversary Edition.
- 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup lightly crumbled freeze-dried strawberries, measured after crumbling
Place one oven rack in the center and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line to baking sheets with parchment and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the flour and baking soda and set aside. Cut 4 tablespoons of the butter into tablespoon-sized chunks and place in a large heat-safe bowl, then set aside.
Heat the remaining 10 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until melted, then continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the melted butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty scent. Pour the melted butter over the 4 tablespoons of butter in the large bowl and stir until evenly melted. Whisk in the sugars, salt, and vanilla, then the egg and yolk, whisking until no lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Let the mixture rest for 3 minutes, then whisk a further 30 seconds, rest another 3 minutes, and repeat the whisking and resting a further 2 times.
Using a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture until just combined, then add the chocolate chips and strawberries, again stirring until just combined. Divide into 16 portions, each roughly 3 tablespoons in size, and place on the lined baking sheets, about 2″ apart. Bake one sheet at a time, rotating the pan halfway through, 10-14 minutes, until the cookies are golden brown, with set edges but soft centers, then repeat with the second pan.
Let cool on the pan for several minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Add the dry mixture to the wet, stirring until just combined.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
Bake 45-50 minutes until the cake passes the toothpick test.
If you are making a double batch, bake in a 9×13″ pan. Check at 45 minutes, and if the top is already browned, cover with foil to prevent burning and bake another 10-15 minutes until the cake passes the toothpick test.
Ingredients:
Add the buttermilk and mix well again.
Add the dry goods and mix again until well combined. I thought the batter seemed alarmingly liquid-y at this point, but it firmed up just fine while baking.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake 20-25 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test.
At 25 minutes when I took mine out of the oven and jostled the pan it looked like it jiggled a bit, but a toothpick came out clean so I called it done, and (when it had cooled and I checked it out later) it was, indeed, baked through.
Serve warm, or cool in the pan before slicing.
Ingredients:
Cover the bowl loosely and let the dough rise in a warm place at least two, and up to five hours. At this point the dough is ready to cook, or be refrigerated.
Cook the bread for about an hour, until the surface is soft but feels baked – I found that for dough straight out of the fridge, 70 minutes worked well. I also noticed that with cheese in the dough, some of the melted cheese looked misleadingly like ‘uncooked’ dough, so don’t get fooled by that!
Beat in the sugars.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.
Add the flour mixture and beat until just combined.
Spread half of the dough into the prepared pan. If you have a hard time spreading the dough, you can wet your fingers or use a bit more parchment to press on the dough.
Spread the 1/3 cup of peanut butter over the spread dough.
Pour the chocolate chips evenly over the peanut butter.
Uncover the fluff container and microwave for 20 seconds or until the fluff is just starting to rise over the top, then spread the warmed fluff evenly over the chocolate chips.
Press portions of the remaining dough between your hands to create thin ‘shingles’ to cover the fluff, using up the remaining dough.
Bake for 28-30 minutes, until lightly golden on top.
Let cool (at least to the point you can touch it!) and then cut into bars and enjoy.
Ingredients:
Reserve 1 cup of the flour mixture, and press the remaining mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl beat the cream cheese with the sweetened condensed milk until light and fluffy, then beat in the lemon juice.
In another medium bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons brown sugar, the cornstarch, and the strawberry pie filling, and stir until well mixed.
When the crust is baked, spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the crust.
Spread the strawberry mixture evenly on top of the cream cheese layer.
Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of the flour mixture over the strawberry layer.
Bake an additional 35-40 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
Let cool to room temperature before slicing, then store in the refrigerator.
This duck cooks quite quickly, and makes plenty of sauce that I thought also worked well as a dressing on the salad I ate it with. Other than the baby carrots, this was a very farm stand heavy meal, which is grand, and I got 3 dinners out of the duck.
Ingredients:
Place the pan in the oven and cook 8-10 minutes, for medium rare, or longer as desired. (I went with 10 minutes and it was right for me.)
Remove the duck from the pan to a cutting board and let rest.
Add the balsamic vinegar and cook until reduced, scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan (if you’re not using non-stick anyway). Add the stock and raspberries, and cook until the berries are soft and warm.
Slice the rested duck breasts and serve with the raspberry sauce.
I feel like this would be nice for a small dinner party, because it looks a bit fancy, tastes great, and requires very little hands-on time. Could always serve it warm with some vanilla ice cream, cuz why not?
Bake 20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.
Let cool on the pan 5 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Refreeze, if desired, or eat immediately. Simple!
Ingredients:
In another bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, egg yolk, 2 tablespoons sugar, and cinnamon.
Set both bowls aside.
Place the rolled dough on a sheet pan, or in smaller dishes for mini galettes. Spread the cream cheese mixture on the dough, leaving a 2″ clear space around the edges.
Top the cream cheese mixture with the berry mixture.
Fold in the edges of the crust, pressing the overlapped pieces to hold it shut. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
While the galette(s) chill, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Briefly beat the remaining egg, then brush the egg over the crust. Sprinkle with additional sugar.
Bake 20-25 minutes (for either size), until the crust is golden brown.
Let cool several minutes before slicing and serving.
