Spatchcocked chicken? You watch your language!

One of my favorite t.v. chefs used to be Aida Mollenkamp. I don't know if she's even on t.v. anymore, but I still follow her online. Recently, she posted an amazing recipe for a spatchcocked roasted chicken with lime, chile, and cilantro. As you know, I'm all about spatchcocking (or so you may have heard--tee hee), but I never thought that only five ingredients would yield something so incredibly flavorful. It should be noted that I used pickled jalapenos instead of serranos (as it's what I had on hand), and added a teaspoon each of ground cumin and dark chili powder to the marinade. So that takes it to seven ingredients, but c'est la vie! 

I served this wonderfully tender, juicy, and zesty chicken with a simple salad of (steamed, peeled and chunked and cooled) potatoes, corn (steamed and cut from the cob), pickled green beans, a can of dark red kidney beans (drained), and a few small chopped tomatoes all tossed with a little bottled vinaigrette. This meal is definitely going into my regular repertoire!

Note: If the chicken comes out of the oven not quite dark and crispy enough to suit you, flip on the broiler for a few minutes right at the end of cooking time.

Roasted Cilantro Chile Lime Spatchcocked Chicken
(Source: adapted from Aida Mollenkamp)

1 (4 to 5 pound) chicken
1 or 2 medium serrano chiles seeded and minced
5 medium garlic cloves grated or minced
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated lime zest, divided
scant teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for drizzling
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon dark chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Heat oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Remove necks and any innards from the cavities and discard. To spatchcock, use a sharp pair of sharp poultry shears or kitchen scissors to cut along the backbone; remove and discard. Score along the breastbone then flip chicken, placing it breast-side up, and pressing down to flatten until it is lying completely flat.

Combine half of the lime zest with remaining ingredients in a small bowl and mix until evenly combined. Season and adjust flavor as desired. Massage the mixture into both sides of the bird.  Set aside while oven heats up, at least 20 minutes.

Drizzle a little of the marinade into a large cast iron pan, roasting pan, or baking dish and rotate to coat the bottom. Lay chicken breast-side down, scrape/pour the remainder of the marinade over the chicken, then roast until breast is golden brown and opaque, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, carefully flip, then continue to roast, basting every few minutes, until thigh juices run clear and an instant read thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165°F, about 15 to 20 minutes more (about 45 to 50 minutes total). 

Set chicken aside and rest 5 to 10 minutes before carving. Serve garnished with remaining lime zest, cilantro, and with pan juices spooned over the top.

This is a dangerous post. Deliciously dangerous.

People, I have gone to a very dark, dangerous place this time...a place that no diabetics, those on cholesterol/blood pressure meds, or anyone with any genuine concern for his or health should go. But here it is: I have created a Doughnut Plant-Voodoo Doughnut hybrid that may not surpass my beloved Doughnut Plant doughnuts, but they are six hours closer to home and also a thousand times better than Dunkin' Donuts, the only game in this town. 

I found the recipe online via Cooking Channel's "Follow That Food." And I read a bunch of user comments, but now I cannot find where I saw those. But the one recurring comment I remember was that the recipe was incorrect, as it called for way too much flour, so I omitted one cup (and next time, I might take it down another 1/2 cup).  Another tip I gleaned from somewhere on the internet was to fry in vegetable shortening  instead of vegetable oil, as it's easier to regulate the temperature. Other than that, I followed the recipe pretty faithfully, and these doughnuts turned out AWESOME! Of course, I made them all the more decadently sinful by adding a maple glaze and bacon pieces. OH YES I DID! I can't wait until the local strawberries come into season, as that's my next move. I'd also like to do a sunflower seed version, as that's one of my favorite Doughnut Plant flavors. The possibilities are endless!

A note: This recipe made about 16 large (though not as large as Doughnut Plant) doughnuts. If you don't want to fry them all up at once, you can keep half of the dough in the refrigerator for up to a week proceeding with batch #2. (Any longer than that, and too much yeast will die off, and you won't get a good rise. Plus, they will taste rather boozy from the yeast converting to alcohol.)

Yeast-Raised Doughnuts

(Source: Doughnut Plant's Mark Israel, via Follow That Food)

1 cup milk
1/4 cup water, lukewarm
1 package dry active yeast
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, at room temperature
1 egg, well beaten
1 teaspoon salt 

Vegetable oil, for frying (I prefer to use vegetable shortening)
Special equipment: a doughnut cutter

Basic Confectioners' Sugar Glaze:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons water

To make doughnuts: Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium-heat. When the milk reaches a simmer pour it into a mixing bowl and allow it to cool. Meanwhile, measure 1/4 cup of lukewarm water into a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast into the water then let the mixture stand until the yeast dissolves, about 7 minutes. Stir the yeast mixture into the milk along with one tablespoon of the sugar. Mix in 1 1/2 cups of the flour (by hand or with an electric mixer) then cover the dough starter with a clean towel and set it aside to rise and rest in a warm place for one hour.

When the dough has relaxed, cream the butter with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar. Beat the butter mixture into the dough a little at a time. Mix in the egg and salt then mix in the remaining three cups flour. Work the dough until it is smooth then place it in a well-greased bowl. Cover again with a clean towel and set aside in a warm place until doubled in bulk, at least one hour.

Turn the dough out onto floured board and roll it out about 1/2-inch thick. Using a floured doughnut cutter, cut out the doughnuts. Transfer the doughnuts to a clean floured board or baking sheet. Cover once again with a clean towel, and set aside to rise until doubled.

Heat about four inches of oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 350 degrees F. Working in batches of two or three, fry the doughnuts until they float. Once they bob to the surface of the oil, carefully flip them over. Continue cooking, turning as necessary, until the doughnuts are uniformly golden-brown. Transfer the cooked doughnuts to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. While the doughnuts are still warm, dip one side of each into the glaze then set aside to cool until the glaze firms. Serve warm or at room temperature.

To make the glaze: Combine the confectioners' sugar with two tablespoons of water in a small bowl. Mix well then add a little more water, if necessary, to make a smooth, creamy glaze. Cover the glaze directly with plastic wrap and reserve. You can alter the basic glaze recipe by substituting fruit juice or liqueur for some or all of the water. (To make maple bacon doughnuts: I added two tablespoons of Grade B maple syrup and about a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste to make the maple glaze. After dipping the doughnuts in the glaze twice, I sprinkled on bits of real, double-smoked bacon.)

Spring into spring rolls!

I am so susceptible to suggestion when it comes to cooking. If I see something prepared on t.v. that looks good, I sprint to the kitchen immediately to try to recreate it. So when my friend, Mike, made spring rolls and posted a pic to Facebook recently, I had no choice but to make spring rolls of my own. And since it seems like spring has FINALLY come after the world's longest winter, what better thing to make as an homage to the season than spring rolls?

I used Alton Brown's recipe, and I followed it pretty closely, except that I mixed all of the filling ingredients together like a noodle salad of sorts, and then filled the wrappers. Spring rolls may seems intimidating, but they aren't that hard to make. However, I have two pieces of advice to help your learn from my mistakes. First, DON'T overfill the wrappers (as pictured below) or they will explode and make a big old mess--albeit a tasty one--when you try to eat them. Also, don't place the finished rolls on unlined plate or tray as you're making them. As they sit there, they will glue themselves to the surface, and you'll have a devil of a time picking them up without them splitting and, once again, exploding. That's where the lettuce leaves come it. Lay them out on your plate or tray and set a roll inside each leaf as you go, then roll up and devour!

Thai Shrimp Spring Rolls
(Source: Alton Brown via Food Network)

5 ounces thin rice stick noodles
2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
1 pound unpeeled large shrimp
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon sambal chili paste
2 teaspoons sugar
1 large cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and cut into matchsticks
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
3/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
3/4 cup fresh mint, chopped (I omitted the mint, as I don't dig it)
12 (8 1/2-inch) round rice paper wrappers
12 leaves Bibb, Boston, or other soft lettuce

Soy Ginger Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons finely grated ginger
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Soak the rice sticks in enough hot water to cover by 1 inch for 15 minutes.

Bring 1/2 gallon of water to a boil in a large pot set over high heat. Add one tablespoon soy sauce. Add the shrimp and cook until just firm, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the cooked shrimp to a cutting board and cool for three minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel, devein, and coarsely chop. Set aside.

Return the water-soy sauce to a boil. Drain the rice stick noodles and add to the hot soy-water. Cook until tender, approximately three minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the lime juice, remaining one tablespoon soy sauce, chili paste, and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl.

Drain the noodles in a colander. Add the noodles to the lime juice mixture, toss, and set aside while preparing the vegetables.

Toss the cucumber, carrot, cilantro, and mint (if using) together in a small bowl. Transfer any unabsorbed liquid from the noodles to the cucumber mixture and toss to combine.

Cut the noodles into small 1 to 2-inch pieces with kitchen shears.

Fill a pie dish with warm water. Dip one rice paper wrapper into the water for 10 seconds, then transfer to a cutting board until the wrapper is pliable and slightly tacky, approximately one minute.

Place 1/4 cup of the vegetable mixture on the bottom 1/3 of the wrapper nearest to you. Spoon two tablespoons chopped shrimp on top of the vegetables. Top with 1/4 cup noodles. Bring the bottom edge of the wrap tightly over the filling, and then fold in the two sides. Finish rolling from bottom to top until the entire wrapper is rolled. Be careful not to tear the rice paper. Place on a parchment-lined half sheet pan and cover with a damp tea towel. Repeat with the remaining wrappers until the filling is gone. Wrap each roll in a lettuce leaf and serve with Soy Ginger Dipping Sauce.

Soy Ginger Dipping Sauce:
Add all of the ingredients to a lidded jar and shake well to combine. Serve as a dipping sauce for spring rolls.

Whoever came up with this should be sainted!

On my way back from the PBGV National in Harrisburg, PA a couple of weeks ago, of course, I HAD to stop at Wegman's, the world's best grocery store. I acquired many wonderful things, like I do. But I discovered something truly revolutionary in the frozen foods section. 

If you have the good fortune in life to live near a Wegman's, RUN, do not walk, to that most magical grocery store and buy yourself a big bag of...wait for it...mac and cheese ravioli. Then make a blush sauce with a pint of homemade spicy tomato sauce and a cup of farm-fresh cream and prepare yourself for gastronomical nirvana. #yourewelcome

"Tuna in your mac salad? That's CRAZY TALK!"

I have a young colleague at work named Jarrod who teaches psychology and is an all-around delightful human being!  He is an enthusiastic and dedicated instructor, and his students adore him, but he also has many other interesting qualities. First of all, he and his lovely and brilliant wife, Christina, have FIVE--count 'em, FIVE--kids, and he's an awesome dad. Also, he seems to be able to build or repair anything--a brilliant handyman. And as I have recently learned, he has worked in a professional kitchen and as a caterer, and has MAD skills in the kitchen!

After graduation last night, a bunch of us stopped off for a drink at a local bistro, and as we sat on the patio in the drizzling rain (apparently, we're too dumb to come out of the rain), Jarrod and I began comparing notes about macaroni salad. Interestingly, we hold similar views of what makes a mac salad great--like shells are preferable to elbows, and especially, the inclusion of tuna. But he has other fervent but idiosyncratic beliefs, such as you need to find the right balance of mayo to Miracle Whip for the dressing, and that the "secret" ingredient that makes all the difference is a pinch of...wait for it...Lawry's Season Salt. Um, okay. And my belief is that his recipe (based on his mom's) needs some olives, a little ground celery, and maybe a hit of sriracha...because everything does.

Thus, I give you our delicious hybrid, and since I teach speech and Jarrod teaches psych, I shall call it, "Crazy Talk" Mac Salad--as is, "You put TUNA in your macaroni salad? That's just CRAZY TALK!"

"Crazy Talk" Mac Salad

1 lb. small shells or rings, cooked, drained and cooled
4 hard-cooked eggs, cooled, peeled and chopped
1 can chunk tuna, drained
1/4 cup finely-minced onion (or a few green onions or a bunch of chives)
1/2 cup chopped olives (I used green salad olives)
1/2 teaspoon ground celery
1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Miracle Whip
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
squirt of sriracha, optional

Instructions? I think you know what to do.

Maple Brine Tastes Mighty Fine

I sometimes buy those pre-marinated pork tenderloins for weeknight convenience. But sometimes they can be kind of salty and/or have weird flavors. So this time around, I bought a plain tenderloin, and sought out some sort of fabulous brine and/or marinade to make it yummy.

A quick search of the interwebs yielded a maple brine that sounded wonderful. And indeed, it yielded meat that was juicy and flavorful, but not too salty. I liked the result so much, that I well may use it again in the future for not only tenderloins, but pork chops, too. I brined the tenderloin during the day while I was at work, roasted it when I got home, and served it with a nice garlic and ginger chutney. DELISH!

Maple-Brined Pork Loin
(Source: All Recipes)

1 quart cold water
1/4 cup salt
1/3 cup maple syrup
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (2 1/2 pound) boneless pork loin roast
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1. Mix water, salt, 1/3 cup maple syrup, garlic, ginger, rosemary, black pepper, and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Place pork loin in brine mixture and refrigerate for 8 to 10 hours.
2. Remove pork from brine, pat dry, and season all sides with salt and black pepper.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
4. Heat vegetable oil in an oven-proof skillet over high heat. Cook pork, turning to brown each side, about 10 minutes total.
5. Transfer skillet to the oven and roast until pork is browned, about 40 minutes.
6. Mix 2 tablespoons maple syrup and Dijon mustard together in a small bowl.
7. Remove pork roast from the oven and spread maple syrup mixture on all sides. Cook for an additional 15 minutes, until the pork is no longer pink in the center. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145 degrees F (63 degrees C).

Dairy Deliciousness

Things are getting so CRAY-CRAY at this point in the semester, that lots of lower-priority tasks have fallen by the wayside. One of those things is dealing with my milk share. I only get a gallon every two weeks, but my whole back fridge is FULL of milk right now!

So I am constantly searching for new ways to use A LOT of milk in recipes. For tonight's pasta dish, I started by making a batch of fresh ricotta, then I fashioned a hearty casserole that was chock full of dairy goodness--more than is even legal in most states (excluding Wisconsin, of course)!

Dairyful Pasta Bake

2 tablespoons bacon fat

1 lb. Italian sausage

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon Italian herb blend

pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste

2 cups Lacinato kale, stems removed and chopped

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup flour

up to 6 cups whole milk

1 tablespoon chicken soup base

grating of fresh nutmeg
1 cup Parmesan, freshly shredded, divided

1 lb. penne rigate, cooked to al dente and drained

2 cups fresh ricotta

Heat the bacon fat in a large Dutch oven and saute the sausage and onion together until the meat is no longer pink. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the black pepper, Italian herbs, and red pepper flakes. Add the kale and white wine, and cook for a few minutes until kale is wilted and wine is reduced. Sprinkle the flour over everything and stream in a quart of the milk. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. (Add another cup or two of milk if necessary.) Stir in the soup base and nutmeg. Remove from heat and add about half of the Parmesan cheese.

Gently combine the sauce and the pasta along with the ricotta. Pour into a sprayed 9x13 dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until bubbly and starting to turn golden on top. Garnish with extra Parmesan when serving.

Cronut? We don't need no stinkin' Cronut!

I just got home from a whirlwind trip to the Big City. I went down Friday after school, spent the day doing theatre on Saturday, did one last loop to some of my favorite eateries on Sunday, and then hit the road for home. WHEW! But I had a terrific time, even though my roomie and BFF was sick and had to stay home (boo hiss). Enjoy a few tasty pics, won't you?

On my way through the capitol region on Friday, a friend suggested that I make a short detour to Dinosaur BBQ in Troy for dinner. So glad I did! (I can't believe that I've never been before!) This is a solo sampler plate of appetizers: Drunken shrimp, fried green tomato, hoisin chicken wing, Cajun deviled egg.

(The fried green tomato and that one wing were the best things I ate there, hands down!)

Combo platter: Mac and cheese, BBQ beans, cornbread, housemade hot link and chow chow, ribs, and brisket with housemade pickled jalapeños. (Yes, I took half of this with me to my hotel in Secaucus!) 

The main reason for my trip: To see my beloved Neil Patrick Harris in one of my all-time favorite shows, Hedwig and the Angry Inch! FABULOUS!!

The line at the stage door (spilling out into the street) to see NPH. (My fearless friend, Jaymie, is in the red pants. Soon enough, she would use her diminutive size and stealthiness to sneak to the front of the pack for an autograph!

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The man himself, NPH!!!!!!!!!!!! (And that's Jaymie's hand shoving a playbill in his face for him to sign. GO, JAYMIE!!)

And in an act of extreme generosity and friendship, Jaymie gave the signed playbill to me!! I LOVE HER SO MUCH!!

As if the autographed playbill weren't enough, Jaymie and her wife, Audrey, took me to dinner at this place in Chinatown that had the most AMAZING Peking Duck (as the name of the restaurant might lead one to believe).

Apparently, the render the fat from the duck for 48 hours so that it's not the least bit greasy, but so tender and moist. And a chef carves the bird table-side for your viewing (and smelling) pleasure!

I can't even convey how good this was! The Peking Duck was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The way you were supposed to eat it was to roll up a few pieces in a "pancake" (a flour tortilla, really) with some scallion and/or cucumber and their spicy plum sauce. YUM, YUM, YUM!!

My second theatrical experience of the day was to take in Sleep No More, which was this strange, dream-like immersive play that was loosely based on MacBeth. It's located in an old warehouse in Chelsea made into a "hotel" with many rooms and many characters that appear and interact with onlookers from time to time. All of the spectators must wear one of these Venetian-type masks and must not speak, but you may wander from room to room and floor to floor at your own pace and see what interesting things unfold along your journey. VERY, VERY COOL! I'd love to go back and do it again....if I could afford it, that is. :-(

The next day was Easter Sunday, so I thought I'd take a chance that the Cronut line at Dominique Ansel's bakery wouldn't be that bad. Sure enough, I only waited about 45 minutes, and it was a beautiful spring day and quite pleasant to be outside after a loooonnnnggg winter up north. I even found street parking nearby! WOOT!!

Signs inside the shop. (Tee hee.)

Annnnnnddd, here they are! TA-DAH!! The flavor of the month was passion fruit, and they were definitely DELICIOUS! But here's the conclusion I came to: It was fun to do the Cronut thing just to say I'd done it. But for my money (and time), the DKA (their version of kouign amann) was even better, and you don't even have to wait in line to buy one of those! If I did it again, I'd bypass the Cronut line altogether and go right inside and buy as many DKA's as my pocketbook and cholesterol levels would allow.

For my last stop in the City before heading home, I went by another one of my favorite places, Sullivan Street Bakery, for the beloved potato pizza and other baked delicacies. But right next store now is CO, a full-fledged pizza joint that is Jim Lahey's newest project. I ordered the Flambee with bechamel, mozzarella, caramelized onions, and crispy, smoky lardons. A-MAHZING! If this man isn't making the best pizza in the country, I don't know who is!

Cabane À Sucre: A Pictorial (and Gastronomic) Essay

After being on the waiting list for FOUR YEARS, some friends finally won Au Pied de Cochon's reservation lottery and got us into the Cabane à Sucre in St-Benoît de Mirabel, Quebec. And BOY, was it worth the wait! In fact, they are now doing an apple season menu in the fall, and I am on the waiting list to try to get us in for that. In the meantime, please enjoy our gluttonous experience vicariously through the following mouthwatering and nearly-edible photographs...

The GINORMOUS smoker out front in which they were cooking hams, among other good things.

 The Cabane à Sucre.

 Around back of the cabane.

 The front porch.

A packed house! (They sell out almost immediately after opening the reservations system in December.) And we could catch glimpses of famed Chef Martin Picard through the kitchen window in the back! 

 The cash register and other maple products for sale.

If you peek through these windows, you'll see the sugaring equipment. (It's a real sugar shack!)

Our dining crew (clockwise from left): Domenica, Cyd, Jaime, and Matthew (props to Jaime for scoring the reservation!)

Bread bowl filled with foie gras and oreilles de crisse (housemade pork rinds), served with maple baked beans and scrambled eggs cooked in maple syrup.

 
Sushi terrine with flaky pastry on the bottom, sushi rice, avocado, gelatin, and salmon tartare decorated with edible gold leaf.

 
Sturgeon quenelles in a sauce with mussels.

 
MAPLE DAIQUIRI! (Like sugar on snow for grown-ups!)

Omelette souffle on top of beef tripe and housemade chorizo in a spicy tomato sauce with these heavenly garlic croutons on top.

 
Wild creatures crawling around the ceiling beams!

The hams are cooked in the big smokers out front on a bed of hay...like the bedding the pigs would sleep on...for authenticity? (LOL!) 

Carving the ham tableside so that it stays moist.

BEST ham I've ever had! And it was extra-delicious with their housemade spicy maple mustard!

Baked sweet potatoes with spiced, fluffy marshmallow topping.

Squid ink pasta with cheese and crispy hunks of blood sausage drizzled with a spicy chili sauce.

We thought this was the best dish of all: Duck stuffed with its own entrails or some such delicious horror and flambéed at the table, served with a spicy red pepper sauce.

Light and crispy little cornmeal pancakes drenched in maple syrup...they tasted like upscale French toast sticks (tee hee).

They tossed the squid ink pasta inside a huge block of cheese tableside, scraping up bits of cheese as they went. YUM!

Coffee-infused mocha mousse cake, not unlike opera cake.

Left: Maple frozen yogurt doused in rum and sprinkled with maple candy bits
Right: Sugar on snow (naturally!)

Banana cream tarte with meringue (on the flakiest pastry in the world).

 Cyd enjoys a Lilliputian jar of espresso after our amazing meal.

Crunchy Cookie Chips: The New Crack

Has anyone purchased this product in the stores, Cookie Chips? Oh my word! They are SO good and SO addictive! My favorite is cinnamon/snickerdoodley variety, but I also enjoy the chocolate chip--so much so, that I thought I'd make an attempt to copycat them. I don't that I'm all the way there, but I've made a good first attempt.

I started with a recipe for thin and crispy chocolate chip cookies that I found on the Food Network's web site. However, the first batch that I baked off came out more chewy than crispy, almost like a tuile or Florentine cookie. They even had those characteristic tiny holes of a lace cookie (see picture--less flour on the left, more flour on the right). They were yummy, but not what I was going for.

So with each successive batch, I added in a little more flour until I got the desired result. The problem is, that the proportions of ingredients changed as I baked off the cookies, so I can't say exactly how much flour should be included in the final amended recipe. (OOPS!) I am guessing it would be about 3 1/2 cups total. Also, there is no need freeze the dough ahead of time. Just mix and bake! Finally, those flat disks of high-quality chocolate would be the best choice if you can find them, but otherwise, I would recommend using mini chips, as standard-size chips tend to puddle in the middle of the cookie.


Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Source: adapted from Sugar High via Food Network)

2 cups packed light brown sugar 
1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature 
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 
3 whole eggs 
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 
3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
1 pound dark chocolate or chocolate chips (I recommend mini-chips)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or a Silpat. In a stand mixer, cream the brown sugar, butter and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy, about five minutes. Add the eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Mix in 1/3 cup of water and the vanilla. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, salt and baking soda and add to the butter mixture. Mix on low until the flour mixture is incorporated, and then mix in the chocolate pieces. Scoop out the dough onto the prepared cookie sheet and freeze for an hour (you can skip this step with no negative effects). The cookies will spread, so limit 4 cookies for each cookie sheet to give ample room. 

Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through. Remove from the oven and cool. Remove the cookies with a flat spatula to prevent breaking. 

Cook's Note: The recipe does yield a lot of dough, but it's a great freeze and bake cookie. Once you have scooped all the dough and placed them into the freezer, you can pop them into a zip top bag and just bake off as many as you want when you need to!