You still have time to think up a question for “Ask Erin Cooks” and to be in the running for a big box of fancy new flavors of Häagen-Dazs ice cream. Just head on over to the original post to submit your response. Entries need to be in no later than 1:00 PM EST tomorrow (Monday, April 14th). The winners will be announced tomorrow night. Good luck!
Allen, the extremely kind purveyor of Eating Out Loud, was a total prince and made sure to check in first to confirm that the pints and pints of rich and decadent Häagen-Dazs ice cream he wanted to bestow upon me weren’t going to interfere with my “diet.” I told him I could measure ice cream servings too, and to bring it on (pretty please)!
And now I want to ruin 3 lucky Erin Cooks readers’ diets (Note: Unfortunately this offer is only open to U.S. residents). Here’s the catch: all you have to do is leave a comment on this post with a question for me to potentially answer for “Ask Erin Cooks.” I’ll pick my favorites, no doubt with a little assistance from live-in taste tester CK, and you’ll win free ice cream! Believe me when I say that there’s almost nothing as fabulous as getting ice cream in the mail. You’ll be the envy of all your neighbors who only receive packages of books from amazon.com and credit card offers.
If you win, your frosty package may contain the following delicious treats: Vanilla Honey Bee, Pomegranate Chip, Frozen Yogurt with Vanilla Honey and Granola, Fleur De Sel Caramel, and a box of snack size Vanilla and Almond Ice Cream Bars. They even throw in a packet of “Bee Friendly Seeds” for you to plant. What more could you ask for?!
So get your thinking caps on, but not too tight, and submit your questions below. Your ice cream is waiting! The winners will be announced on Monday.
Dear ErinCooks: I have a chocolate chip cookie conundrum: try as I might I can’t get my cookies to the consistency I like. I am a fan of chewy chocolate chip cookies, not cakey or crunchy, just chewy. I think it must be a butter issue. Should I try margarine or shortening? Maybe it’s too much mixing? Or maybe timing? — Julia
Dear Julia: This is your lucky day! While I can’t honestly speak coherently to the science behind chewy, over cakey, over crispy chocolate chip cookies I do have a fabulous recipe to share with you. According to the recipe’s author, this particular cookie dough contains less butter than the standard recipe, which prevents the cookies from spreading too much in the oven. So you’re right on track about butter having something to do with a cookie’s texture.
Please give this recipe a try and let me know what you think. It’s one of my favorites and right up there with the artichoke dip in the category of "super top secret." I honestly can’t believe I’m telling you guys how to make all of my best recipes! On a side note The Got Milk? Cookie Book has excellent cookie recipes. The Peanut Butter cookies from that cookbook are some of my favorites too, and if you’re into crisp and crunchy, or thin and chewy, rather than thick and chewy, there’s a recipe inside for you.
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Originally published in the Got Milk? Cookie Book by Peggy Cullen)
Makes 15 large cookies
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
6 tablespoons white sugar
6 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chunks or chips
1 cup nuts (Note: optional. I never add nuts, but it’s totally personal preference).
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugars, salt, and vanilla until well combined. Beat in the egg. Scrape down the bowl using a rubber spatula and beat for a few more seconds.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix on low speed just until absorbed. Combine the chocolate chunks and nuts into a small bowl and stir into the dough.
Shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and drop them about 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets (Note: I use a silpat. I don’t have a lot of faith in leaving my baked goods ability to be removed from a pan up to chance). For perfectly uniform cookies, scoop the dough using a 1 1/2 inch diameter ice-cream scoop, leveling the dough off across the top before dropping onto the baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until edges are golden. Let sit for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely (Note: I never bake my batches for more than 12 minutes. If you over bake the cookies they obviously wont be chewy).
Doubling: I should warn you all that I’ve never had very good luck when I double this recipe. Sometimes they come out really flat, sometimes they come out thin and chewy, and sometimes they’re just a big mess. Once in a while they come out like they’re supposed to, but not often. You’re better off making two complete batches of the smaller original recipe.
Need some advice? You can always Ask Erin Cooks.
Welcome to a new feature on ErinCooks.com in which I’ll attempt to answer “burning questions” posed to me by honest to goodness real people with actual food related concerns. Need some advice? You can always Ask Erin Cooks.
Dear ErinCooks: The onion has long been my sworn enemy. I know it adds flavor and whatever to dishes but onions disagree with me so I avoided them. Since I stopped eating Smartfood Popcorn and cereal as meals, became a vegan and started cooking proper food for myself I decided it was time to make my peace with the onion. My body definitely rebelled when I started feeding it vegetables and fruits, but it adjusted and so I started actually adding onions to things when called for and now they don’t bother me. Well, not exactly and that brings me to my onion related questions:
1. I hate handling onions because the smell lingers on my hands and repulses me. Why in the age of convenience food, when you can buy precut everything, can’t I find precut onions? Do they not keep in the cut state? Do they exist and I just can’t find them? Is this the dumbest question you’ve ever heard?
2. If I do indeed have to handle onions, how do I get rid of the smell? Someone told me you can rub lemon on your hands, but then my hands just smell like onions and lemons.
Help me, ErinCooks. You’re my only hope.
– Anna D
Dear Anna D: This is your lucky day because you can actually buy pre-cut onions (I’ve definitely seen them at Whole Foods). You can also purchase frozen onions but if you tell anyone that you’re doing that they will mercilessly ridicule you (i.e. I will point and laugh). Or you can pre-chop and freeze them yourself for future use. If you do buy pre-cut onions just keep in mind that you’re going to be paying at least twice as much for them.
As for your concern about the onion smell staying on your hands, I’ve never really noticed this with onions. I am however horrified on a daily basis by the smell of garlic on my hands. I’ve woken up many nights in bed completely disgusted by the smell emanating from my hands after having chopped up garlic for a dish. For that reason, I try to touch the garlic as little as possible and wash my hands with a lemon based soap immediately after dropping the smelly stuff into whatever concoction I’m making. Lately I’ve been using a peppermint soap from Williams-Sonoma and that seems to do the trick as well. I think the key is to wash your hands as soon as humanly possible after you come in contact with the ingredient you dislike, and if you still really can’t stand it you could always invest in a package of latex gloves.
I also wonder if you might like using shallots better than onions? In fact, people like Anthony Bourdain recommend that you use shallots instead of onions. Apparently it’s one of the things that make restaurant food taste so great, and why we can never duplicate the flavors at home (you know besides the gallons of cream, oil, and butter of course). Or you could buy one of those Vidalia Chop Wizards. I’ve never used one personally, but they seem to have really good reviews online.
