THE SISTERS HAVE SPOKEN! The all-time best chocolate chip cookie recipe and the number one homemade ice cream recipe have been chosen. As you can see from this photo of the selections, the competition was stiff!
Every single entry was delicious and worthy of accolade, and more than anything: I think most of us learned that what makes a cookie “the best” is superior ingredients and skill, of course, but is also mood, environment, and pure subjectivity! So with that in mind, by all means make the winning recipes your new go-tos, but try the others as well, because they are all GREAT!
And now, without further ado, our dueling champions: April Ulrich, for her Nutella-Peanut Butter Ice Cream, and Kara Matsuda, for her Not Your Mama’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. Congrats, ladies! And thanks to everyone who brought a submission and/or cast a vote!
Not your mama’s oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
In a normal blender grind all together:
4 oz. (3/4 C) Whole almonds (not necessary to blanch or remove skins)
8 oz. (about 2 1/3 C) oatmeal
2 oz. (1/4 C) white sugar
In mixer cream:
1 C butter (2 sticks)
12 oz. (1 ½ C) Brown Sugar
Then add:
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 t. soda
1 t. salt
To creamed mixture add:
Ground oats and almonds
4 oz. (1 C) white flour
12 oz. Semi-sweet chips
3.5 oz. Milk Chocolate bar chopped
Mix all together.
(Reserve some chocolate to top cookies before baking to beautify)
Drop by Tablespoons or cookie scoop onto parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake in a convection oven 350* 9 min. or until lightly golden. If you do not have a convection oven, bake at 375* for 10 min.
Because of the high brown sugar content – these cookies would be great frozen and then thawed – they become even more chewy.
Nutella-Peanut Butter Ice Cream (mixer-to-freezer; no ice cream maker necessary!!)
2 cups heavy cream
1 (14 oz.) Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup Nutella
1 cup peanut butter
Whip heavy cream to stiff peaks in large bowl. Whisk sweetened condensed milk,peanut butter, and Nutella in large bowl. Fold in whipped cream.
Pour into a 2-quart container and cover. Freeze 6 hours or until firm. Store in freezer.
Oatmeal Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies
Mom’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 Cup + 1/3 Cup butter
1/2 Cup Shortening
1 Cup white Sugar
1 Cup Brown Sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
3 Cups flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
Chocolate chips to taste
Cream together butter, shortening and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add dry ingredients until mixed; stir in chocolate chips. Cook at 350 for 8-12 minutes depending on how done you like them. (Jen thinks the key to their deliciousness is to cook them only for 8.)
Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cubes butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 tsp soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Melt butter over medium-low heat in a large saucepan. Eventually it will foam up considerably, and then start to caramelize, going from yellow, to honey-colored, to deep amber (like maple syrup). This will take about 15 minutes; you’ll want to watch the pan carefully, give it a shake now and then, and perhaps lower the heat, to keep it from burning. It will be fragrant and lovely when it’s finished! Set it aside to cool for about an hour.
Preheat oven to 350. Pour cooled butter into a mixing bowl with two sugars. Beat until creamy, about two minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, beat until fluffy, 2-3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl.
Sift together flour, salt and baking soda, add to bowl along with oats, stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Dough will be slightly crumbly. Form 1-1/2 inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Let cookies cool two minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cooking rack.
MnM Cookies
1 cup butter softened (I like to use 1/2 c butter and 1/2 cup applesauce or plain/vanilla yogurt)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Cream together and then add the following dry ingredients.
6 cups flour
2 tsp soda
2 tsp salt
Add chocolate chips or mini-m&ms and nuts (optional).
Bake 8-10 minutes @ 375 degrees.
Healthy Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Jill’s Signature Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup margarine
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs or 1/2 cup egg beaters
2 1/2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine flour, baking soda & salt in small bowl. Beat butter, margarine, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Gradually add and beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Form dough into balls and refrigerate until chilled.
Bake approx 10 minutes.
Jacques Torres’ Chocolate Chip Cookies, aka The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies in America, according to the NY Times
(two sisters made this same recipe)
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content (see note)
Sea salt.
1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.
Mango-Pineapple Sorbet
4-6 mangoes, peeled and diced.
2/3 C sugar
3 T fresh lime juice
1 C finely chopped fresh pineapple
In a food processor (or good blender), puree the mangoes. Add the sugar and lime juice and process to combine. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the pineapple.
Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker* and freeze; let it go until it looks icy, yummy, and firm, about 30 minutes.
*If you don’t have an ice cream maker, just place in an airtight container and put it in the freezer. Take it out and stir once an hour for 3 hours, or until it’s too hard to stir.
Coconut-Ginger-Lemongrass Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Nibs
1 1/2 C coconut milk
1 1/2 C heavy cream
1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and mashed (I used my garlic press)
2 Tbs dried lemongrass
3/4 C sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp coconut extract
pinch of salt
1/2 – 2/3 C chopped dark chocolate
Combine coconut milk, cream, ginger, and lemongrass in a pot over medium-low hit. Cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and let steep 30 more minutes.
Whisk egg yolks, sugar, extracts and salt in a large bowl; set aside.
Strain cream mixture to remove ginger and lemongrass, then return cream to pot. Heat again to a simmer, then, in a SLOW drizzle, pour cream into the egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.
Return the cream-egg mixture to the pot and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens into a custard (7-10 minutes). Pour into a bowl, cover with a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard, and chill for at least four hours.
Freeze in you ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions; add the dark chocolate pieces in the last two minutes of churning.
The rest of the ice cream flavors were all made by April, using her fabulous mixer-to-freezer technique. The recipe for each is the same as the PB Nutella recipe above, but with modified fillings. Let your imagination go wild!
Cinnamon Bun Ice Cream
Follow the original recipe, then stir in cinnamon and melted butter.
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
Follow the original recipe, then add mint extract and melted chocolate.
Root Beer Float Ice Cream
Follow the original recipe, then add root beer float flavored ice cream topping.
Coconut Mango Ice Cream
Follow the original recipe, then add coconut extract and fresh mango.
Thanks, Carrie, for letting us crash your place and dust it with cookie crumbs and creamy dribbles!
