Chewy, Buttery & Tasty Low Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Dec 19, 2010 Uncategorized
You know the search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie? I think my journey has ended and my perfect cookie is LOW FAT!!! *dies* This recipe comes from America’s Test Kitchen Family Baking Book. Since all the recipes in the book are tested over and over again a couple dozen times to make sure they work, I knew I could trust this suspicious “low fat” cookie recipe.
These cookies are ridiculous. I gave one to my brother and he asked for a second one. He’s a pro at detecting “weird” ingredients and the first one to turn his nose up at “low fat” foods but he had no idea! They come out of the oven with crispy edges and are chewy throughout- they also STAY chewy for days. They are the PERFECT CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE. EXCITED!!! What’s the secret ingredient?! How is this done?!
Dates! I’ve been on a date kick lately because I recently discovered how much I love lara bars- they are these food bars made with all fruit and nuts- no sugar, no additives and no preservatives. And they come in flavors like apple pie, carrot cake and peanut butter cookie. And they TASTE EXACTLY LIKE THOSE THINGS. no joke. *dies again* Anyway the point is, they are held together by dates and so in an attempt to recreate these bars at home, I had a giant tub of dates in my fridge. Which just so happen to be the secret to these cookies.
These cookies are low fat because they cut out a majority of the butter in exchange for date puree- weird but it works. To mask the flavor of the dates and pump up that amazing butter flavor, the butter is browned in a pan over the stove before going into the batter. Browning butter brings out all kinds of luscious buttery flavors and it works like a gem in this recipe. I also thought that as long I was trying to make “healthy” cookies, I would add some whole grain. So I swapped a cup of the all purpose flour with white whole wheat flour. I’m so bad. Yet these cookies are so good.
Don’t be afraid of the dough seems kind of weird a dry- it comes together when you roll it into a ball and while it bakes somehow. I also don’t think it is necessary to bother with their method of shaping the cookies- I think using a cookie scoop would be quicker and they would look fine.
Big and Chewy Light Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/4 cup dried dates (chopped) or whole dates
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour but you know you want your fiber)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper.
2. If your dates are dried, bring 1 cup of water to boil and add dried dates. Boil till dates are tender and puree in the food processor until you have a thick paste. If your dates aren’t dried, skip the boiling and go straight to pureeing them. You should have a little over 1/4 cup of date puree.
3. Cook butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until nutty smelling and brown, about 4 minutes. let cool.
4. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl. In a large bowl, beat the melted butter, brown sugar and date puree together until smooth about 1-2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until combined about 30 seconds, scraping the sides.
5. reduce mixer to low and add flour mixture until combined. reserve 2 tablespoons chocolate chips then mix in remaining chips until incorporated.
6. Working with 2 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll dough into balls, tear the balls in half and press back together with the torn side up. (or skip this step and roll dough into regular balls and place on cookie sheet) Lay the cookies jagged side up on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. press the remaining chocolate chips evenly into cookies.
7. bake cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set adn beggining to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 15- 20 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through baking. (My cookies only took around 13-14 minutes)
8. let the cookies cook on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
Tags: All Purpose Flour, Apple Pie, Butter Flavor, Carrot Cake, Chewy Chocolate Chip, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cookie Recipe, Couple Dozen, Crispy Edges, Flavors, Low Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies, Low Fat Foods, Peanut Butter Cookie, Secret Ingredient, Test Kitchen, White Whole Wheat, White Whole Wheat Flour, Whole Wheat Flour
Char Siu Bao
Nov 19, 2010 Uncategorized
Char Siu Bao is my absolute most favorite dim sum food. It’s a white steamed bread with a bbq pork filling. This is probably my 5th or 6th attempt at making it and finally I’m satisfied.
The first few times I tried to make this bread was a few years ago and I couldn’t get the filling right but I thought the bread was okay. When I recently tried to make it again, I was happy with the filling but the bread was terrible. My third recent attempt finally succeeded and I was
left with a tasty pork filling and soft, fluffy, slightly sweet bread. The texture of the bread is not exactly the same as the baos found in dim sum restaurants but the taste is similar (Probably due to the all-purpose flour) I will definitely try to make the bread again in the future but for now, this recipe is good for my char siu bao cravings!
I guess you could say I cheated because I used store bought char siu sauce to marinate the meat but I didn’t want to take a chance at a bad marinade recipe! The meat was juicy and spot on so I’m happy!
It takes time to chop the meat, fill the buns and steam them but it’s not that bad! The dough is very soft and easy to work with and the meat is dead easy with a jar of sauce (Lee Kum Kee Char Siu Sauce!). If you’re a dim sum crazy like I am … go for it.
Char Siu
2 lbs. pork butt
about 1/2 cup char siu sauce
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 or 3 cloves chopped garlic
honey
1. Cut pork butt into 8 pieces. Arrange in a bowl or baking pan and cover with enough char siu sauce to coat each piece. Sprinkle salt, sugar and chopped garlic all over meat. Cover and marinate overnight in fridge.
2. When ready to roast, preheat oven to 375 F. Place meat on a rack in a large roasting pan. There will be some marinade left at the bottom of the bowl or baking pan. Reserve this for later use.
3. Bake meat for about 25 minutes until meat is no longer pink.
4. While meat is baking, mix equal parts honey and marinade to make a sauce. After meat is finished baking, baste with your honey/marinade mixture and turn oven onto broil.
5. Broil meat until edges start to char.
Char Siu Bao Filling
Adapted from Rasa Malaysia
1 lb char siu, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
red food coloring [optional]
1/4 cup cold water + 2 teaspoons corn starch
1. Add oil to a saucepan. Sauté onion 1 – minutes. Add everything into the pan except the water/cornstarch mixture. Stir fry for a minute or so.
2. Add water/cornstarch mixture and mix until thickened – about a minute or so as well.
3. Allow to cool before using.
Steamed Bun
1/4 cup warm water (110F)
3 cups ap flour (bleached, if possible)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup warm milk
1 tbsp shortening, melted
1/2 tsp baking powder
1. In a large bowl, combine yeast and 1/4 cup water. Let stand for 5 minutes, until foamy. Add 2 1/2 cups flour, sugar, water, milk, shortening and baking powder and stir well. Add remaining flour gradually until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
2. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 2-3 minutes. Place in a greased bowl and cover in plastic wrap. Allow 45-60 minutes to rise.
3. Cut 12 3-inch squares of parchment paper (I made 8 giant baos with this recipe)
4. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and flatten. Divide dough into 12 (or 
pieces. Keeping the unused pieces of dough covered with a dish towel, flatten a piece of dough into a circle with the center slightly thicker than the outside (approx 4-5 inches in diameter, but you’ll get the hang of it quickly without measuring). Place about 2 tbsp filling in the center of the dough and close the dough around the filling pinching to seal. Place seam-side down on a square of parchment and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with all dough. Cover baking sheet with a clean dish towel and let rise for 15-20 minutes.
pieces. Keeping the unused pieces of dough covered with a dish towel, flatten a piece of dough into a circle with the center slightly thicker than the outside (approx 4-5 inches in diameter, but you’ll get the hang of it quickly without measuring). Place about 2 tbsp filling in the center of the dough and close the dough around the filling pinching to seal. Place seam-side down on a square of parchment and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with all dough. Cover baking sheet with a clean dish towel and let rise for 15-20 minutes.6. Steam buns for 15 minutes, in batches if necessary, until springy to the touch. Serve hot.
Tags: All Purpose Flour, Baos, Bbq Pork, Buns, Char Siu Bao, Chopped Garlic, Cloves, Dim Sum Restaurants, Fridge, garlic, Marinade Recipe, Place Meat, Pork Butt, Roasting Pan, Salt 2, Siu, Sprinkle, Sweet Bread, Tasty Pork, Teaspoons Salt
