Thursday 21 September 2017

I'm a Chewy Cookie Convert


I used to wonder why do Americans (and other angmohs) love soft chewy cookies. All my life, I have always eaten crunchy cookies. Aren't cookies supposed to be  crunchy?

They get soft when left exposed in our humid tropical climate (or if your container is not airtight). These "lau hong" or "masuk angin" cookies are terrible. They will put a scowl on my face.


So I scoffed at "soft chewy cookies". And then I started baking and delighted in the discovery that cookies are so easy to bake. Butter, sugar, eggs and flour. Mix them up by hand, toss in some chocolate chips and bake. 

All that time, I baked my cookies to death so that they were crunchy. That was until one day when I attempted a recipe for chewy cookies just because.


I admit, it wasn't love at first soft bite. But it gradually grew on me and now my friends, I get it. Some cookies are great crunchy while some are awesome chewy. Especially when they are chewy and soft with melted chocolate bits in between.


Now that I eat my words, I also eat soft chewy cookies on a regular basis. I found this recipe for Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies on Sally's Baking Addiction and made the dough a day ahead and chilled it in the fridge overnight.

The next day, all I had to do was bring the dough out (to soften a little) and bake away. So easy! I put a whole bar of chopped up dark chocolate into the dough and baked me up a very luxurious batch of cookies. Crispy on the edges, soft and chewy in the center with dark melted chocolate. Heavenly!

There's a caveat though. I only love them freshly baked and warm when the edges are still crispy. When cold, ugh! No thank you!


Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Recipe source : Adapted from Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients :
- 280g self-raising flour
- 1.5 tsp cornflour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 170g butter, melted
- 135g brown sugar
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 large egg+1 egg yolk
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 250g dark chocolate bar, chopped into smaller pieces

Method :
1. In a mixing bowl, whisk flour and cornflour. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, whisk melted butter with both sugars until well mixed.
3. Add egg and egg yolk and continue to mix.  Then add vanilla extract and mix until everything is emulsified.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and use a spatula to mix and form a dough.
5. Add the chopped chocolate and continue to mix until the dough comes together.
6. Chill the dough for a few hours or overnight to firm up because the dough is very soft.
7. Before baking, take the dough put from the fridge for about 15 minutes or until dough is soft enough to handle.
8. Form balls (size is up to you) and place on a lined baking tray and bake for about 12 minutes or until the edges are browned.
9. Remove from oven and leave to cool for a while on the tray before transferring to cool completely on a wire rack.

32 comments:

  1. Phong Hong, i love all your cookies. So sinfully delicious looking. I will bake this one day. I love all your baking posts, be it cakes or cookies.

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    1. Thank you, Yannie :) Your kind comment will encourage me to bake more often!

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    2. Yeah please bake more. I would supply you all the cookie jars and self collect!!!!! I am drooling now & making my favourite coffee!

      #TolongBuatCookies #BancuhKopiTarek #BotolMali

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  2. Haiz... Too bad I am not staying near you...

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  3. I don;t like chewy ones, like lao hong (masuk angin).

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    Replies
    1. heh..heh...my sentiments exactly when the cookies are cooled down. When warm, I love it!

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  4. Still loke crunchy cookies. Hehe. Once a while chewy cookie, it would be fine.

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    Replies
    1. The chewy ones are best when still warm but once they cool down I feel very geli when I eat it :(

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  5. Please pass the plate over, PH... I mean with the chewy cookies on them... feel like taking them all...

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    Replies
    1. They are so good and great for sharing!

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  6. I like chewy cookies too. If the cookies have turned cold, can you reheat them to eat? if yes, do they still taste as nice?

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    Replies
    1. You can put them into the oven to warm and crisp up a bit. Yes, they will still taste as good!

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  7. welcome to the chewy cookie lovers club! i like them this way too cos they taste more decadent, often with what feels like a deeper flavour compared to the crispy cookies :D

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    Replies
    1. Oh yes! But I only feel that way when they are still warm. I still can't get used to them when they are soft and cooled down.

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  8. I have not tried chewy type of cookies before

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    Replies
    1. Nice only when warm, but after that I don't like hee..hee..

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  9. I think the perfect cookie is a bit of both - a slight crunch on the outside and a bit of chew within. The classic Australia recipe for Anzac biscuits can go either way - some like it super crunchy, but I think the best is a mix of the two.

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  10. I found chewy cookies are weird too, they are suppose to be crunchy, all of them, haha!

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    Replies
    1. Takes a bit of getting used to hee..hee...

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  11. Tulah tu...sedap jugakkan makan cookies yg ala ala lemau gitu kadang kadang. Pertama kali makan, beli kat Famous Amos. Lepas tu asal pergi Famous Amos mesti beli.

    Bila u share ni, barulah tau macam mana cookies tu boleh jadi lemau.

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    1. LL tak pernah makan cookies Famous Amos yang lemau. Pernah makan yang kecik2 dan crunchy tu. Next time kalau terjumpa Famous Amos, nak try dorang punya cookies lemau hee..hee..

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  12. I don't eat cookies...so it doesn't matter to me if they're chewy or crunchy...haha! :D I try not to eat too much 'sweets', so I'd rather give up cookies than desserts or cakes...hehe! ;)

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    Replies
    1. I don't know why lately I love cookies and have been eating them regularly, which is not good for my waistline hee..hee.. Honestly, if I had to choose between cookies, desserts or cakes, I would choose the last two hee..hee..

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