Thursday 19 September 2013

Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies (Ree Drummond)


It's been a while since I baked cookies. I remember the cookie baking frenzy that went on just before Chinese New Year and I did say that you will be seeing more cookies from me but somehow that didn't quite happen until last weekend.


I was looking at Ree Drummond's recipes on her blog and this cookie caught my eye. Where can I get malted milk I wondered when I suddenly realized that we do have malted milk in the form of Horlicks. And guess what? I have a small packet of Horlicks which I bought because I wanted to bake those cute doggie cookies. My doggie cookies did not materialize and this was the perfect opportunity for me to finally use the Horlicks.


I woke up early on Sunday morning and took out a block of butter to soften it. I studied Ree's recipe and made some adjustments. I am hopeless with cups. I am not confident measuring flour using cups and prefer weights as it is more accurate. Sugar and liquids is not a problem and is actually easier using cups. But for butter, I definitely prefer to weigh it.


As usual, the first thing that I do is to reduce the sugar. Americans eat way too much sugar and if I were to follow the recipe to a tee, I would faint in a diabetic heap. Horlicks is already sweet  and so are the chocolate chips. And the original recipe calls for 300g of sugar to 250g of flour.


I prepared the cookie dough in advance and kept it in the fridge because I had to go to Aeon for a spot of grocery shopping. When I came home, I took the dough out and proceeded to drop the dough on the lined baking tray. I had to figure out the baking time and referred to my previous bakes for guidance. For my first batch, I was slightly mad and baked the cookies for 18 minutes. This was what happened :


My cookies were very brown and had a slightly burnt taste. I prefer crispy cookies rather than chewy, hence my preference for longer baking time. For my next batch, I reduced to 16 minutes but found that they were still too brown and adjusted by another 2 minutes for the next batches. I found that 14 minutes is just nice for a crispy cookie while 12 minutes yielded a softer, chewier texture (I don't like). My cookies did not become flat like Ree's probably because I reduced the sugar quite drastically (mine was 100g compared to Ree's which is 300g).

50 shades...eh, sorry...4 shades of brown. From left 12, 14, 16 and 18 minutes. My ideal cookie is the one baked for 14 or 16 minutes.
Quite honestly, I like the darker cookies with that slighly burnt taste. Weird huh? But of course I had to consider other people's taste buds and stuck to the more acceptable 14 minutes. The malted milk added a very special taste and aroma to the cookies. 


I was enjoying myself experimenting with the baking time and tasting that I forgot that I haven't prepared anything for lunch. But it didn't matter because I was quite full from the cookies. Hee..hee..the freedom and autonomy of being an adult! You eat cookies when you want to and nobody tells you that you are spoiling your lunch. Whoo hoo! But you only have yourself to blame if you get fat :( And you have to pay your own bills :( :( :(


I love these cookies and they are going to be in my Chinese New Year cookies repertoire. And don't forget to check out what Ree does with these cookies. She made ice-cream sandwiches out of them. Very tempting indeed!










Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe source : Ree Drummond
(My notes and adaptations in red)

Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 Sticks) Unsalted Butter Softened (I used 250g)
- 3/4 cups Golden Brown Sugar (I used 50g)
- 3/4 cups Sugar (I used 50g)
- 2 whole Eggs
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 2 cups All-purpose Flour (I used 240g self-raising flour)
- 1-1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda (I omitted)
- 1-1/4 teaspoon Salt (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)
- 1/2 cup (rounded) Malted Milk Powder (I used 65g)
- 1 bag (12 Ounce) Milk Chocolate Chips (I used 250g)

Method :

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. (I preheated at 160C)
2. Cream butter, then add both sugars and cream until fluffy. Add eggs and beat slightly, then add vanilla and beat until combined. Add malted milk powder and beat until combined.
3. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter mixture, beating gently until just combined.
4. Add chocolate chips and stir in gently.
5. Drop by teaspoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop) and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Bake less if you want chewy cookies; more if you want crispy cookies. (For me, 12 minutes yielded chewy cookies while 14 to 16 minutes yielded a crispy cookie)
6. Optional: Allow to cool completely, then use two cookies to make an ice cream sandwich. Add sprinkles to the sides of the ice cream, then wrap individually in plastic wrap




I'm linking this post to Cook Like a Star, an event co-hosted by Zoe of Bake for Happy KidsBaby Sumo of Eat Your Heart Out and Mich of Piece of Cake. The featured chef for the month is Ree Drummond.

65 comments:

  1. Hi Phong Hong,
    These choc chips look great. Psst, btw I love slightly burnt cookies too!

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    1. Hi Doris! Oh, great to know that you love the burnt taste too hah! hah!

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  2. Hi Phong Hong
    Loves anything that is called chocolate chips cookies. Yours absolutely sounds and taste yummy as it called for malted milk powder.

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    1. Mel, I did not realize that Horlicks gave these cookies are very special fragrance and taste. And I have never tasted Horlicks my whole life!

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  3. This is certainly a good cookie to make for CNY. I don't mind slightly burnt cookies, more fragrant!

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    1. Cheah, this is a good addition to the usual CNY cookies. Ah,another one who loves the burnt taste!

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  4. I just found your blog while I was checking out another blog. The malted milk chocolate chip cookies look absolutely delicious. Like your detailed recipe. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Hi Yi! Thanks for coming by! Do try these cookies, they are delicious :)

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  5. Yum...me likely....Not too sweet . nice

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    1. Yes, after I adjusted the sugar this cookie has the right level of sweetness. In fact can cut down the sugar a little bit more.

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  6. PH dear! biskut ni cantik betul! tengok you susun bulat-bulat dalam baking tray dan bila masak elok jer dia terbentuk dah boleh rasa ni mesti crispy punya...waaa...macam nak korek pc keluarkan sepiring tu...and krup krap krup krap...

    akak pun nak simpan resepi ni untuk MNY, boleh? boleh tak boleh pun dah simpan jugak....hahaha...

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    1. Kak Q! Silakan simpan resipi ni untuk MNY tahun depan. Tapi syaratnya kena jemput PH ke rumah untuk tasting. Boleh? Heh..heh..gurau jer Kak Q! Jangan cabut lah...rilaks.....

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  7. You got me craving for chocolate cookies with these!

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    1. Mich, you have got to bake these cookies!

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  8. These look great dear. wish could munch on few

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    1. Swasthi, I lost count on how many I munched after the cookies came out of the oven!

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  9. I also often redcuce the amount of sugar, they look perfect!

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    1. Thanks, Ola! I don't like cookies that are too sweet.

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  10. ur cookies are just perfect phong..

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  11. Phong Hong,i also thinking to try Ree Drummond's cookies recipe!!! These cookies looks great :)

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    Replies
    1. Esther, do try! I am sure you and your family will love these yummy cookies!

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  12. Looks so crunchy and yummy... Love it...

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  13. Replies
    1. xing hui, Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! I ate a lot of mooncakes liao. Buurp!

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  14. Phong Hong, you did an amazing job with Ree's cookies. The way you adapted the recipe worked so well. I love the thin and crispy cookies, better than the dense and chewy ones...but not being choosey I can have them either way!
    So droolworthy delicious, I want to take the whole batch...not just one! xo

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    1. Thank you, Elisabeth! I am happy that the cookies turned out delicious and I really prefer the crispy ones. But these are so addictive, definitely not ideal for anyone on a diet :)

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  15. Yet to start trying my hand at baking. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak - so lazy! Hehehehehe!!!!

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    1. Arthur, you and Melissa should have a cooking baking session one of the weekends!

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  16. Yuhuuu... got some more or not.. OR.. Kejap ada.. Kejap x de already.. I love to try out differeny kind of choc chip cookies.. this one with malted milk.. something different.. Thanks to Ree & yourself for d recipe..

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    1. Ogyep, semua dah masuk perut hee..hee...Try lah, sedap nih!

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  17. Yeah, I too find it troublesome to convert cups to grams and usually avoid recipes that measured in cups...wait for someone like you to do the conversion before I bake lol! Even the sugar is reduced accordingly, yay!:D

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    1. Jeannie, then you must bake these cookies!

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  18. Nice, love chocolate chip cookies. Whenever i see the word malt, i think of Milo, something many of us grew up with i guess. Just thinking, wonder if Milo can be used too, then become double chocolaty? :))

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    1. Oh, I am sure Milo would work just fine for this! Can try others too like Vico or any other chocolaty or malty milk drink :)

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  19. Hi Phong Hong,
    Your cookies looks wonderful. I prefer cookies slightly overbaked as I like them crispy! We do not like Horlicks in my house, so I don't buy it, but if used in cookies, perhaps that is totally different. Would love to try this one day. And I am a user of both metric and cup measurements, don't mind either way, but for butter, I always convert it to grams!
    Have a great weekend!

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    1. Hi Joyce! If I remember correctly, my grandma mentioned long ago that she did not like the taste of Horlicks and therefore I never had any as a child. But believe me, it works in this cookie!

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  20. Your chocolate chops cookies and a cup of Ipoh White coffee, hmmm..... truly heaven le......

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  21. I used to just love crispy cookies for the longest time. IT's only recently that I started to appreciate soft and chewy cookies. :) But these sounds like a great cookies to try. And I'll definitely reduce the sugar too.

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    1. Amy, somehow I can't get used to soft and chewy cookies. It makes me think that they are expired cookies hah! hah!

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  22. Your cookies looks tempting and delicious. Eat with a cup of coffee or tea and holding our favourite book, must be in heaven. I definitely will keep this recipe. Thanks for all the experimenting times of baking. At least we know what kind of texture of cookies we would love to eat. Have a good weekend.

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    1. Hi Amy, I highly recommend these cookies. I jut couldn't stop munching them :)

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  23. Yowza! I definitely want to try these cookies! I'm having tea with nothing sweet. These would have been perfect to pair with them!

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  24. Nice chocolate cookies. Will definitely bake this too.

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    1. Cecilia, you will fall in love with these cookies!

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  25. Hi Phong Hong, i also marked this recipe but hesitated because of the added malt. Don't want to waste the bag of horlicks because no one drinks them. I am learning to appreciate soft and chewy cookies so just posted one though not from Ree. They're very good.

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    1. Hi Lian, instead of using malt drink you can also try others like Milo or Vico. I am sure it will work well too :)

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  26. PH, I dont know how ppl can measure butter in cups too. It's so annoying cos it sticks to the cup and everything by the time it has softened to room temperature. Weighing it is definitely much easier.

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    1. Baby Sumo, and Phong Hong...we do not measure butter in cups in the U.S. its already measured for us. Butter comes already cut into sticks. Each stick of butter is already marked on the wrapper for 8 tablespoons=1/4 cup=4 oz=113g. Butter is usually sold in one bulk pack that is 1 lb(453.6g)...there are 4 sticks of butter separately packed in 4 sticks...so, it could not be any easier to measure butter. Everything is pre-marked...pre-measured, even into grams!

      Phong Hong, I left a reply for you on my blog...here it is (copy and pasted)




      Elisabeth FoodandthriftSeptember 22, 2013 at 11:29 AM

      Phong Hong, I really wish this could cheer you up...would love to share it with you. I do hope you're feeling better now. Will visit your blog right now! xo

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    2. Hi Yen, wouldn't it be nice if we had butter pre-measured like in the US! It would be so convenient :)

      Elisabeth, thank you for enlightening us! Geez, I did not know that butter comes in sticks in the USA and that is very convenient indeed! And thanks for your kind words, I am feeling a lot better, I know that it will take time to heal. I just need to be patient :)

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  27. Phong Hong, thanks for stopping by, and by chance my daughter has been looking for a chocolate chip recipe for her to bake. I have my mother's KitchenAid stand mixer and have yet to use it. I am not the baker that my mother was, so maybe my daughter will be. I like the more done version too, my mom always pulled things out of the oven too soon in my opinion! :)

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    1. Hi Lyndsey! It's great that your daughter loves to bake just like her grandma! She should try this recipe as it is really good. And put that Kitchen Aid to good use :)

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  28. Hi Phong Hong,

    I have also baked these cookies using Horlicks too! I'm going to post mine later this week... Great minds think the same :D

    These cookies are very yummy!

    Zoe

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    1. Hi Zoe, I had a late but good introduction to Horlicks. I am looking forwards to seeing your cookies!

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  29. PH, the chocolate chips cookies looks really delicious, recently I have been eating lots of chocolate chips cookies, gonna put on weight soon :P

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    1. Jess, I guarantee that you cannot stop munching these cookies. I am so fat liao!

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  30. My kids have been asking for chocolate cookies, but till now I have yet to bake some for them, Thanks for reminding me..

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    1. Sonia, try this recipe. Your kids will love it!

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  31. Hi Phong Hong, this chocolate cookies very addictive, hard to stop eating. Go wit coffee lagi sedap. :)

    Have a nice day.

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    1. Amelia, this is great for a teatime get together!

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  32. i do think horlicks or the malted flavour taste very nice in the cookies. eh, it also happens to me so often that i buy something intended to use it for baking and then never happened ..

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    1. Lena, I have never tasted Horlicks until now hah! hah! Still got some more leftover.

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