Wonderful Smells

The Lunar New Year is fast approaching and I returned to the family home this weekend for the pre-festivity preparations. For the most part, this means the making of various biscuits and cakes which are only baked once a year not only because they are linked to the festivities but some of them are so high in cholesterol that eating them more frequently would be like getting into the fast lane to Heart Attack City. More about these "death by cholesterol" foods in a forthcoming post but among the cakes and biscuits which are usually made one of my modern favourites (not really traditional but very nice anyway) are the chocolate chip cookies. The recipe which I usually use is what's otherwise known as the Neiman Marcus "urban myth".

The urban myth probably started circulating in the early 1990s and is allegedly to do with an incident where, as something of a fait accompli, someone paid an extortionate amount of money for Neiman Marcus' chocolate chip cookie recipe and was so incensed that as an act of revenge, the recipe was circulated on the internet. Neiman Marcus has denied this and have now published the original recipe on their website for all to enjoy.

I've tried both recipes and I prefer the taste of the urban myth better. No doubt others who have tried both will disagree but we all have different tastes. If you've not tasted either or both, the "urban myth" recipe is below. Try them both and decide for yourself. The "urban myth" recipe below is only the half recipe as the original recipe makes too many cookies for all but the most fanactical cookie lover.

For both recipes, it is possible to substitue some of the flour with ground oats and/or cocoa and to add roughly chopped nuts (walnuts and pecans usually work best)with or without changing the proportion of the chocolate chips. Feel free to use chopped chocolate (the sort with at least 70% cocoa is always nice) instead of chocolate chips. Both recipes freeze well prior to baking. This can be done by putting the cookie dough onto a piece of clingfilm and then rolling it up like a sausage and then freezing it. To bake, simply remove the clingfilm and cut into transverse sections and place on a baking tray.

Depending on how much cookie dough there is and how big you want your cookies, you may end up with several clingfilm cookie dough "sausages". Don't panick if the cookie dough may not have a very solid consistency. It may be more like a batter but that's fine. Either way, it usually turns out delicious after baking.


The Chocolate Chip Cookie Urban Myth
Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter
12 oz chocolate chips
2½ cups self-raising flour
2 teaspoons mixed spice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup fine white sugar
8 oz chopped chocolate
2 cups blended oatmeal
2 eggs
1½ cups chopped nuts

Method:
Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla and when well blended, add in with flour, oatmeal and mixed spice. Add chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, and nuts. Drop dough on to a baking tray and bake for about 12 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on whether you prefer them crisp or chewy.

The uncooked cookie dough can be frozen for several months. Place the dough on clingfilm and roll up like a sausage. When required, cut the dough sausage into transverse sections and lay each piece on the baking tray to be baked.

From my own experience, I've found that it's best to freeze the dough before baking as it makes it a lot easier to handle.