Ultimate Chocolate Cookie Book - Bruce Weinstein [3]
And don’t substitute parchment paper or a silicone baking mat for a greased cookie sheet. Both linings place a layer of insulation between the batter and the baking sheet, insulation that is necessary for delicate tuiles and fortune cookies, thin cookies that need to bake quickly but also need protection from direct heat.
Working with Chocolate
1. Chop the chocolate.
Chocolate is sold in either 1-ounce squares (for convenience) or larger blocks (for economics). In neither case is it sold for immediate melting. Even the 1-ounce squares are too large to melt evenly: the edges will scorch before the middle softens.
To get the chocolate into a form that will melt successfully, line your work surface with wax or parchment paper (to catch the small shards) and chop the chocolate using a large chef’s knife or a chocolate chopper (see page 15). Press down into the chocolate, cutting it into pieces about the size of half an almond.
You can also chop chocolate in a food processor, but the results vary, particularly if the bowl is not scrupulously dry or if the machine heats the chocolate in any way, causing it to melt. Fit the machine with the coarse grating disk, then feed large chunks of the chocolate into the feed tube and press down with the plunger as the blade whirs.
2. In most cases, melt the chocolate early in the recipe.
Melted chocolate needs to cool slightly, usually for 5 minutes, maybe for 10, so that (1) it doesn’t liquefy the butterfat in the batter, (2) it doesn’t scramble the eggs, and (3) it doesn’t seize when it comes in contact with the liquid ingredients. When chocolate seizes, it breaks into stiff, stubby threads and a dark, thin liquid. Quite frankly, this is the worst thing that can happen to chocolate.
When melting chocolate, stir it frequently. Semisweet and bittersweet chocolate both hold their shape even while melting internally. If you wait to stir until they appear to have turned to liquid, you have waited too long—the chocolate is scorched (and bitter) on the bottom.
There are some exceptions to this melt-it-early rule—the Almond Coconut Cookies, for example. These exceptions involve special uses for the chocolate, like making a chocolate coating or a ganache filling for sandwich cookies.
3. If the chocolate seizes, hope for the best.
Melting chocolate seizes if even a tiny amount of water gets into the mix. The water usually comes from steam rising from the bottom part of the double boiler and condensing into the mixture, or from a few droplets in an incompletely dried bowl or pot that holds the melting chocolate, or from an improperly dried spatula or wooden spoon.
If the chocolate seizes in the double boiler as it’s being melted, you may be able to repair it by beating 1 or 2 teaspoons of warmed, heavy cream into the mess—but you have to hope for the best.
If the melted chocolate seizes as it’s poured into the batter, beat the mixture quickly and steadily. Often, the presence of the egg’s proteins and naturally occurring lecithin will help the chocolate readhere in the batter. The cookies may be grainier and tougher—but the difference here will be far less than if the chocolate seizes in the double boiler while it’s being melted.
4. Take extra care when working with bittersweet chocolate.
Bittersweet chocolate has a significantly lower amount of sugar—this reduction can lead the chocolate to seize more readily than semisweet brands. (See page 17 for a discussion of the various types of chocolate.) Cookies made with bittersweet chocolate can also be drier and tougher than those made with semisweet chocolate. If your chocolate is a high-percentage bittersweet chocolate (between 72 percent and 85 percent cocoa liqueur), we recommend increasing the granulated sugar in the recipe by 1 teaspoon per ounce of chocolate used.
Making Cookies
1. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
Admittedly, this seems like a fussy step,