Hmph, you’d think after being in school for 18 years, you’d know exactly what you want to do with your life. Nope. Halfway into my first year of grad school and I’m already having second thoughts. Is this really worth it? Do I really want to spend this much money in school only to make nothing teaching? I feel like I’m having deja vu. I experienced this in undergrad, being a poli sci major, only to find out halfway through my junior year that I want nothing to do with political science/law. I wish we had time in our lives to sit down and figure this stuff out before we’re forced through school year after year.
I mean, all I want to do is bake. That’s one thing I’m for sure on, but I’m also a realistic person.. baking’s not going to pay for anything. I have to have money if I want to bake.. and I need to work to make money. That leaves us back at square one: going to school -> getting a job -> making money -> being able to pursue baking. Oh how reality sucks, sometimes. Good thing there are cookies to make us all feel better.
I had no AP flour left in the house after my cookie fiesta fundraiser last week, so I googled for a recipe using bread flour. The first thing that came up was Alton Brown’s “The Chewy” and boy, am I glad it did! I know a ton of people have tried it before and it’s always been on my list of things to bake. Now I can finally vouch for the recipe– it’s as good as everyone says it is. The bread flour definitely makes for a chewier & flatter cookie. I mixed half of the cookie dough with Heath bar bits and the other half with mini baking M&Ms (and some extra chocolate chips for added measure). Both were exceptional. 🙂
My notes are in green italics.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter
- 2 1/4 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used heath bits and mini M&M’s)
Directions
- Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat (I just softened it and let it melt a bit in the microwave). Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
- Pour the melted butter in the mixer’s work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips (or whatever your add in is).
- Chill the dough (I chilled it overnight), then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet (I did 8). Bake for 14 minutes (14 minutes?! That’s way too long for soft cookies. I baked mine for no more than 12) or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.
P.S. I’ll be leaving for NY on either Monday night/Tuesday morning, so for all the people that signed up for the cookie mailing list, I’ll be mailing them out on Monday since I’ll be out of town Wednesday. I’m really excited to be going!! Before I forget, does anyone have any recommendations on food places or tourist things that I must visit and do in NYC? You guys helped me so much on my trip to Seattle a couple of months ago and always have the best recommendations. I’d love to hear it all! Thanks in advance!
This is my first time leaving a comment here, but I’ve been following your blog for some time now and it’s absolutely wonderful 😀 Your comment about wanting to press pause and think about life and just wanting to bake really resonated with me, it’s basically the story of my life right now too! I’m graduating next year and I want nothing but to sit around and bake cupcakes all day. But of course, we have to become productive members of society, and we can’t really do that while being permanently attached to our ovens, now can we :\
I’m from NY but I’m studying in New Zealand right now, and I can tell you that the first thing I do when I step foot in NYC again is to visit the cupcake truck! And you absolutely must get the red velvet!
Have fun in NYC! Can’t wait to read your upcoming posts about it 😀
HI!
I LOVE your blog! I live in NYC.. so I have lots of places for you! Magnolia bakery is a must, Levain bakery on the upper east side (best cookies you’ve ever had) Baked by Melissa on 14th and 5th ave (baby cupcake so cute!) Grey Dogs cafe- best sandwiches cool vibe either in Chelsea or union sq!
Try The Donut Pub in the village! Also check out Butter Lane too.
I hope you enjoy your stay! The weather here is lush right now!
Your cookies always look perfect. I’m made the smores cookies and they were amazing. Next I’m trying the oreo ones. Have you tried the NYT recipe?? That’s the best CCC I’ve ever tried.
Don’t worry Kim! I know exactly what you feel like… I am an undergrad studying Bio at UCI and I regret my major and don’t know what to do with it. I guess I still have time to think of my options but I feel like I should just become a teacher even though I am not too thrilled of doing that. Honestly, I would be perfectly happy being a housewife cooking and cleaning, but too bad that is unrealistic 🙂
I completely agree on the baking front. If only we could all be bakers…sigh. Part of me wishes I could just be a happy little 50s housewife, minus the cleaning.
Since you love cookies, a definite must for NYC is Levain Bakery (and Jacques Torres Chocolate Store)–both have my two favorite cookies! And there’s a JT a few blocks from Levain!
Hi Kim! :] I went to NYC the summer before last and these were the memorable places I ate at:
B Bar & Grill: It was pretty good! Their mac&cheese was delish! Definitely go for the ambiance. If you’ve been to Nook Bistro in LA, it’s similar to that.
Pomodoro Ristorante Pizza: Biggest pizza evarrr! Very delicious. Since it was just me and Jo, we ended up giving slices of pizza to people who walked by. They were very accommodating as well: we wanted these mixed drinks that they were selling at the Nolita food festival near by and one of the waiters went and bought two for us and just added the same price to our bill!
Anyways, hope you have fun in NYC! :]
I’ve heard good things about this recipe and it’s on my list. Your cookies look delicious! I really need to try out the recipe
I’m sure you already know about this, but Serendipity is a must in my opinion when visiting New York!
Hello there!
Kim, please don’t let money have power over your decisions. Sure, we need money to pay for things, but, in the grande scheme of things, money is man-made. Years from now, you will be mad at yourself for not pursuing your dream. So many people don’t even know what their passionate about. You’ve been throwing your passion into this blog for four years, and it obviously makes you happy.
With that said, there is no reason that you can’t be financially successful with a career in the baking industry. I live in Portland, OR, and our city is filled with bakeries and pastry shops that are always flourishing with customers. These places give our community culture and character, and we wouldn’t have that if baking foodies like you didn’t take a leap and pursue their dream.
As always, thanks for blogging, and have fun in New York!!
-Emily
Have a fun trip!
I’ve tried another of Alton’s chocolate chip cookies from the series – I think the thick and chewy one? Haven’t tried this one though – they look amazing! I loooove m&m’s in cookies.
I think that in every person’s academic career, he/she inevitably second guesses their decision as to what they want to do with their life. If you really think about it though, it makes perfect sense. You are investing all of your time, energy, and heart into something, and you just want to make sure that this decision that is relatively “final” is the right one.
With that being said, I have been a teacher in LA now for 3 years. When I was in college, I went through the same crisis. I won’t lie to you and say that the life of a teacher is always bow ties and butterflies. There will be times when you literally want to strangle your students and just walk off, but honestly, the moments when they just “get it” and your day to day interactions with them completely offset those “bad days”.
Even though there are still times when I doubt my choice to become a teacher, I still think that it is one of the most rewarding jobs that anyone can have.
And plus, if you truly still dont like it after a few years, you still have that poli sci major that you can fall back on 🙂
I love this blog! In New York, you definitely have to go to Magnolia bakery. There are a bunch of cute (but expensive!) shops around it and a cute little park across the street that people sit and eat their cupcakes in. You MUST go to central park. I had never been until my last trip and I loved it; definitely worth going to see. You could go up to 5th Ave. and browse in all the designer stores or down in soho at all the eclectic stores (can you tell I love shopping?). Definitely go to ChinaTown. You can find awesome purses for cheap and all kinds of Asian food. If you want to see something on broadway, use tkts. It is right in times square and can get you cheap prices to shows. I also love the southside seaport. It is basically a little mall next to the water but it always has performers and such outside. Obviously, go to times square. There is a massive movie theater near there that is nice if you catch rain or something. I hope you enjoy your trip. Thanks so much for the recipes (I just baked cinnamon swirl banana bread and it was awesome!).
Yums, I do love Alton’s the Chewy!
Don’t worry about the school thing – I feel the same way as you. I’m in my second to last semester of grad school getting a degree in education. It is a LOT of working, and teaching will be a LOT of work. And, the pay is NOT NEARLY close to adequate. But, think of all those moments that make it worth it. They may sometimes be few and far between, but they mean something. Sometimes, they mean a LOT to some kids. 🙂 Keep your head up!
If anyone should pursue a career in the culinary field, it is you. Take it from a 20+ year teacher who also has a passion for culinary arts, but has never really pursued it. Maybe you could start an online bakery and sell on Etsy.com or online. It might, at least help you get some extra money to go to culinary school in the future, if you feel that’s necessary. There are many self taught chefs, so I’m not sure it’s an absolute necessity. Good luck!
hi,
your m&m cookies look so good. did you use an ice cream scooper in order for your cookies to look like that? i just rolled them with my hands and they didn’t turn out like yours. i like how they look crinkled.