New features celebrate the book's expertise and heritage with repertoire-building recipe lessons and fresh twists on American classics. With nearly 1,100 gorgeous new photos and 1,500 recipes, as well as invaluable cooking guidance, The Big Red Cookbook is better and more comprehensive than ever before. The book features:
From the Book: Learn to Make Chocolate Chip Cookies
Homemade chocolate chip cookies are hard to resist—especially when they are perfectly soft and chewy on the inside with a golden brown, slightly crusty exterior. The secret to these gems is a combination of fresh ingredients, correct measuring and a good baking technique.
Prep 55 min. Total 55 min
4 dozen cookies
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
21/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag (12 oz) semisweet or dark chocolate chips (2 cups)
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts, if desired
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat sugars, butter, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon, until well blended. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.
2. On ungreased cookie sheets, drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart. For perfectly sized and shaped cookies, use a #70 cookie scoop.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.
1 Cookie: Calories 140; Total Fat 8g (Saturated Fat 3.5g; Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 15mg; Sodium 80mg; Total Carbohydrate 16g (Dietary Fiber 0g); Protein 1g exchanges: 1 Other Carbohydrate, 11/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1
For 5 grams of fat and 90 calories per serving, decrease butter to 3/4 cup and omit nuts. Substitute 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips for the 12-oz bag of chocolate chips
Candy Cookies Substitute 2 cups candy-coated chocolate candies for the chocolate chips.
Chocolate Chip Bars Press dough into ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on cooling rack. Makes 48 bars.
Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls or #16 cookie scoop about 3 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are set (centers will be soft). Cool 1 to 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Makes 11/2 dozen cookies
Keys to Success • Measure ingredients accurately. Dough that is the right consistency will make cookies that have great shape and texture. (See Measuring Correctly, page 16.)
• Use softened butter. Do not melt butter, or the dough will be too soft and may result in oddly shaped cookies. (See Softening Butter, page 179). • Use a cookie scoop to make cookies the perfect size and shape if desired.
• Place dough on completely cooled cookie sheets. Warm cookie sheets can be cooled quickly by placing in the freezer for a few minutes or running under cold running water and wiping dry.
• Let baked cookies rest on cookie sheet a couple minutes. This allows them to firm up a little so that they are easy to remove from the sheet.
• Cool cookies until chips are firm before storing, to prevent melted chocolate from getting over all the cookies.
• Freeze individual unbaked cookies on cookie sheets. When frozen, place in container or freezer plastic bag; label and freeze up to 6 months. Bake the frozen cookies a little longer than the bake time.
Cookies for Gifts Sharing a gift of homemade chocolate chip cookies or other homemade goodies can be the perfect way to spread a little good cheer, whether delivered by hand or mailed. Here are tips for giving any cookies, bars or candies to ensure they stay fresh and intact.
• Keep containers on hand for when you want to give homemade items as a gift:
• Look for inexpensive plates or serving containers in the dollar section of your discount store.
• Wash and keep to-go containers from take-out meals.
• Look for inexpensive decorative tins or paper containers in craft stores or import stores.
• Cushion items by first placing a paper towel or napkin in the bottom of the container. If you stack items, place layers of waxed paper between layers.
• Cover tightly with plastic wrap or foil if container doesn’t have a lid.
• If baking in advance and freezing, let frozen cookies thaw directly in gift container for maximum freshness.
