soft and chewy chocolate chip cookies

if THAT picture did not get your attention, then something is really, really, really wrong with you. HAHA! i know, i am sooo perasan like that.

well, firstly, let me thank my friend Tini from snazzynsuch because had it not been for her, i would never have attempted this particular kind of cookie again. i made this once, a long long looooong time ago, but not many people like the idea of soft chewy cookies and was often asked why are my cookies not fully baked...or in bahasa melayu, to put it *ehem* nicely...why are they mentah?? so, i stopped baking soft cookies, until recently when tini asked me if i would be interested in baking some for a project. hell yeah i would! not because of the project, but because i simply miss baking these. they are just wonderful to have, with a cup of tea or without. seriously. bake a batch and you'll know that i kid you not.

i got the recipe from martha stewart's website. i've always had the impression that her recipes don't work, but this one turned out just fine. they are delicious!!! but, the next time i bake these i will try to reduce the amount of sugar only because i prefer my cookies to not be on the sweet side. other than that, the recipe is good to go!

are you ready to find out what you will need to make these babies? okay, FYI, the recipe is written in emrican (america) measurements therefore because i am such a sweetie and also not to mention such a kind hearted person i didn't want you guys to go through what i went through trying to convert everything into metric, i have taken the liberty to calculate everything into metric because i am a nice person and sweet and kind and have i mentioned sweet and kind and nice? hehehehe. right. let's get on with it.

ready?

you will need:

281g all purpose flour

½tsp baking soda
227g butter, room temperature
113g granulated sugar
200g packed light-brown sugar
1tsp salt
2tsps vanilla essence
2 large eggs
320g semi sweet and/or milk chocolate chips

the how to:
1)  preheat oven to 175°C (okay, if i were to convert it exactly, it would have to be 176.7, so...)

2)  whisk together the flour and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

3)  in the bowl of your electric mixer, place together the butter and both sugars mix on medium speed till light and fluffy. then, reduce the speed to low and add in the salt, vanilla and eggs.  beat for about 1 minute, until well mixed.

4)  next, in goes the flour mixture, mix until just combined. once done, stir in the chocolate chips.

5)  drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. *i used the smallest available size of ice cream scoop.

6)  bake until the cookies are golden brown around the edges but are still soft in the centre, about 8-10 minutes. remove from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 1-2 minutes. transfer to a wire rack and let them cool completely. store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. (if they can last that long. hehehehehe)

i really think you guys should give this a go. it is really easy to make and really delicious!

luckluck!!

recipe source: www.marthastewart.com

plainly perfect pound cake

i'm not a cake person. i'm not. seriously. i'm a pastry person. cake...not so much...but this one, well, this one might just change my whole outlook on cakes. looks like this year, i might be giving cakes a chance.

this is called the plainly perfect pound cake, from Trish Boyle's The Cake Book. i took the recipe from one of my favorite blogs, rima's blog, bisous a toi. i've tried a few recipes from her blog and they were all wonderful. plus, i kinda am in love with her daughter, the ever so cute lil miss sonia. :-)

so, i made this cake a few days ago when i was invited for lunch at a friend's house. and i'm making it again today, i guess this says a lot about this cake, and i'm not stopping at today only, i'll be baking 2 more tomorrow to give to a friend and my aunt. haaaa...

this cake reminds me of my childhood. a long long time ago, in mamak shops they would have this marble cake, wrapped in plastic placed on a plate at every table. i have been looking for it high and low, sadly, mamak shops nowadays no longer have them. the moment i took a bite of this cake, the memories of me eating at mamak shops with my late father came back. so, this recipe, is definitely for keeps! *chicken dance*

shall we now go to the recipe?

you will need:

200g plain flour

¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
227g butter
250g caster sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest, from 1 lemon
1 tsp finely grated orange zest, from 1 orange
1 tsp vanilla essence
80ml heavy cream, i used thickened cream

the how to:
1)  preheat the oven to 170°C.

2)  sift flour together with baking powder and salt, set aside.

3)  cream butter at medium high speed until creamy (about 2 mins), gradually add sugar and continue beating till the mixture is light and fluffy (about 4 mins).

4)  reduce the speed of your mixer and add in the eggs one by one till they are all mixed.

5)  add the lemon and orang zest along with vanilla essence.

6)  then, add in the flour in three additions, alternating with the cream (added in two additions).

7)  pour in a pound cake mould and bake for 60-70 minutes or until the cake turns brown and the testing skewer comes out clean.*

*my cake baked for about 40 minutes or so. different oven different timing, perhaps?

**i might need to increase on the baking time because the last one i baked sorta 'collapsed' in the centre and they were not cooked properly, so, i shall be increasing the baking time to the prescribed 60 mins. we'll see.

all i can say is that, this is a wonderful cake. it's nothing fancy but yet, it satisfies whatever craving for cake that you have. you can top the cake with some lemon curd if you want, or dust it with some icing sugar or whatever kind of frosting that you like, but i prefer it plain. i guess the name of the cake says it all - plainly perfect.

luckluck you guys!!

recipe taken from: http://www.bisousatoi.com/ thanks rima!! can't wait to try the other recipe!

wordless wednesday: 101

wordless wednesday: the getty