LittleIsland

They're in the link above. I've baked mine a little longer this morning to see if I like them better that way

I made Tejon's recipe over the weekend. They are definitely chewy, but I felt the oats were a little too prominent (I used quick cooking as the recipe specified) for my liking in what's meant to be a chocolate chip cookie rather than an oatmeal cookie. And they didn't have the slightly crusty edges that most people like. So far, the Unbelievably Good Chocolate Chunk Cookies are winning for me. Might go try a recipe with oatflour next, like the fake Neiman Marcus one.

Today I made a batch of these - they are indeed very good, though I am not a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies. But I'll have to see if the crisp edges and chewy insides last tomorrow. Or if the edges just dry out... or the cookie just becomes soft throughout. I also baked a batch of Alton Brown's The Chewy for comparison. Based on everyone's votes, I guess I expected more (and yes, I agree with a couple of others that they're a tad greasy). They were a little soft, perhaps I didn't bake them long enough. I froze some of the dough and will try baking them a little longer tomorrow. Yes, despite all that, the dozen I baked are down to two... my husband and sons are not too fussy about their choc chip cookies! I did reduce the sugar in both recipes by 15% (both brown and white), so I don't know how much this affected my results. Based on just today's efforts I think I prefer the former recipe.

I find whenever I make cookies (whichever type, including chocolate chip) that are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside... they are delightful on the day of baking, but by the next day the crisp exterior has either disappeared or degenerated into a crusty hard edge. How to preserve that cursty outside and chewy interior beyond the first day?

Texture-wise, it brings to mind watermelon. So maybe a sorbet?

Here are my Ispahan-inspired marshmallows. I'm sure they'd look a lot tastier if not for the absolutely atrocious photo - taken at the spur of the moment on my mobile phone, while I was cutting and starching them. White lychee base, rose-coloured- (Wilton's Rose paste turned out to be horrificly neon and I really don't know what that particular colour would be good for) -and flavoured swirls, topped with a layer of raspberry marshmallow. Having not tried one of PH's famous Ispahans myself, can't say the flavour combo really thrills me - but I didn't even think the lychee marshmallow was too great either. I used fresh pureed lychees since they're in season. Oh, and I've TRIPLED the cocoa in Nightscotman's recipe for a really fabulous non-fat chocolate experience .

Success at last! (I gave away the last lot to some less discerning folks ) I made a 1/4 batch of vanilla marshmallows with 12g of (160 bloom) gelatin (which would mean 48g for a full batch vs nightscotsman's original 28g specification ) but got marshmallow fluff again. Then I made a 1/3 batch of cocoa marshmallows using 24g of gelatin. It worked! Yes they were somewhat dense but that's fine since our only marshmallow experience is the rather dense storebought kind. I don't find the chocolate flavour intense enough though, so might increase the cocoa next time and try swirling it in at the end as Mcauliflower did.

Cookie texture problem: On day one, my chocolate cookies have an almost fudgy centre and crisp/chewy edges. But on day two, the crisp/chewy edges have simply turned hard/crunchy. How do I get the edges to retain the same crisp/chewy texture as day one?

gosh thanks May. It's never occured to me there might be different types of gelatin. I just bought the standard stuff from Cold Storage - not even the usual stuff in sachets which I usually use, as they were all out. So, 36g of our stuff? And, I'll try a twist of lemon. Any other input also very welcome please! Now to my next question: short of binning the lot, what do I do with a PILE of strawberry marshmallow fluff?

awwwright... I made these yesterday subbing all but 1/2 cup water with the strawberry puree. But I wasn't sure about cooking some of the puree as a fruit syrup, so I dumped all the puree (1 1/4 cups) plus 1/4 cup water into the mixer with the gelatin and only cooked the syrup with 1/4 water. So my questions are: are the li'l suckers supposed to just disappear in your mouth like candy floss? It's beyond melting in the mouth - it's like eating marshmallow foam - they are really really soft, fluffy to the extreme. I assume this is not really the texture they're meant to be. Should I be increasing the amount of gelatin (I used 28g) ? And, can I reduce the amount of syrup (someone upthread mentioned this) or sugar (which will automatically reduce the syrup) without ill effects? Or will this throw the rest of the recipe off balance? I know marshmallows are sweet, but these were scarily sweet - and it wasn't the strawberries, because the frozen fruit, after being pureed, was exceedingly bland. My marshmallow-loving kids won't eat them so of course, in true eG spirit, I am determined to get it right! (ummm, I KNEW there was a reason I'd avoided clicking on this thread until yesterday)

All of you who are making those wonderful fruity variations, are you leaving out the orange flower water and to no noticeable effect? Thought I'd try my hand at these but don't have any orange flower water, not sure if my usual store has the stuff.

Yes I did, and I went back to resend my reply to you in case you didn't receive it

Well, while we're at it, my question: Fibilou, for the filling do we make up the Italian meringue, then fold it into the creme anglaise, then whisk the whole lot with the butter? Thanks!

The instructions for the filling say to add rose syrup to finish, and the filling also contains lychees. I assume canned, since you can't get fresh lychees all year round.

So can we sub lemon juice for cream of tartar in order to stabilise the whites?

So can I not have crisp cookies that are also less sweet ? quote=chromedome,May 21 2007, 08:44 AM] For an entirely different approach to oatmeal cookies, "whizz" your oatmeal to flour in a food processor or coffee grinder.

Has anyone baked up some yummy chocolate chip cookies to report on?

Ah, just reading back, I realise I lied. I cut the sugar back by 10% (and still have complaints from the family that they are too sweet). But that shouldn't make a difference should it? Anyway my cookies are golden brown but some that are darker are an unattractive brown. Nevertheless I'd rather have darker brown and crisp.

They spread some, but not too much unless I really flattened them well. I baked the recipe exactly as written, without any of the tweaking I'm normally tempted to do. Maybe it's my oatmeal... Today some of the cookies are even floppy, they are that soft. I shall try again perhaps using a touch less flour as you've suggested. And maybe upping the bake time.

I baked these for about 12 minutes at 375 deg F (or more specifically 190 deg C) and about 5 minutes out of the oven they are great and crisp. But about an hour on the cooling racks, as I go to pack them, they have turned soft - and it's not been a particularly humid day. Should I just bake them longer? They are already quite brown. Snowangel and hummingbridkiss, how long are you baking them for? And, how do you go about flattening them? I started out using the bottom of a glass but after a while the dough started sticking to the glass so I just used a knife to flatten each cookie. They don't spread too easily if I don't flatten them well. Does this mean my dough is too thick? It does seem to stiffen upon standing.

Kewl... this is sounding excellent. Thanks! I have printed the recipe and will find time on Saturday to do them After we sweep out the miserable crumbs of yesterday's attempt at oatmeal lacies. What a mess.

Looking for one that's less fragile than oatmeal lace cookies. Point me to your favourite recipes!

Wow, I'm so thrilled to have found this thread just now! I started my own vanilla extract making experiment (if you could call it that) in Feburary when I bought both Madagascan as well as Tahitian beans off some eBay sellers. I found some old threads on vanilla extract making on egullet and read up wherever else I could. I wanted a cheap source of good quality vanilla extract, not the fake stuff I've been using up until the time I bought a humungously expensive bottle of LorAnn's vanilla extract and fell absolutely in love with it. Then I dumped 4 of each type of bean - split, scraped and cut into 4 inch lengths - into a bottle of vodka, a bottle of bourbon whiskey, and because a friend gave me this, a bottle of rum. At this point my various liquids are, at just past 3 months, dark brown and still smell pretty harsh, although the vanilla odour is increasing (at least I hope so). I'm not sure how much is my imagination and wishful thinking, really. I've been a bit lazy with the agitation although I was of course more conscientious about it at the beginning. I am interested to see how you are all going to "measure" your results. Oh whatever. So long as I have some really good useable stuff at the end of the day.

We enjoyed these lovely fudgy chewy Chocolate Toffee Cookies which I baked today from this recipe. Next time I will add some cocoa for a more intense chocolate flavour.

The King Arthur authors say that having more of the sugar dissolve in the butter (their whole grain brownie recipe has the butter and sugar heated together) gives you the nice crackly shiny top.