Kathy's Chocolate Chip Cookie Quest Continues!

About a year ago I posted this about Chocolate Chip Cookies. I noted the prominent place these cookies have in my family heritage. Because of my concerns about shortening, I highlighted some of my efforts to use other fats in its place, most notably coconut oil.

A few months ago, I tried using lard. Just so you know, while the texture of the cookies was good, the taste was affected negatively. Now, lest you think I was crazy to try lard, I did so because of a recipe for Chinese Almond Cookies that a friend gave me years ago that uses lard with delicious effect. But I recommend keeping it out of Chocolate Chip Cookies.

My daughter commented in the previous post that she had used 1/2 shortening and 1/2 coconut oil with good results. I finally got around to trying that today. One of the reasons it took me so long was the need to buy shortening. I hadn't had any in the house for at least a year. Chocolate Chip Cookies is the last recipe I have that uses shortening for which I have not yet found a suitable replacement.

Success! The flavor of the coconut oil was subtly discernible in the cookie dough and in the cookies. As you can see in the picture, the texture of the cookies was very nice.

Follow the asterisk (*)  in Mom's recipe for my alteration using 1/2 shortening and 1/2 coconut oil.

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1½ C white sugar

1½ C brown sugar

1½ C shortening (10.8 oz.)*

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

4½ C flour (1 lb. 3.1 oz.)

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream together sugar, brown sugar, shortening, eggs, and vanilla. Sift (or just stir) together flour, salt, and baking soda; and then add to creamed mixture. Add chocolate chips. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake.

*or ½ coconut oil (¾ C or 5.25 oz.) and ½ shortening (¾ C or 5.4 oz.):

Warm the coconut oil in the microwave to the point where it can be stirred and become creamy. Mix the shortening in with it. Then cream it with the sugar and brown sugar; add the eggs one at a time; add the vanilla. Beat well throughout. Continue as above.

I don't pretend that chocolate chip cookies are even slightly healthful. But this alteration makes them slightly less unhealthful, while preserving their characteristic texture and slightly enhancing their delicious flavor.

Pies!

For our family Thanksgiving feast yesterday I baked two apple pies, one pumpkin pie, one mincemeat pie, and three and a half dozen butter tarts. I also made a creme de menthe pie. Including the pumpkin cheesecake my son-in-law Dane baked, we had plenty of desserts!

So why, then, would I need to bake this apple pie today?

My daughter Karlyn and her husband Ti were taking the leftover apple pie home last night. Set on top of the car while putting other things inside, it slid off and landed top-first on the snow!

So today's pie takes its place.

Lard is Not a Bad Word

Until last year, I always made pie crust using shortening. My mom, an excellent pie baker, always used Crisco, so that's what I used.

I don't really know where my negative associations with lard came from, but I always associated lard with disgusting fat--literally and figuratively.

A few years ago, health concerns became linked with trans-fats, which are present in any hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fat. The amount present in vegetable shortenings has been reduced to the point that they can legally say 0 grams per serving, but there is a trace of it in any hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fat.

I looked into alternatives for shortening in pie crust. I ruled out oils and butter. I knew that lard was used traditionally before shortening. My mother-in-law always made her pie crusts using lard. They were flaky and tender, but my general negative perception of lard persisted, and it took me a long time to try it. This article helped me shift my perception.

About a year ago, I finally tried it. I liked it! My pie crusts were still flaky and tender. They tasted better. And the dough was easier to handle.

The lard that's typically available in the grocery store is hydrogenated. But, according to Wikipedia, it contains half the amount of trans-fat as does shortening. So, my next step is to find lard that is not hydrogenated. A year ago, someone suggested that I go to a butcher shop (there are a few left) to buy the lard they trim from the pork. I put it off, so I have continued to use the hydrogenated lard. Just now, a quick Google search led me to the grocery store Save-a-Lot. That store is not very far from me. But, if it is available there, it might also be available at Price Rite, which is very near me.

Pie Crust Recipe

2 C (8.5 oz.) all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
2/3 C + 2 Tbsp. (6.25 oz.) lard
4+ Tbsp. cold water

Stir together flour and salt; cut in the lard. Add enough water to be able to squish together the dough. Cut the dough in half; roll out each half.

Makes one 2-crust pie or  two 1-crust pies.

Note: This dough cutter/scraper is one of my best baking buddies. Use it to cut up the lard as you add it to the flour. After you have squished the dough together, use it to cut the dough in half. When you are lifting the dough to place it in the pie pan, if it is sticking, gently use this tool to pry it up.

Leftover Pie Crust Dough

Squish together all of the dough scraps from the first rolling out, adding a little--less than a teaspoon--of lard to make up for the extra flour that has been rolled in.

Today I got a dozen tart shells out of the second and third dough rollings. I have a doughnut cutter that is missing the middle part, so it cuts a 3 1/2-inch circle. I set the circles of dough in muffin tins. You may prick the dough with a fork if you like, but I don't bother. Bake at 450 degrees for about 8 minutes. Let set for a few minutes before removing them from the pans.

In Canada, tarts are very common, so they have real tart pans, which are like shallow muffin tins.

You can fill these with just about anything you want, from jam or pudding to lemon cream or chocolate mousse.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut Oil, Updated 7/7/13

I have used my mother's recipe for baking chocolate chip cookies my whole life. They were always famous among family, friends, and acquaintances. I don't know where she got the recipe from, but I do know that many of her children and grandchildren have continued to bake these cookies.

Here is her recipe:

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1½ C white sugar

1½ C brown sugar

1½ C shortening

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

4½ C all-purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream together sugar, brown sugar, shortening, eggs, and vanilla. Sift (or just stir) together flour, salt, and baking soda; and then add to creamed mixture. Add chocolate chips. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake.

In recent years, shortening has come under fire because of its trans-fats. While shortening manufacturers have modified it so it contains less trans-fat, it's hydrogenated, so it will always have some trans-fat. Also, it doesn't add anything to the flavor.

Lots of people bake their chocolate chip cookies with butter, so I tried that. Many times. It makes good-tasting cookie dough! But the cookies themselves are quite altered: flat, more chewy or even crispy, and a markedly stronger flavor. These weren't necessarily bad characteristics. In fact, some people prefer them. They just aren't my mom's cookies.

Today I decided to try using coconut oil. The ambient temperature has to be quite warm before it changes from solid to liquid. We were just verging on that today in my house, so it was still solid but not hard. I just substituted (still solid) coconut oil for the shortening in Mom's recipe.

Like butter, coconut oil is high in saturated fat. In fact, it's even higher than butter. Unlike shortening, however, it does not contain any trans-fats.

My (admittedly small but very experienced) taste-testing crew agreed that this was the best-tasting cookie dough. (Note: Members of my family have been known to make chocolate chip cookie dough and not turn on the oven, so this is an important factor.)

Although the cookies spread out flat like the ones baked with butter, they remained soft like the ones made with shortening. Flavor? Better than the butter ones; at least as good as the shortening ones.

Next time I will add a bit more flour to see if that will prevent the cookies from flattening out.

Regardless, these are keepers!

Update 7/7/13: When I made these cookies today, I used 1/2 C more flour. I also chilled the dough for an hour before baking. In fact, it's such a warm day today that I chilled the coconut oil before I mixed the dough. The cookies turned out a little plumper. With these changes, I think coconut oil substitutes well for shortening, and tastes better. Here's the adapted recipe:

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies (with coconut oil)

1½ C white sugar

1½ C brown sugar

1½ C coconut oil (refrigerate before using if it is not solid)

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

5 C all-purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream together sugar, brown sugar, and coconut oil. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Sift (or just stir) together flour, salt, and baking soda; and then add to creamed mixture. Add chocolate chips. Chill for an hour or more. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes. Do not overbake.