ma petite chouchou: October 2011

There are countless recipes for chocolate chip cookies out there to choose from, but I was particularly impressed by this one from Tate's bakeshop. The cookies had the perfect balance of chewiness and crunch. I even froze half the recipe for instant cookie fixes (ie. easy desert for entertaining, to combat studying woes). It's super simple, just spoon the batter out on a cookie sheet, freeze until hard, then throw them in to a tupperware and back in to the freezer until needed.

Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies

(slightly adapted from http://goop.com/newsletter/38/en/)

2 cups flour (whole wheat pastry worked great for me)

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. water

2 eggs (slightly beaten)

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking soda & salt. In a separate bowl cream together the butter and sugars. Add vanilla, water & eggs. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon about a tablespoon of batter on to prepared baking sheets (should make about 40 cookies) and bake for 8-12 minutes, depending upon how chewy or crunchy you like your cookies. 12 minutes worked perfectly for me. Let cookies cool on wire racks.

Ps. these cookies are fabulous with a glass of milk or my personal choice-- a beautiful latte from my new favourite espresso bar Pikolo, on Parc and Sherbrooke.

Have a great Halloween weekend! I'll be spending mine dressing up as a pirate and making home-made peanut butter cups.

I'm loving the femininity and movement embodied in this Spring's RTW collections. Louis Vuitton showcased 60's inspired eyelet looks on a dreamworld of a runway, while Valentino's collection featured delicate plaited hair, sheer long layers and bold shoulders. My favorite looks were found on Alexander McQueen's runway. The dramatic ruffles and silhouettes of the structured gowns and floral dresses in the collection were utterly fabulous.