KYRA'S SALTED ORANGE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Using her experimental skills as a chemist, Kyra perfected this soft, chewy, delicious cookie to reflect her own nature. The flavors emerge one at a time, as the orange, chocolate, and salt slowly combine to produce both a great-tasting cookie and a satisfying cookie-eating experience.
Kyra selected ingredients that retain their individual flavors during preparation: orange zest, chocolate chips, and salt crystals. For her design to work, she needed a soft and chewy cookie, rather than a thin, crisp, crunchy one. But she kept the smoky flavor of a crispy cookie by using browned butter, and the satisfying crunch by topping them with sea salt.
She used a scientific experimental design to optimize the amounts of orange and salt. She added low, medium or high levels of each to make nine cookies, arranged in an orderly way, like this:
Kyra selected ingredients that retain their individual flavors during preparation: orange zest, chocolate chips, and salt crystals. For her design to work, she needed a soft and chewy cookie, rather than a thin, crisp, crunchy one. But she kept the smoky flavor of a crispy cookie by using browned butter, and the satisfying crunch by topping them with sea salt.
She used a scientific experimental design to optimize the amounts of orange and salt. She added low, medium or high levels of each to make nine cookies, arranged in an orderly way, like this:
After baking and cooling, she tasted each to see which she liked best. Her favorite was the low salt/high orange version. Sophie agreed with her, and they both ate a few more bites of that one--just to make sure. When Kyra woke the next morning, most of the cookie with medium salt and high orange flavor was gone, so someone must have really liked that one too! For her final recipe, she used high orange and low-medium salt. It worked out well, because even Mama Wright liked it!
Recipe:
Ingredients:
85g unsalted butter (6 Tbs)
100g brown sugar (½ cup)
30g pure cane sugar (3 Tbs)
1 egg, room temperature
200g all-purpose flour (1 1/3 cup)
¼ tsp baking soda
Zest of one medium orange
¼ + ½ tsp sea salt crystals
120g extra dark chocolate chips (about ¾ cup)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Whisking constantly, brown the butter in a skillet on medium heat until it produces a bit of a nutty smell and a few browned bits start to persist at the bottom (about three minutes). Pour the butter from the skillet into a bowl and allow it to cool to near room temperature.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the browned butter with the brown and cane sugars until it forms a smooth cream (about two minutes), then whisk in the egg. Next, add the flour and baking soda and turn with a firm spoon or spatula until all the solids are incorporated into the dough. Finally, turn in the orange zest and ¼ tsp of salt until the orange color is equally distributed, and then fold in the chocolate chips. Do not overmix.
4. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
5. Using a spatula, divide the dough into quarters. Separate out one third of one quarter and roll into a ball with your hands. Arrange it on the cookie sheet. Repeat the process for the remaining dough to produce 12 cookies. If a flat top is desired, reduce the height of each by pressing down with a spatula or something else that is flat.
6. Bake at 375 for 11-12 minutes or until the edges just start to brown.
7. Remove from the oven and distribute the remaining sea salt (½ tsp) evenly on the cookie tops, using the back of a spoon to gently press the salt crystals into the tops of the cookies.
8. Allow them to cool as long as you can stand to wait, then eat them up
9. Remember to share!
Recipe:
Ingredients:
85g unsalted butter (6 Tbs)
100g brown sugar (½ cup)
30g pure cane sugar (3 Tbs)
1 egg, room temperature
200g all-purpose flour (1 1/3 cup)
¼ tsp baking soda
Zest of one medium orange
¼ + ½ tsp sea salt crystals
120g extra dark chocolate chips (about ¾ cup)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Whisking constantly, brown the butter in a skillet on medium heat until it produces a bit of a nutty smell and a few browned bits start to persist at the bottom (about three minutes). Pour the butter from the skillet into a bowl and allow it to cool to near room temperature.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the browned butter with the brown and cane sugars until it forms a smooth cream (about two minutes), then whisk in the egg. Next, add the flour and baking soda and turn with a firm spoon or spatula until all the solids are incorporated into the dough. Finally, turn in the orange zest and ¼ tsp of salt until the orange color is equally distributed, and then fold in the chocolate chips. Do not overmix.
4. Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
5. Using a spatula, divide the dough into quarters. Separate out one third of one quarter and roll into a ball with your hands. Arrange it on the cookie sheet. Repeat the process for the remaining dough to produce 12 cookies. If a flat top is desired, reduce the height of each by pressing down with a spatula or something else that is flat.
6. Bake at 375 for 11-12 minutes or until the edges just start to brown.
7. Remove from the oven and distribute the remaining sea salt (½ tsp) evenly on the cookie tops, using the back of a spoon to gently press the salt crystals into the tops of the cookies.
8. Allow them to cool as long as you can stand to wait, then eat them up
9. Remember to share!
Ingredients
Browned butter, with little brown bits starting to form.
Dough divided into quarters.
Flattening helps keep the salt on top from rolling off to the sides.
Carefully smash salt crystals in with the back of a spoon while the cookies are still warm.
This is what they looked like before getting eaten.