For Christmas this year my sister got me the The New Best Recipe cookbook. At first glance this gigantic book doesn't seem that impressive. It doesn't even have pretty pictures (something that is usually a must for my cookbooks). When I finally had a chance to sit down and flip through it I realized it is amazing.
This cookbook doesn't have a ton of new recipes, it doesn't even have a lot of recipes for its size(it is huge). For each recipe that is in the cookbook, the authors tested various methods, techniques, and ingredients to give you a fool proof version that tastes great. They even explained why they did what they did and what makes it so good. That is so interesting to me. I could sit and just read it, which I can't say about most cookbooks.
Pretty much every recipe that we have done has been delicious. We have tried pizza dough, banana bread, oatmeal cookies (these were so good), sandwich bread, and a few other things. It's been interesting to compare my recipes and techniques with the ones they recommend.
My current favorite recipe is this chocolate chip cookie recipe. It is not from my new cookbook, I stumbled upon it on foodgawker.com. I have tried lots of chocolate chip cookie recipes trying to find a really good one and haven't had much luck in the past. They have been good but not awesome. This new recipe is awesome. They taste like they are from a bakery, crispy on the edges and chewy in the middle. The catch is that the dough sits for 36 hours. Not easy to do in my house, but SO worth it. This article explains the science behind letting it sit. We tried the cookies right after I made the dough, at 24 hours and at 36 hours or more. They definitely get better with time. We made them Christmas day and put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top while they still hot. Yummy!!
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