Cookiepedia

Do you really need another chocolate chip cookie recipe? Don't answer that until you've tried this recipe. These cookies spread out and are flat, rather than sit in a cake-y lump on the cookie sheet. They're crunchy along the edges, yet soft and chewy in the middle. Hot out of the oven with the chocolate softly melting in your mouth, they're irresistible. They may become my standard chocolate-chip cookie. The only thing I'd do different in the future is add some walnuts.





They're included in a new cookbook called "The Cookiepedia" that was sent to me recently. The book includes a diverse array of cookies, but I immediately was drawn to the Italian biscuits recipe since it reminded me of Serpette - a cookie I eat whenever I'm in the Castelli Romani, a series of towns southeast of Rome. Serpette always have a crunchy, sugary top, so I brushed some egg white and sprinkled some sugar on the top before baking - something that wasn't in Cookiepedia's recipe. It added just the right amount of sweetness to a cookie that's not very sweet, but is addictively delicious. My go-to cookie is always my friend Lilli's biscotti, but these are also destined to be a classic in my cookie repertoire now. Add a glass of vin santo or a cup of espresso and you can't get much better.

From the Cookbook "Cookiepedia" by Stacy Adimando

Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes between 16 and two dozen cookies



printable recipe here

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour


• 1/2 tsp. baking soda


• 1/2 tsp kosher salt


• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature


• 1/3 c. sugar


• 1/2 c. light brown sugar


• 1 large egg


• 3/4 tsp. vanilla extract


• 1 cup (about 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks

1. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a big bowl and stir. Set the bowl aside.


2. Cream the butter and sugars for several minutes, until they look light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until just combined. Add the flour mixture right into the butter mixture. Mix on low speed until they're incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.


3. Go down the line dropping tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto parchment-paper-lined cookie sheets. Leave about 2 inches between them so they have plenty of room to spread. Bake for 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven, rotating the sheets halfway through baking.

Italian Biscuits

makes from 16 to 2 dozen cookies

printable recipe here

• 4 T. unsalted butter


• 1 3/4 cups plus 2 T. all-purpose flour


• 1 1/2 t. baking powder


• 1/4 t. salt


• 2 eggs


• 1/3 cup sugar


• 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

1. Melt the butter and set aside to cool slightly. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set it aside.


2. With a mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed for a minute. Add the sugar in a slow, steady stream, continuing to mix on medium until they're combined. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the cooled butter and vanilla.


3. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until the dough comes together.


4. Scoop out tablespoon-sized balls of dough and roll them between your fingers into ropes about 5 inches long. Gently form the ropes into S shapes. Place the cookies on sheets about 2 inches from one another. Let them sit for 15 minutes before baking. (Optional - brush with a little egg white and sprinkle sugar on top.)


5. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown.