One Year Down [Dalmatian Chocolate Chip Cookies]

One year ago today I took my first baby blogging step and published my first post.

In it, I told you the story of how a single request for chocolate chip cookies from a cute boy eventually led me to a passion.

Having also reached my 100th post last week, I've been thinking a lot about this blog and my journey with it thus far. Do you know how scared I was to start food blogging? I spent a good solid month or two contemplating the name alone. But before (and even after) that, it was a constant back-and-forth between should I or shouldn't I? And importantly, why?


...Why? Duh, I love baking.

And I love writing. And eating.

But blogging is taking it one step further and displaying it for others to see.

But I am not a professional...of anything really. I have no "legitimate" experience doing anything mentioned above. Who am I to blog about baking? Entering the blogging world with a lack of expertise was scary.

Taken from http://www.planet-science.com/

I'd like to think fear is a normal and constant villain we are all constantly struggling to overcome. It appears in different shapes, sizes, and places in our lives, but it's always there. It's always trying to stop us. Like a seed in a shoebox (who remember's this experiment in middle school?), we sense that there's light, but a cardboard maze attempts to make us believe it isn't possible to get to or that it isn't worth a try.

On the contrary from what it wants us to think and feel, fear presents an opportunity. An opportunity to grow and reshape and challenge ourselves. I've found that in choosing to accept the fear and challenge, I often learn the most about myself: my strength, my talents, my potential.

I think maybe sometimes what we fear is ourselves.


Even now, knowing this to be true, I have a hard time pushing forward. The future is a vast unknown...but it will only remain the unknown for as long as we let it.

Obviously, this isn't speaking specifically to this little rinky-dink blog, but it does serve as an example. Over this last year, I have baked and cooked and eaten my way through way too many recipes. I have also discussed--or skimmed over--a good amount of current events in my life, good and bad. But overall, I am proud...and happy. As I mentioned in my first post, I still dream that this blog will one day become much more than a collection of recipes and thoughts. It's a dream laced with fear, but I know the truth: (in the words of Coldplay) "if you never try, you'll never know" and if you never face the fear, you'll never grow.

Seeing as "it all started with a chocolate chip cookie", it's only appropriate that I post about one on today. These cookies have been in my baking queue for a while now, and I'm very happy to have finally gotten to them.  The dough included some significant differences to other chocolate chip cookies; e.g., using a combination of bread flour and normal flour, grating chocolate, and letting the dough sit in the fridge overnight. The process resulted in cookies that were super chocolate-ty, chewy, and beautiful. And like my very first batch of cookies, they were greatly enjoyed by the Boyfriend.

Cheers to one year down and possibilities!

Dalmatian Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Slightly Adapted from New York Times, 
which was adapted from Jacque Torres

Servings: ~ 24 cookies

1/2 + 1/3 cup bread flour

1 cup + 1 tablespoon white whole wheat flour

1/2 + 1/8 teaspoon baking soda 

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

10 1/2 tablespoons salted butter (1/2 cup, plus 2 1/2 tablespoons)

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped/grated semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

• Sift flours, baking powder/soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together butter and sugars for about 5 minutes, until incredibly fluffy. Add egg, followed by the vanilla.

• Turn mixer speed to low and gradually add in the dry ingredients until combined. Stir in all chocolate pieces. Press a piece of plastic wrap around the dough and refrigerate for about 24 hours.

• When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper. Place 2-tablespoon sized scoops of dough on sheet, ensuring to equally space, and baking for about 9-12 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned and the centers still seem soft. Cool on a rack and store in a air-tight container.