While I had always dreamed of owning a KitchenAid myself, little did I know that Matt also, had mixer visions of his own.As we were deciding what to do for Super Bowl Sunday, we decided to crank the heat in the house (temperature is something I prefer keep to a minimum and make up for with a cozy sweater or hoodie) and have a chocolate chip cookie throwdown. This decision expedited the need for the mixer as apparently, for Matt's chosen recipe, the KitchenAid was an essential component to total cookie success!
We both love the mandarin orange color and having both used it to make our cookies, we both were very excited and pleased with the results.
The recipe I chose was the ever-famous Neiman Marcus cookie recipe, urban legend still in tact. I used to make this recipe while at BYU all the time. It was a no-fail!
Matt chose a friend's recipe that he has raved about and has long declared to be the best chocolate chip cookies EVER.
In the picture above, my cookie is on the left, Matt's is on the right.
We had a bake off and based on our own taste test and the judgement of others in the Painter family, the following was determined (based on my conclusions):
1. Appearance - Winner: Miriam
2. Texture - Winner: Miriam
3. Chocolatiness: Winner: Miriam, close Second: Matt
4. Taste fresh out of the oven and for the first day: Matt
5. Taste the second day: Miriam
Overall winner: Miriam, with Matt at a close Second
The taste the first day, was a split tie really. I actually preferred Matt's cookie over mine. Mine lacked salt and overall flavor. I will say that the milk chocolate chips that Matt used made a difference in the sweetness of the cookie, which mine and its semi-sweet chocolate chips lacked in general. I did run into some issues in the preparation of my cookies as I forgot to add the eggs and the vanilla in the "wet" ingredients stage of the mixing process and I think that that may have affected the end product. I think next time Matt will add more flour to his mixture for a more substantial cookie.
In general, it was a fun little contest! It was Matt's first time EVER baking chocolate chip cookies and it was our first time ever using the orange KitchenAid which exceeding every dream and expectation!
3 comments:
What a fun contest. I admit, I'd be nervous about taking my hubby on in a kitchen competition, 'cause he's got a talent for following recipes.
Just wondering--did you have any impartial judges, or did you just test each others' cookies? I probably would have needed to eat 5 of each before being able to make my choices ; ).
Someday I hope I'm as lucky as you to own a Kitchenaid mixer!
I have a sunshine yellow kitchen aid mixer that I'm also very fond of. (I have the blender in tangerine.) The kneading feature is quite awesome--I make bread in mine all the time. The other thing I love is whipping egg whites to stiff peaks! I never had the patience to do this before. The first time I made waffles with the kitchenaid (and hence, the first time I whipped my egg whites to stiff peaks), I was amazed at what it did to the waffle texture! You must try it!
Anything I can do with my KitchenAid I am all for! Thanks Laura! We've since made pizza dough that was sooo easy! We made some imitation Levain's Bakery chocolate chip cookies which are the best cookies I've ever made. I love the mixer!
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