Perhaps I get an abnormal amount of satisfaction from a well-done geek project. I also get an unusual amount of satisfaction from a great chocolate chip cookie. This project made me extremely happy, appealing to both my scientific side, and my… well, chocolate side.
I do not have the privilege of knowing Meg Hourihan personally, but I can tell that we would get along! She writes a food blog at megnut.com, and during a recent recipe search, this post caught my eye: A Mean Chocolate Chip Cookie.
Intrigued, I decided to give the recipe a glance. What I found was a wonderful fusion of geekery and bakery.
Meg, a self-described “Food Enthusiast,” had embarked upon a quest to find THE best chocolate chip cookie. She solicited suggestions, and received more recipes than she could use. To simplify her work, she narrowed the list of recipes down to a dozen contenders.
Then, like any good geek, she made a spreadsheet of the recipes. She converted all of the measurements to base 10, averaged the preparation techniques, chilling times, oven temperatures, baking times, etc. She came up with a formula for a “mean” (averaged, get it?) chocolate chip cookie. You can see the complete recipe on her blog. It is quite brilliant.
So, how did the cookies taste? After doing all of the mathematical calculations, measuring, mixing, chilling, and baking (13.04 minutes at 354.17°F), Meg sampled her creation, and declared…
The first bite revealed a cookie crispy around the rim, warm and chewy on the inside. A few hours later, they were firmer, but still tasty. The best chocolate chip cookies ever? I’m not sure, but I baked A Mean Chocolate Chip Cookie. And that’s enough for me.
A happy ending to a unique kitchen adventure! I say, “thank you!” to Meg for her contribution to the canon of kitchen geekery.
love your blog
would you like to trade links?
Thanks
Vhiel
Can of Thoughts
Anything and Everything in Between
A good chocolate chip cookie can change the world!
Thanks for the link; I’m going over now to check it out and hopefully add it to my repertoire.
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Mmmmm, chocolate chip cookies!!! I checked out the recipe and it looks great. I like her ‘scientific approach’ to the chocolate chip cookie. Thought it was cute how you need butter at three different temperatures… scientific indeed!
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You know your a geek when your favorite chocolate chip recipe comes from a book written by a astronomer turned sysadmin trying to catch a hacker.
For a good recipe try Clifford Stolls’ recipe from the Cuckoos Egg. Its on my site here –> http://www.tenaciouscreations.com/general/haxor-cookies-new-and-improved
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mmmm… Geeky cookies.
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