Dude Cooks Cookies

After yesterday's startling exposé in the New York Post (see my previous post, please), that bastion of good hard-nosed reporting, I figured I'd bake some cookies. I mean, if all those dudes are doing it, shouldn't I?

I like to bake cookies because everyone else likes them. And that's me, after all - making everyone happy. I especially enjoy biscotti, those twice-baked cookies of Italian heritage...mostly because I can bake a batch and they stay fresh for a week or more as opposed to something like chocolate-chip, which really are only at their best for a day or two.

Fascinating, I know. But let me show you a few tips, weisenheimers...

First of all, you do this, right?

Yep - weight out your dry ingredients on a scale directly into the strainer. That's flour, salt, baking soda/powder, and whatever other dry ingredients your recipe calls for. That way, you can sift them all together.

Then you do this, right?

Correct. Get your eggs and other liquid ingredients ready, right in a bowl. That way you won't have to measure anything at the last minute. Chop up nuts, if they're part of the recipe. And finally, the sugar and butter go right into your mixer bowl, so everything is all prepped and ready to go.

Then, make the cookie dough. It's ready when it looks like this - don't overbeat...

If you're making biscotti, you're usually baking logs first. Want them equal? Want anything equal? Then do this...

Yep, throw the whole batch on the scale, take half of it off, and voila - exactly equal. I bake these on parchment; it's so much easier to deal with. Other cookies bake directly on the cookie sheet, but not these biscotti. Floured hands make them easier to shape...

And then, after the first bake, they'll probably look like this...

Wait 5 - 10 minutes, and then slice the logs into, well, biscotti. Use a nice, serrated knife and cut on a diagonal. Bake for an additional 15 minutes or so (I actually turn the cookies over halfway through) and stand back to admire your handiwork. You just made biscotti.