There is a cookie purist in my home. (It is not I.)
This cookie aficionado – the Cookie Monster, we shall dub him/her – likes one cookie, and one cookie only: the chocolate chip cookie.
(Actually, I have seen the Cookie Monster eat some Girl Guide cookies without much hesitation.)
Now, the Cookie Monster is not particularly loyal to a single chocolate chip cookie recipe. Every one I have made – and over the years, I have made many – gets an enthusiastic reception. Recipes that include oats tend to be slightly less favourable, but are still consumed with glee. Our household has finally settled on one BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe, which I shall blog about another time.
All this to say that I don’t often experiment with other kinds of cookies, and when I do, I want them to be so good that they rival the classic chocolate chip so that I can say, “See? Other cookies can be good, too.”
Unfortunately, Bobbette & Belle’s Double Chocolate Fleur de Sel Cookies did not help me prove my point. Though the B&B cookbook has wowed me with their brownies, cinnamon bread, and scones, these chocolate cookies were not up to the usual caliber.
They’re a little too dry, too crumby – not chewy, as I believe a cookie should be. They have so much potential: a double dose of chocolate (cocoa powder plus dark chocolate chips) and a dash of sea salt to bring out the sweet. How could they go wrong?
I’m not sure, to be honest. I followed the recipe to a tee, and it is pretty straightforward – I don’t know where I could have messed up. It provides mixing speeds and times, leaving next to no guesswork.
The one thing that caught my eye was that this cookie recipe doesn’t have any eggs. Even the dough felt a little dry and crumbly – the only non-dry ingredient is a cup of room temperature butter. Weird.
That’s not to say that these cookies are bad – I just have a tough time believing that they are the top-selling cookie at the Bobbette & Belle shops, as the recipe intro proclaims. Rest assured that this will not turn me off trying some of their other recipes (the Classic Peanut Butter and Soft & Chewy Ginger Cookies, in particular, have caught my eye) – I’m just not sold on these guys.
If you’ve ever tried these President Choice cookies, the texture is very similar.
Verdict? Skip this recipe – there are better ones out there.
Out of Bounds Squamish 