Who taught you grammar?

More like "who taught you how to read", but I'm going with a title theme here. I'll make cookies for you if you can tell me where these titles are coming from...

So, I'm leaving town tomorrow night after work, driving down to Philly to run a marathon on Sunday. I want to bring some cookies because, well, I think I deserve some homemade cookies after running a marathon. So I flipped through my recipe book, looking for the chewy chocolate chip recipe I've been using for years, the same my sister reviewed here recently.

I found the recipe (so I thought) and got to work. Things seemed a little strange right off the bat, like how it only called for 1 egg white. But I didn't think much about it since I haven't made these cookies in over a year, and Cooks Illustrated does weird things with their recipes. Like adding vodka to pie crust. Then I got to the park where it told me to add the corn syrup. Corn syrup? In chocolate chip cookies? That seemed even more bizarre. But did I stop to check what I was doing? Heck no sister, I just pressed right on. Until I came to the part where it told me to add the cocoa powder. Ok, stop, I know that just ain't right. Finally I read the recipe a little closer and see that I was indeed NOT making "chewy chocolate chip cookies" but "chewy chocolate cookies".

Now, I'm not going to lie and act like this is a big deal. I mean, a cookie is a cookie (well, as long as it's homemade), and I might not have made these cookies in a long time but I do know they are darn tasty. I'm just getting amused and admittedly a little worried by some airhead moves I've been making recently. Like how last weekend, when cutting Dan's hair, I forgot to put the guard on the trimmer and wound up having to shave his head basically totally bald. 27 is too young for alzheimer's, right?

Oh well, at least I've got some good cookies to look forward to. If, you know, I remember to pack them. Speaking of which, I better go put my sneakers in the car right now.


Chewy Chocolate Cookies, from Cooks Illustrated adapted to be GF

*This recipe doesn't make very many

Ingredients

1/3cup granulated sugar (about 2 1/2 ounces), plus 1/2 cup for coating

1 1/2cups GF flour mix (I use better batter)

3/4cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2teaspoon baking soda

1/4teaspoon table salt plus 1/8 teaspoon table salt

1/2cup dark corn syrup (see note)

1large egg white

1teaspoon vanilla extract

12tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter , softened (70 degrees)

1/3cup packed dark brown sugar (about 2 1/2 ounces, see note)

4ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped into 1/2-inch pieces (see note)

Instructions

1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18- by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Place ½ cup granulated sugar in shallow baking dish or pie plate. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl. Whisk corn syrup, egg white, and vanilla together in small bowl.

2. In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, brown sugar, and remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low, add corn syrup mixture, and beat until fully incorporated, about 20 seconds, scraping bowl once with rubber spatula. With mixer running at low speed, add flour mixture and chopped chocolate; mix until just incorporated, about 30 seconds, scraping bowl once. Give dough final stir with rubber spatula to ensure that no pockets of flour remain at bottom. Chill dough 30 minutes to firm slightly (do not chill longer than 30 minutes).

3. Divide dough into 16 equal portions; roll between hands into balls about 11/2 inches in diameter. Working in batches, drop 8 dough balls into baking dish with sugar and toss to coat. Set dough balls on prepared baking sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart; repeat with second batch of 8. Bake, reversing position of the baking sheets halfway through baking (from top to bottom and front to back), until cookies are puffed and cracked and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (cookies will look raw between cracks and seem underdone), 10 to 11 minutes. Do not overbake.

4. Cool cookies on baking sheet 5 minutes, then use wide metal spatula to transfer cookies to wire rack; cool cookies to room temperature.