Tuesdays with Dorie: Chockablock Cookies- my pick!

Legos are my baking nemesis. These innocent pieces somehow marched their way into a batch of cookie dough last week.


It is my turn! I have been a loyal member of the Tuesdays with Dorie crew for almost two years now and I was so excited when Laurie emailed me to tell me that finally my week had arrived. I decided to go with a cookie because a cookie is my favorite go-to snack, they are easily portable and share well. I know there is a lot of controversy in the group among the various coconut, nut, and dried fruit haters, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and bake something with all three controversial ingredients. I chose the Chockablock Cookies because they are chock full of ingredients. I am going to take a moment to wave my nerd flag proudly and let you all know that I made this recipe 6 times searching for the perfect fruit/nut combination. I started off being very scientific and making my taste testers take notes on their blind testings and tell me which one/ones they liked and exactly why. Then, after a few days, I realized that everyone likes different flavor profiles and after a few bites, everything starts to taste the same. (My favorite note was from a local friend who wrote, ".....Serve this cookie with a side of pickles and you just might find yourself with stray pregnant women roaming around the house.") Friends who make me laugh will be rewarded with extra baked goods.

These cookies don't spread much and are not going to win any beauty contests. The molasses in the cookies gave a little oomph to the raw dough but mellowed out considerably when baked. Molasses helped all the chunky ingredients to stick together but could be substituted for Lyle's Golden Syrup if you are a confirmed molasses hater. I like the extra crunch of the oatmeal, nuts, and coconut with my fruit and chocolate, but I bet they would be equally good if you left any of the mix-ins out or customized it to your tastes. These are big, honking cookies. Listen to Miss Dorie and make them with an ice-cream scoop that holds two tablespoons. When I experimented making tiny versions of them, they were off somehow. You need to have a big surface area so that you will have a somewhat crunchy outside and chewy, soft inside all in the same cookie.

My apologies to the TWD members who have come to this page hoping to see numerous Pioneer Woman style photographs detailing every stage of the cooking process. I cook with tiny people running around the kitchen (read: happy chaos) and I couldn't take more than a few shots. I had to throw one batch of dough away because a certain unnamed son threw lego pieces into the mixer when I went to answer the phone. The photo below of a recent vacation was the inspiration for my Jamaican Chockablock Cookie.

My non-violent, non-political, baking manifesto: I believe in the power of butter and sugar to heal most wounds. I believe that baking is one of the ultimate expressions of love and goodwill in a hectic world. I believe that no food should be off-limits and people can generally eat whatever they want as long as it is homemade and done in moderation. I think that Dorie Greenspan is not only a gifted baker, but a wonderful teacher who makes us all better bakers with her encouragement, commentary, and detailed, almost scientific instructions. I love living on the Connecticut shoreline and randomly running into her and her husband at the farmer's market where she greets everyone with genuine joy and enthusiasm. Tuesdays with Dorie is not really about Dorie or a specific day of the week- it is about all of us, all over the globe, some home cooks and others professionals, cooking for our lucky friends, families, coworkers and neighbors on a regular basis. It is about laughter as I acquire brutally honest yet helpful commentary from the men/daily taste testers in my life: my husband, three and four year old sons, and 79-year-old neighbor. It is about trying new things and perfecting them instantly or over time. TWD is about having the courage to toss aside the directions and tweak a recipe to suit your family's tastes or pantry stock. It is a moment of creativity and a chance to build real skills while connecting with others who share your interests. It is fabulous and I am already looking forward to cooking through the new one when we finish Baking: From my Home to Yours. Thank you, Laurie for organizing this group. Thank you, Dorie for writing a book that is worth several years' worth of Tuesdays.

My Variations:
1.) Apricots, dried plums and walnuts - Almost no one admits to liking prunes, but if you call them "dried plums" instead, everyone will gobble them up.
2.) Golden raisins and salted peanuts- Great combination with an extra hit of salt
3.) Dried bing cherries, walnuts and extra dark chocolate- An intriguing mix of sweet and sour that seemed more grown up and complex than the other ones.
4.) M&M's, semi-sweet chocolate, dried cranberries, and pecans- I think that the pecans are a mellow offset to the cranberries and the green M&M's are just plain fun.
5.) Cranberries, bittersweet chocolate, walnuts, and toasted coconut- a cuter cousin of the granola bar and merging into "could be considered a granola bar if it was cut into a square" category.
6.) Jamaican Chockablocks- My creation after a recent vacation: milk chocolate instead of dark, almond slivers, diced dried mango chunks , diced dried pineapple chunks , sliced banana chips, and a splash of rum. It was delicious and a distant cousin of my take on the famed Momofuku Milk Bar Compost Cookie.


Chockablock Cookies
Dorie Greenspan, from Baking From My Home to Yours

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup solid vegetable shortening
½ cup sugar
½ cup molasses (not blackstrap)
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans or peanuts are all good)
1 cup coarsely chopped dried fruit (such as apricots, prunes, or figs) or 1 cup of moist, plump raisins (dark or golden)
12 ounces of bittersweet chocolate chopped, or 2 cups store-bought chocolate chips
½ cup sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready:

Position the racks to divide the oven in thirds and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and shortening together at medium speed until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for another two minutes. Pour in the molasses and beat for 1 minute more. Add the eggs one at a time, beating 1 minute after each addition. Reduce mixer speed to low and mix in the oats, then add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the dough. Toss in the nuts, fruit, chocolate chips and coconut and, turn the mixer on and off quickly a few times to incorporate. Alternatively, you can stir them into the dough with a sturdy wooden spatula. (The dough can be wrapped well and chilled for up to two days. If you'd like, you can measure out the dough onto a baking sheet, freeze until firm, then put mounds of dough in a bag and freeze for up to two months; bake directly out of the freezer, adding a few minutes to the baking time.)
I like to use an ice cream scoop with a 2-tablespoon capacity to divvy up the dough, but you can measure it out by rounded tablespoonfuls. Place the mounds of dough on the baking sheets, leaving about 1 1/2 inches between the mounds.
Bake for 15 – 18 minutes, rotating pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until the cookies are golden and just about set. Remove the baking sheets to cooling racks and let the cookies rest on the sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring them to racks to cool to room temperature.