Clinton Street Baking Company Cookbook

About the Book (from Amazon): 

The Clinton St. Baking Company is one of the hottest brunch spots in a city obsessed with brunch. A tiny thirty-two-seat eatery on Manhattan's trendy Lower East Side, the restaurant draws long lines of customers who come from far and wide to sample fresh-baked goods, hearty omelets, sugar-cured bacon, and light-as-air pancakes with maple butter.

In the Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook, owners DeDe Lahman and Neil Kleinberg share more than 100 treasured recipes that have made their restaurant a sensation. Learn the secret to their house-made buttermilk biscuits and tomato jam, irresistible muffins and scones, delicious soups and sandwiches, and their decadent, eye-catching desserts. Helpful techniques, like Neil's patented omelet "flip and tuck," and gorgeous color photographs throughout will have readers cooking like pros in no time, and sharing the delicious results.

My Comments: This is a beautiful photo-ladened cookbook that features breakfast and brunch foods, including desserts and cocktails.  The recipes are clear and easy to follow (though perhaps a bit more complex than those found in the average community group cookbook) and use ingredients, which if not regular pantry staples at my house, are things my husband could locate at our normal grocery store.  Clinton St. Baking Company Cookbook: Breakfast, Brunch & Beyond from New York's Favorite Neighborhood Restaurant would make a lovely Christmas gift for someone who enjoys making breakfast or brunch a special meal.  

My Experience:  I decided to try the recipe for Chocolate Chunk Cookies (p 197).  

Ingredients:

1 1.2 sticks (12 T) unsalted butter at room temperature

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350, if using a convection over, 325.  In bowl of electric mixer, cream together butter, sugars, vanilla and cinnamon on medium speed, making sure to stop and scrape the bowl.  This will take 3-4 minutes.  Add eggs and mis on medium low until combined.  Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in separate bowl and add all at once to the batter.  Mix on low speed until combined, making sure to stop and scrape the bowl.  Fold in the chocolate chunks.  Flatten the dough into a shallow pan (such as a pie plate) and freeze for twenty minutes.  

Coat two cookie sheets with non-stick spray or line with parchment.  With a 2 oz ice cream scooper, scoop cookies onto each cookie sheet.  You should have 12 to 14 cookies.  Bake 15 to 17 minutes until golden and just set on top.

My assistant prepares to cream the butter and sugar.

Ready to go in the oven

Removed from the oven 5 minutes early--not burned on bottom, but close; and still raw in the middle.  They do taste good!

Thanks to Anna Balasi at Hachette Books for providing a review copy of this cookbook.