Edouard's Chocolate Chip Cookies

It has been a while since I posted with the Tuesday's With Dorie group, even though I've been baking regularly.  True, I have been away for a month during the summer (once to Massachusetts and another  time to Seattle/Portland/Chicago), but part of the reason I didn't bake from the book and post about some of the summer choices has been because our season here in upstate New York is late so when everyone else had strawberries, then blueberries and peaches, we were still anxiously anticipating these lovely fruits.

But chocolate is always available so this week I made Edouard's Chocolate Chip Cookies found on page 298 of Dorie's Baking Chez Moi.  I once did a series of tests about chocolate chip cookies, baking two batches a week for about 15-20 weeks in a row.  I served them to guests and asked them to rate and describe the cookies.  What I discovered was that everyone has a personal notion of the "perfect" chocolate chip cookie.  Some folks like soft and others like crisp.  Some like semi-sweet chocolate and others prefer bittersweet or even milk chocolate.  Some people think the cookie can't be perfect unless it has pecans and others think that nuts of any kind ruin their chocolate chip cookies.

Edouard's cookies have ground almonds which give them a bit of heft and a lovely flavor.  When I served them to my guests at a recent music party, they were completely consumed, even though there were home-made Swedish cinnamon rolls, zucchini bread, and a healthy assortment of veggies from which to choose.   People begged for the recipe and told me that these cookies were so good that it was impossible to stop eating them.

Even thought I'm one of those people who prefers pecans in her chocolate chip cookies, I very much enjoyed this version of a standard American favorite.  To see what other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers made this week, look here.