Out & About #905 | Craig's Cookies, Rainbow Choc Chip Pecan Cookies + Challah

​I had a number of gripes about heading into the office on the first day of the week - to an all-day training session no less!

​At the very least, the trek was minimal and sustenance supplied.

Arriving at Union in advance of the agreed time allowed for Wi-Fi usage and exploration of the connecting pathway between the Bay and York Concourses, where further outlets could be found for usage while standing.

​A total of three trainings were scheduled. Having seen mediocre offerings at the first (901), I nearly debated bringing my own mid-day meal to escape rigid sandwiches.
Thankfully, I had ultimately decided against it, for breakfast comprised of a decent supply of coffee, muffins, and slightly tacky strawberry-cream cheese Danishes.

A variety of wraps and sandwiches would be spotted filing into the training room around the 12:15 PM mark. Included in the assortment were roast beef, turkey, halal chicken, veggie, and veggie without cheese. The stark contrast of the items had already taken me back, but the fruit platter was, undoubtedly, the most exciting addition of all!
Fresh, delectable berries, juicy pineapple, luscious green grapes, chopped Granny Smith apples, and cantaloupe were giddily piled onto one side of my plate.

​And, once the entire room had taken to their fill, I returned for a second helping of fruit, focusing on the highly saturated strawberries.

​The agenda hadn't permitted more than forty-five minutes for lunch, nor more than ten minutes per break. I would depart for home earlier than expected, then return to the downtown core the following day for the event I had been least excited for since my first day: moving offices.

Our team would unknowingly be declared the guinea pigs for the transition, being the first to shift into a new space in spite of various hiccups. The washroom layout was poor, the faucets failing to dispense water, and the bathrooms devoid of hand soap. Stationery was nowhere to be seen, and exposed wires were present in nearly every meeting/breakout room.
​
At the very least, the space was sparkly clean and the tables supported a sit-stand function. It was also equipped with two Samsung Flip boards, life-sized tablets that facilitated the sharing of content and network-based file transfer.

Needless to say, I delved into these new installations with immense curiosity, learning its features and adapting to the interface with tremendous speed. Even the IT team seemed amused by my enthusiasm.

Floor tours and ensuring that the team had full functionality of the new workspace ensued until the early afternoon, at which point I declared my first Yonge-Dundas lunch walk.

Smog was exceptionally thick and, when paired with the combined effects of ongoing construction, made for a stifling, dusty trek about the area.
Heading north to the intersection of Bay and Wellesley, I found greadually improving air quality (ie. less roadwork) and quieter streets. In-boulevard trees also provided some sort of shaded relief from the summery temperatures.

Along the way, I changed across a Taiwanese breakfast restaurant - likely my only sighting since Breakfast-ing in Mississauga.

However, I would continue eastward, weaving through Breadalbane Park towards Yonge Street. The mission at hand was Craig's Cookies, specifically their Pride Cookie. A local franchise with four locations throughout the city, I had first stumbled upon the specialty boutique last year after a spectacular supper at Yuzuki.

​Besides the ever-prominent presence of affordable housing and questionable residents of the streets, the Church-Wellesley community is unapologetically lacquered in rainbows, fitting of their demographic. Consequently, the location of Craig's Cookies also makes sense, given its origins.

​The trip averaged twenty clammy minutes, and landed me between the sketchy streets of Gerrard, Church, and Wellesley. It was a sooty, sudoric journey I had bravely undertaken for the sake of cookies; my efforts earned me two Pride and one Ruby cookie, the latter priced higher at $5 apiece due to its donation-affiliated status. At the early hour, the cookie counter was stocked with a plethora of flavours, though they failed to interest me as the variations simply seemed too sweet.

On the way back, I shed my cardigan, then silently regretted forgetting my neck fan at home, for breezy it was no longer.

​My pace quickened for the return trip, partly as I was eager to return to air-conditioned respite and partly since the district terrified me tremendously.

Upon reaching Bay and Elm, I could withstand perspiration no more and hobbled into the nearest coffee shop of interest. Being downtown on sweltering days is particularly dangerous for this reason, as spendings become increasingly steep out of immediate need.

Reply Coffee, alternatively written as "re: " within, had taken over the former space of Bubble Republic and renovated away the mahogany and beige vertical strips to promote luminous white walls and a handful of dine-in tables.

I was warmly greeted by the cashier upon entry and began to browse the menu overhead. A Matcha Cold Foam Cold Brew was selected to appease internal heat. The café housed a variety of baked goods, including checkboard cookies, scones, brownies and bars, and macarons. Alas, today's treats were already in tow.

The beverage was surprisingly tasty, with slightly bitter, grassy notes discernible in the foam layer. As anticipated, the Cold Brew served to relieve one of excessive warmth while providing a mid-afternoon boost. 

Back in the office, I unveiled my cookies. At the depths of my paper bag was a smaller paper bag positively oozing with grease. The sight alarmed me, and I soon realized its cause: the staff member had, for reasons beyond me, placed the Ruby cookie chocolate-side down, causing the coating's innately creamy properties to ooze out.

​Munching away on one of two Pride cookies, the remainder was wrapped within leftover plastic wrap and the greasy bag was disposed. The sight of brown sugar-sweetened salted butter cookies earned nods of approval from those in my immediate vicinity, along with bewilderment, seeing as I had ventured relatively far in a mere span of sixty minutes.

Later that evening, I sampled the Ruby cookie. Being neither fond of the white chocolate chips nor the red sprinkles more fitting on sugar cookies, I held onto grand hopes for the Ruby chocolate coating, only to be disappointed by its thinness and relatively un-fruity attributes.

Creations of the week included:

1) Rainbow Chocolate Chip Cookies with Pecans

​My visit to Craig's Cookies had primarily been undertaken for their Pride Cookie, but, alas, the neighbourhood and steep price points weren't items I wanted to revisit regularly. The availability of Mini Chocolate Baking Gems in the house prompted my own take of the colourful cookie - now with full liberty of customizing dough colour and add-ins. I could, technically, up to the rainbow factor of the cookie, should I desire so.

The formula of the coveted Church-Wellesley establishment derives its signature taste from salted butter and plenty of brown sugar, making for a soft, pliable cookie bursting with umami. Personally, my preference lies with a crunchier, more solid consistency, as well as one that's decidedly less cloying. Sunday Baking's Levain Cookie met my criteria with ease. Its base was phenomenal with mix-ins of any category, and was straightforward in its creation.

Folded within were toasted, chopped pecans and slivers of Surfin for gooey pockets of chocolate. Varying slightly from the previous edition was the elimination of Blancor bits and inclusion of multi-coloured "baking gems" in and on top of the cookie. The dough came together in under fifteen minutes - five, if your ingredients were already sorted beforehand. Combining both baking powder and baking soda yielded a texture far fluffier than Craig's, with such airiness inducing slightly crumbly bits escaping upon breakage. Sunday's recipe had been allocated towards four gargantuan cookies, though I portioned out approximately seventeen with a medium cookie scoop. For smaller cookies, one could probably reduce the amount of chemical leavener, as the toothsome texture could still be preserved with less volume.

​The cookies emerged astounding - perfect for pairing alongside coffee with milk. When positioned next to Craig's, the difference in density became immediately obvious. The Pride Cookie utilized a generous amount of smaller, candy-coated chocolate pieces and was slightly taller, despite spreading minimally. Instead of a golden brown, the surface hue leaned towards a cool yellow.
It suffices to say that I didn't exactly "crack the code" behind Craig's Cookies, though I had succeeded in crafting a variation that would satisfy my next Pride Cookie craving.

2) Pecan-Pistachio Brittle

Throughout the process of toasting and chopping pecans, it dawned upon me that my bag of Kirkland nuts were about to expire. In fear of the pricey pieces going rancid, I toasted the entire bag, then began contemplating ideas for utilization. The suggestion of candied nuts were simple enough, as it allowed the innately smoky properties of pecans to be showcased.

​​Turning to SK, I found a mixture requiring no more than brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and a "generous pinch of cayenne pepper", which was substituted with an equally generous pinch of paprika instead. Despite griping about the recipe's specification of one egg white, I was fully aware that omission of the ingredient would result only in failure (based on countless batches of granola-making).

Opting to restrict the recipe to one bowl, I only learned after compiling the coating ingredients that I only had one third of the amount of nuts called for. Nevertheless, I proceeded, spreading the mixture as evenly as possible in a single layer. The sugar mixture puffed up tremendously, then deflated naturally as it cooled. Cracks began to propagate between the chunkier pieces. Due to the low proportion of nuts though, the creation was characteristically more "brittle" than "candied nuts", albeit a thinner, rather malleable variation of a brittle.

Initially a bit damp on its underside, I returned the tray for about 10 minutes more, at 275 F for slow dehydration. The results were sticky, crunchy, and, admittedly, addicting. Smoked paprika was a necessary addition; future iterations shall likely see a sprinkle of flakey salt as well.

3) Challah

Crafting of the Pecan-Pistachio Brittle had resulted in one leftover egg yolk. The household revealed lack of interest in including the yolk in instant noodle combinations, thus leading me to resort to either Ginger Molasses Cookies or an enriched dough. With the recent acquisition of yeast - stiff cinnamon rolls no more! - the stand mixer was retrieved, and the dough hook affixed.

Though SK's recipe had permitted substitutions containing dairy, my version used water instead of milk and oil instead of butter. To be frank, these choices had stemmed from convenience rather than knowledge of the braided bread's history. Furthermore, my sole aim had been to create an enriched dough, like brioche, but I wasn't able to find such a recipe from SK.

My first attempt, as I later learned, coincidentally aligned with Challah's culturally significant pareve properties.

Pre-bake

Post-bake

The dough was commenced around 9 AM, and allowed to enter the first round of proofing at 9:30 AM. Around the one-hour mark, I returned to check in on the dough: it was flat! SK had advised waiting until the dough had doubled before shaping, but I was beginning to grow concerned. Poking at the dough, I found it to be moist and malleable, but with little to no gluten formation. The edges peeled away from the bowl easily, however, ensuring that all was merely a matter of patience.

Three hours later, the dough had, thankfully, doubled in size.
With the assistance of the World Wide Web, braiding was facilitated into a tutorial spanning four minutes and immediate application. Then, it was set to rise for two more hours.

Instead of baking the bread on a flat tray though, I opted to fit it inside a round non-stick pan instead. This approach is hardly recommended, as it prevented excess moisture from evaporating during the baking process, resulting in a somewhat sticky, undercooked centre.

​​As per SK directions, I verified the internal temperature for assurance. Despite the surface acquiring a wonderfully golden sheen, the internal temperature read at 182 F, a few degrees under the required 190 F for doneness. Back into the oven it was returned, until the surface turned a coppery brown and the thermometer read 200 F.

​Contrary to the standard sandwich loaves I experimented with heavily during the pandemic, challah was far richer and indulgent. Instead of thin, elastic strands, wispy, rounded layers had formed in its cross-section. The crust was uniform - thin yet crunchy, and very friable.

Eaten fresh, the loaves were absolutely fragrant and offered a phenomenal texture: plush on the inside and flaky on the outside. Two to three minutes in the toaster oven in the subsequent days restored its layers, though could not retain the springy softness witnessed on day one.

​Challah is a recipe I wouldn't hesitate to recommend trying, though it's pivotal to be mindful of the required time commitment.

Should I be faced by future circumstances with extra egg yolks (and possess enough patience for two rises spanning a total of 300 minutes), I may be inclined to experiment with the fat content, using melted butter to improve aromatics. That said, oil and water already contribute to a relatively moist, eggy dough with a scrumptious, butter-like taste.

4) Marbled Banana Bread

Surely, this long-time occupant of the household needs no introduction.

​Six bananas were transformed into two loaves of freezer-friendly breakfast (or afternoon snack) slices. Residual egg wash from the Challah was re-purposed into a steamed egg dish with a pinch of salt, dash of oil, and sprinkle of parsley.

The remainder of the week quietly passed me by: either I had been too deep into sorting media from the weekend past (903 P1, P2) or scrambling to finish the dishes after semi-planned baking.

Attending pilates class at LA Fitness for the first time in weeks earned me a wide smile from the instructor. Unfortunately, it also worsened an old shoulder injury, rendering me unable to attend Sunday's Kickbox Cardio session.

Meals of the week comprised of iron-rich fare: either Steamed or Braised Pork with Broccoli/Choy Sum over Rice. Steam-Baked Drumsticks were another noteworthy mention.

​Dessert of Red Bean Purple Glutinous Rice with Coconut Milk was also revelled in with fondness.

Many evenings saw consumption of alcohol - be it beer, umeshu, or sake.

Without a doubt, Guinness' Nitro Cold Brew Coffee Beer reigns above the original Stout formula, acting as the gold pairing for Pecan-Pistachio Brittle. Imported lagers such as Sapporo and Singha follow closely behind as swell companions for savoury meals. Sake is third, and an icky non-Choya Brandy Umeshu last.