Recently www.nj.com did a ranking of the best Italian food in the state. There was an array of pasta dishes, seafood, assorted meat entrees and the number one dish was “Stretch’s Chicken Savoy” from the Belmont Tavern on Bloomfield Avenue,.  in the Silver Lake section of Belleville, adjacent to Newark’s North Ward. The Belmont Tavern has been around since 1967.

​I feel like the queen of sheet pan meals. I got started cooking this way last year, when the New York Times prepared a supplement called, “One Pot |Pan| Skillet, 24 Brilliant  Recipes for Everyone Who Hates Doing the Dishes.” This time, Lidey Heuck has created a recipe called Sheet-Pan Sausages with Caramelized Shallots and Apples. 

I finally found a chocolate chip cookie that comes out of the oven crisp! In a recent episode of America’s Test Kitchen, they were demonstrating Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies. The difference between this recipe and traditional Toll House is the use of cake flour, melted butter, egg yolks and a bit of milk. Since this was the first time, I was making these cookies, I decided to make my own cake flour by swapping out 2 tablespoons of flour for cornstarch. I debated purchasing mini chips, but opted to chopped regular chips. I didn’t want to purchase new ingredients for just one recipe that I may not prepare again. However, the cookies came out as the name said, crisp. I did find them not as sweet as Toll House. My husband likened these to a Chips Ahoy Cookie. I’m still debating whether to make this recipe again

​Thin and Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
From the TV show “America’s Test Kitchen” on public TV
Season 13 – Never Enough Chocolate
   
Thick and chewy chocolate chip cookies are a classic, but their thin, crunchy, butterscotch-y cousins deserve a spot in the cookie jar, too.
 
SERVES Makes 16 cookies
 
TIME: 1 hour, plus 20 minutes cooling
 
INGREDIENTS
1 ¼ cups (5 ounces) cake flour
¾ teaspoon table salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
⅓ cup (2⅓ ounces) granulated sugar
⅓ cup packed (2⅓ ounces) dark brown sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 ½ tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup (4 1/2 ounces) mini semisweet chocolate chips
 
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Note that this recipe calls for cake flour and mini (not full-size) chocolate chips.
 
INSTRUCTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, salt, and baking soda together in bowl.

 
 

1. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix melted butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on low speed until fully combined. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is lightened in color, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low; add egg yolks, milk, and vanilla; and mix until combined. Slowly add flour mixture and mix until just combined, scraping down bowl as needed. Using rubber spatula, stir in chocolate chips.

 

1. Using greased 1-tablespoon measure, divide dough into 16 heaping-tablespoon portions on prepared sheets, 8 portions per sheet. Divide any remaining dough evenly among portions. Using your moistened fingers, press dough portions to ½-inch thickness. Bake cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until deep golden brown, 16 to 18 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. Let cookies cool on sheet for 20 minutes. Serve. (Cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

​Scones are a delightful little snack to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee or just alone. Depending on the recipe, scones can be cakey and sweet or lightly sweet with a firm crumb. Personally, I prefer a lightly sweet with a bit of chew.