while you’re at it, make double or triple batch… after the required refrigeration, stick the rest in a freezer bag and freeze. instant cookies next time you crave some. and having it pre-scooped means you can take out only the number of cookies that you want.

The 3/4 x 3 thing was new to me with that recipe too, and I love it. I use it a lot with some other recipes now. Don’t buy the OXO cup set that has a 3/4 measure–the numbers wear off. The Amco stainless ones look good.

It’s a good example of how Pam is a great recipe writer. I’ve been baking from the book by the woman who won all the ribbons at the state fair. She’s clearly a skilled baker, but not so much with the recipe writing.

Another useful rule I bake with–replace 1/3 of the total AP flour with whole wheat. So with the Perfect Choc Chip recipe, I do one 3/4 of whole wheat, then two of AP.

You won’t be disappointed!

Also, I never would have thought of how 3/4 * 3 = 2 1/4 either.

Girl Detective, maybe I will have to challenge you to make the orange poppy-seed cookies and see if you do somehow manage to make more than the specified 42 cookies… Seriously, this second time making them we got 18… which is nowhere close to 42!

And I have to confess (terribly embarassing) that I never made the connection that 3/4 x 3 = 2 1/4. This may not sound like a huge thing, but as I consider myself an avid baker, make chocolate chip cookies using that amount of flour all the time, and am a math teacher to top it all off (meaning I’m constantly lecturing my students that they should get better with their fractions), I just can’t believe I overlooked that simple - and fascinating - fact. (If this sounds sarcastic, it’s not - I really am THAT much of a math nerd.)

And lastly, Alton Brown (my FoodTV hero) recommends weighing your ingredients in his book I’m Just Here For More Food… not as easy to come by those type of recipes, but I plan on trying it for a while to see if I’m happier with the results.

For the first time ever, I think, I used the weights of the flour called for in the NYT recipe, rather than amounts. Most recipes don’t publish weights anymore, anyway. But for both flours, the volume by weight was greater than what was specified in cups.

The two cookie recipes I’ve recently been rocking are: pecan pie cookies (I love pecan pie best of all, but these cookies are especially fantastic as I don’t have to deal with pie crust!) and orange poppy seed cookies (light and wonderful for the summer). Best of all, the orange poppy seed cookies store for up to a week in an air-tight container (that is if you can resist them for that long and make them last! ).