Perfectibaking 2: Lessons in Lard

One of the beautiful things about a chocolate chip cookie is that it needs no occasion.*  I didn't have one the last time I baked a batch, but it just so happens that I had one this time.  Well, maybe not an occasion, but a reason: I wanted to try baking with lard.

This is not a desire that I'm accustomed to.  In fact, I have never before had any desire to use lard for anything; I'd go as far as to say I'd probably avoid it.  In reality though, lard is just shortening: the original shortening and trans fat free!  Even so, I'm still scrunching up my face right now thinking about it.  Old habits die hard.

The idea with using lard in cookies, as I was recently told by the owner of a wonderful little bakery, is that it makes them lighter and gives a more tender crumb than using butter alone (and from my brief experience I think crispier, though I've read it does the opposite).  Butter contains water where lard and other shortenings do not, which is why lard or shortening is often called for in pie dough to produce a light flaky crust.  Now I'm also wondering if this is why shortening is the fat of choice in the Waldorf-Astoria recipe for red velvet cake, to offset the liquid from all that food colouring...

The recipe is in the Recipe Box.  I used half lard and half butter, as directed by the bakery owner, to retain the creamy butter flavour.  Lard is (fortunately) flavourless.

I combined the dry ingredients to start, then cubed the butter and lard to cream them.

Mmm, creamed lard...

Then I combined the sugars.

I creamed the sugars into the fats before adding the dry ingredients.  In fact, I think I creamed the sugars and fats a little too vigorously, creating air pockets suitable for a cake.  Cakey cookies are good, don't get me wrong, but I'd wondered with the last batch why the cookies poofed up so high, and I think my creaming method may be the answer.  For the next go I'll use a spoon instead of the hand mixer.

I did use a spoon for adding the egg and vanilla, and then for combining with the dry ingredients.  Lastly, the chocolate!

Spoon out the dough and roll it up into balls, you know the drill.

They baked to a nice light brown, and the first round (I only have one baking sheet) puffed up like my last batch.  The second had more spread but I think that was because a.) the dough was softer from sitting out and b.) the sheet was still warm from the first round when I arranged the second on it.

The second round was thinner with more spread.

I let them cool a bit, and then stuffed my face.  As expected they were light and crumbly and I recommend serving with ice cream.

* I feel like I've begun posts like this before...  It may just be my excuse for baking whatever whenever...  Oh well.