2B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2020
HOME & LIVING
The secret is out: DoubleTree’s chocolate chip cookies
By Rick Nelson
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Some hotels use frequent-
guest points programs to
foster customer loyalty.
The DoubleTree chain, a
part of the Hilton universe,
obviously believes in following
a more instant gratifi cation
route by offering free chocolate
chip cookies to its guests.
The numbers speak to the
program’s popularity. The
company says that it serves
more than 30 million cookies a
year at its 500-plus properties
around the world. That aver-
ages out to about 165 cookies a
day per hotel, every day.
Good news: For the fi rst
time, DoubleTree is sharing
its popular recipe.
“We know this is an
anxious time for everyone,”
said DoubleTree Senior Vice
President Shawn McAteer in
a statement.
“A warm chocolate chip
cookie can’t solve everything,
but it can bring a moment of
comfort and happiness. We
hope families enjoy the fun of
baking together during their
time at home, and we look
forward to welcoming all our
guests with a warm Double-
Tree cookie when travel
resumes,” McAteer said.
DoubleTree isn’t the only
major company to recently
reveal its culinary secrets.
Chipotle shared its guaca-
mole recipe and Ikea released
instructions for its famous
Swedish meatballs.
The DoubleTree cookie dif-
fers from its classic Toll House
chocolate chip cookie counter-
part in several key aspects.
For starters, it really packs
in the chocolate and the nuts,
in noticeably greater volumes.
Slightly larger amounts of
granulated sugar and vanilla
extract also set it apart; what
cookie isn’t improved by more
vanilla extract?
Rolled oats give this cookie
added heft, although the
the subject of a classic ‘urban
myth’?” writes chef John
Garvin in “Neiman Marcus
Cookbook.”
“Honestly, no one at Neiman
Marcus has ever, ever, charged
for this recipe. My very fi rst
week on the job, I received
a letter complaining about
someone who knew someone
who had been charged for the
cookie recipe.
“I took the note to our public
relations department and
asked about it. I was quickly
brought up to speed about
the infamous hoax regard-
Rick Nelson/Minneapolis Star Tribune-TNS ing our chocolate chip cookie
DoubleTree signature cookies.
recipe. It had started years
ago as a kind of chain letter
sent through the mail that
Four others from the case
inclusion of small amounts
circulated around the world,”
study also have their mer-
of lemon juice and ground
wrote Garvin.
cinnamon don’t seem to
“I was assured that the
its. They stand out, in part,
contribute much. There’s also because they also invoke
rumor had been squelched,
a lower oven temperature and out-of-the-box ingredients,
but back in the mid-1990s,
a longer baking time.
the internet was opening up
including almond fl our, milk
(That the recipe includes
chocolate, toasted pecans, cold in a big way. Everyone was
instructions on freezing and
butter, dark brown sugar and getting online, it seemed, and
corn syrup. Find them at strib. we witnessed this urban myth
thawing indicates that the
mn/1CZxlij.
hotel relies upon the ease of
traveling the world again
A few years ago, local
pre-made dough — a kind of
through cyberspace!
Cookies on Demand program baking blogger and cookbook
“I suggested we come up
— which means that you can, author Sarah Kieffer made
with a real recipe for chocolate
too. I know I’ll keep a stash of headlines with her fl attened, chip cookies, and after exten-
this dough in my freezer.)
sive testing and tasting, this is
wrinkled twist on the stan-
All the tweaks add up to
the result. Next, we published
dard chocolate chip cookie,
a winning formula. Bake it,
published in her “The Vanilla it on the Neiman Marcus web-
Bean Baking Book.” Find the site for all to have for free.
you’ll like it.
story — and the terrifi c recipe
“So now, if the subject comes
And there’s more
at strib.mn/2yfvvPO.
up, you’ll know the inside
Interested in other ap-
scoop — and own the authen-
An urban myth
pealing chocolate chip cookie
tic recipe. And, by the way,
recipes? We’re here for you.
Finally, the release of this
it is a chocolate chip cookie
Several years ago, I con-
DoubleTree recipe recalls a
without rival.”
similar corporate reveal, years
ducted a bake-a-thon that
ago, when Neiman Marcus
eventually narrowed to fi ve
DOUBLETREE
alternatives to the Toll House shared the formula for its fa-
ritual.
mous chocolate chip cookies in SIGNATURE COOKIES
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
The best, from the New
response to incorrect reports
York Times, relies upon a mix that the restaurant charged
Note: Unbaked dough,
of cake fl our and bread fl our,
for the recipe.
formed into balls made from 3
a serious investment in bit-
It’s an outstanding cookie,
tersweet chocolate and a 24- to and a great story that existed tablespoons of dough, can be
36-hour refrigeration period;
even in the early 1980s when frozen, and there’s no need to
the results are exceptional
Taste readers would send out- thaw the dough before baking.
and worth the additional
raged letters about this recipe From DoubleTree by Hilton.
effort. Find the recipe at strib. to the staff.
mn/1DG8DCa.
“Our chocolate chip cookie is 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at
Submitted photo
Ghost signs on the Foley Building including ads for Eddy’s bread and Rainier beer.
FOLEY
Building at 1011 Adams/206
Chestnut is the only one
of the three buildings still
standing.
J.E. Foley was one of the
major contributing citizens of
La Grande. He and his wife,
Mary, had three children:
Jerome, Patrick and Henri-
etta. He was elected mayor
in 1904 and later served as
city manager. He retired in
December 1916 and died in
1922.
There are three ghost signs
on the Foley Building, show-
ing both types of advertising
— a local business sign ap-
pears at the top of the north
(alley) side.
A “privilege sign” is located
on the upper back corner of
the west side of the building.
This ghost sign is a combi-
nation of two ads — one for
Eddy’s bread and one for
Rainier beer.
Eddy’s bread was estab-
lished some time in the 1920s
room temperature
¾ cup plus 1 tbsp.
granulated sugar
¾ cup packed light
brown sugar
2 eggs
1¼ teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon freshly
squeezed lemon juice
2¼ cups fl our
½ cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon. baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch ground cinnamon
2 2/3 cups semisweet
chocolate chips
1¾ cups chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 300 degrees
and line baking sheets with
parchment paper.
In a bowl of an electric
mixer on medium speed,
cream butter, granulated sugar
and brown sugar for about 2
minutes.
Reduce speed to low, add
eggs, vanilla extract and lemon
juice, and blend for 30 seconds.
Increase speed to medium and
mix until light and fl uffy, about
2 minutes, scraping down bowl
as necessary.
Reduce speed to low, add
fl our, oats, baking soda, salt
and cinnamon, blending for
about 45 seconds. Do not
overmix. Stir in chocolate chips
and walnuts.
Portion dough with a scoop
(about 3 tablespoons) and place
2 inches apart on prepared bak-
ing sheets. Bake until edges are
golden brown and center is still
soft, about 20 to 23 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool
cookies on baking sheets for
about 1 hour.
Medaglia D’Oro brand, can
be found in the coffee aisle
of most supermarkets. From
“Neiman Marcus Cookbook”
(Clarkson Potter, $45).
1¾ cups fl our
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter,
at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons
granulated sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1½ cups (or more) chocolate
chips or coarsely
chopped chocolate
1½ teaspoons instant
espresso powder
Note: This dough must be
prepared in advance. Instant
espresso powder, such as the
Preheat oven to 300 degrees
and line baking sheets with
parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk
together fl our, salt, baking
soda and baking powder, and
reserve.
In a large bowl of an electric
mixer on medium speed, beat
butter until creamy, about 30
seconds. Add brown sugar
and granulated sugar and
beat until light and fl uffy,
about 2 minutes. Add egg and
vanilla extract and mix until
thoroughly combined. Reduce
speed to low, add fl our mix-
ture to butter-sugar mixture
and mix until just combined.
Stir in chocolate chips and in-
stant espresso powder. Using
a 2-tablespoon scoop, drop
dough 3 inches apart onto
prepared baking sheets and
lightly press down on dough
to spread the dough into
2-inch circles (there should be
room for six or eight cookies
at a time). Bake until cookies
are nicely browned around
edges, about 20 minutes (bake
a little longer for crisper cook-
ies). Remove from oven, cool
cookies on baking sheets for 2
minutes, then transfer to a wire
rack to cool completely.
by J.E. “Eddy” O”Connell.
Eddy was born in Iowa in
1886 and moved to Hel-
ena, Montana, at age 18 to
work in a hotel. In 1909 he
purchased a cafe and started
baking bread for his custom-
ers. By 1919 he was solely
focusing on bread and baker-
ies and he built up a business
which he sold to General
Baking Co. in 1950.
Seattle Brewery launched
Rainier beer in 1878 and
produced it in Washington
until Prohibition in 1920. It
was later picked up by other
breweries and continues to be
brewed today. The style of the
ad, saying “It’s Smoother,” is
that of the ones used as early
as 1907 but was also used
later.
Keep looking up! Enjoy!
NEIMAN MARCUS
CHOCOLATE CHIP
COOKIES
Makes about 2 dozen cookies.
TREE
FACT:
Adding one tree
to an open pasture
Always
can increase its bird
FREE Estimates
biodiversity
from
almost
zero species
3110 10th Street,
to as high as 80.
Baker City
Continued from Page 1B
However, through the
years this building has
served as a location for apart-
ments, meeting rooms, small
businesses, medical offi ces
and even a small hospital.
For a short time during the
early years, J.E.’s two sons
ran the Foley Bros. Cigar
Store selling a “high class
line of clear Havana cigars,”
fi ve for 50 cents. The Foley
Market swings making you uneasy? Let’s talk.
UPGRADE
215 Elm Street La Gande • (541) 963-5440
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