By Sheela Prakash
It's a natural hazard of baking, but the solution is simple.
Photo: Courtesy of CNP Montrose
Even the most expert chocolate chip cookie baker gets a little egg shell in the dough now and then. And while everybody loves a little crunch--especially in cookies--eggshells are not the kind of crunch anybody's looking for.
So what do you do? First, prevent egg shells from getting into the bowl in the first place. How you crack the egg makes a difference: Cracking it on the edge of a bowl often results in a messy break and, more often than not, results in bits of shell floating around in the bowl. Swap this technique for a more fail-proof method of cracking eggs on a flat surface. This limits your chances of an uneven crack--and thus limits your chances of broken shells, too.
But even with this technique you're bound to get a little eggshell in the bowl every once in awhile. So how do you get it out? You don't need a step-by-step tutorial or some fancy gadget. Nope, you simply need what's already in your hand: one of the broken halves of the eggshell. Use it as a hacked spoon, to cut through the egg white and scoop out the floating piece of shell.
Simple? Yes. Now, get back to baking those chocolate chip cookies.
More from Epicurious:
Chocolate Overload: 10 Must-Try Recipes for True Chocoholics