Chocolate Chip Cookies 101

I’m a decent cook in general. But, throughout years of baking for various events, I’ve gained local renown for my chocolate chip cookies!

Unfortunately, I cook mostly by site and taste which makes it tricky to give out my recipe.

I’m rather informal in my baking stance which could cause distress to a true baker but, today, I’m gonna share what seems to work for me in cookie baking! My recipe is basically the Nestle Toll House recipe with a few tweaks here and there.

I think the true art of cookie making lies not in the recipe but in the technique!

Part 1

Crack 2 eggs in your bowl. I like to use a Kitchen Aid but I’ve made these with a hand held mixer or with my hand as the mixer. It all works out just fine!
Unwrap two sticks on Salted Butter and microwave them until they are soft. Some people plan ahead and sit their butter on the counter to soften naturally. I have a friend who uses the back pocket of her jeans as a butter softener 😉

However you choose to soften it is up to you. The important thing is that you don’t completely liquify the butter. Liquification leads to strange cookies. It must be soft enough that you can sink your finger into it but still have form. Another note on the butter, I use Salted Butter. Unsalted butter will lead to good cookies but they aren’t quite as good as they would be with salted butter. In a pinch, you can use margarine but it effects cookie texture and is not my preferred method.

While your butter is in the microwave, add 3/4 of a cup of white sugar and 3/4 of a cup of firmly packed brown sugar. Firmly packed brown sugar is key!

On a side-note, I have found it is somewhat difficult to find 3/4 cup measuring cups but they are one of my favorite things in the whole wide world!

After you put the sugar in the bowl, add 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

At this point add vanilla. I like the pure stuff. My recipe takes a curve ball here. I pour an unidentified amount of vanilla into my mixer. I would guess it to be about a tablespoon and a half. But, honestly, I just pour until it looks good.

Now is the time to add your softened, but not melted, butter into the bowl and give it a spin until everything is incorporated. I give you permission to sample a first bite of the creamy goodness at this point, unless your afraid of contracting salmonella, in which case you will miss the best part of cookie making.

Now add 2 and 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and mix it. It’s now time to indulge yourself in another bite of dough. Not only is it yummy but a taste test at this point can alert you to missing ingredients, like salt or vanilla, and save you from cookie catastrophe.

If your nervous about eating raw egg you can still tell a lot about the dough by how it looks. In my general experience, it should look something like the picture below!

Next, you add the chocolate goodness! I have a strong prejudice toward Ghiradelli chocolate chips. They are amazing. If it matters to you I also like to use the Aldi brand chocolate chips. If you want nuts in your cookies now is the time to add those also. I just eyeball it!

Step 2

By now your oven should be preheated to 375 degrees. Sometimes I cook them even hotter but 375 is a good safe temperature.

If I were you I’d line my sheet pans, I prefer the airbake pans, with parchment paper. But, you can live on the wild side and do dishes later.

Scoop the dough onto the baking sheet in your desired size amount. You can use a scoop or a spoon, they will cook up and be lovely either way!

Now, stick them in the oven. I’m a really bad recipe giver in that I can’t actually give you a bake time. I would guess around 8-12 minutes depending on how the oven cooks, because all ovens cook differently! The quality of being done is more about how the cookie looks that what a timer says! I take cookies out of the oven when they’re slightly underdone (see the picture below) and leave them sitting on the pan to finish cooking outside of the oven!

Step 3

After about 10 minutes sitting on the hot cookie pan you have cookie paradise! Perfect soft cookies that will melt in your mouth!