A few years ago I took a speech class that was required for my course of study. One of our assignments was to get up and teach the class how to do something from start to finish. I demonstrated how to make chocolate chip cookies. I even brought some finished cookies for my classmates to sample. I got an A.
Today on my way home from work I found out that tomorrow is my last day with one of my co workers this school year. I decided it was reason enough to bake cookies to take to work. I'll be honest, I don't need much of an excuse to bake cookies. I'm kind of known as a baker in these parts. My husband is my guinea pig when it comes to trying new things out. Early in our relationship he instituted his own cookie policy. It says "never ever EVER throw out a cookie, no matter if it's over cooked or looks funny. I will be the judge of what goes in the trash." He reminds me of this policy quite often. So today I came home and baked cookies for my friend.
For the first time ever I am about to reveal my Not Quite World Famous Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. I hope my children don't mind me sharing this with the world. I think they had visions of me on my death bed like a character from The Godfather summoning one of them over and whispering "Come here my child. I will now share the secret cookie recipe with you. Do not write it down. It must be kept only in the family." and then I'd fall back on my pillow, cough a few times and die.
So I'm going to show you how I make these things and give you a few tips along the way. Pay attention closely because these cookies can win friends and influence people. You might even be able to get out of speeding tickets with them. I don't know…it's worth a try right? My friend at work actually doesn't like chocolate so I am going to split the dough and make half with white chocolate and dried cranberries. (I know, she's a weirdo right?)
Gather your ingredients. Don't let the butter get too soft. Make sure it's just barely room temperature. If it gets too soft stick it back in the fridge for a few minutes. I always use real butter. I think it's what makes these cookies so delicious. Margarine just doesn't taste as good. I know Paula Deen gets a lot of flack for her love of butter but sometimes there are no substitutes. In these cookies butter is just not negotiable.
Cream your butter for a few minutes until it's nice and creamy. Add the sugars and mix well. Stop a few times and scrape down the sides. Add the egg and mix well. I always break the egg in to a small bowl to be sure I don't get any shell in my batter.
In a medium bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Go easy here. If the mixer is going too fast you are going to get blow back. I know this from experience. Stop a few times to scrape down the sides.
This is a good time to preheat your oven to 375 degrees . Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. You don't have to use parchment but I never bake cookies without it. Makes clean up easy and keeps the bottom of the cookies from getting too dark.
This is where I separated the dough. I mixed chocolate chips in one half and white chips and cranberries in the other. These are semi sweet chips but I prefer milk chocolate. Mmmm chocolate. At this point you will be very tempted to eat the dough raw. You shouldn't eat too much because of the raw egg but seriously, when has that ever stopped me from eating cookie dough?
Scoop on to a cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between them. I don't like it when cookies run together so I don't crowd them on the cookie sheet. Using a cookie scoop will give you about 3 dozen good size cookies. If you want them smaller use a teaspoon.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on the pan for 2-3 minutes and then move to a cooling rack. Let the pan cool a bit before scooping out your next batch. These cookies come out crispy on the outside but chewy and soft in the middle. Pair a few with a cold glass of milk and you're talking heaven on earth!
Here is the full recipe.
Felicia's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies
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3/4 C granulated sugar
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3/4 C brown sugar
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1 C butter at room temperature
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1 egg
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2 1/4 C flour
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1 tsp baking sod
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a 1/2 tsp salt
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12 oz chocolate chips
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1 C chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 375. Mix butter, sugars and egg in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients. Mix well. Dough will be stiff. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonful about 2 inches apart. Bake 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheet and cool on wire rack.
Enjoy!
I know this is just my issue. Most other people are normal around chocoalte. This is America after all and if a skinny person wants to have delicious candy just lying around they have a right to do so. I’m just saying the concept is foreign to me. I was only there a few minutes when temptation really started setting in. The smell of peanut butter and chocolate started to make me feel woozy. I fixed her computer as quickly as I could. I had to get out of there fast.
