1.24.2010

chocolate chip cookies


For my first post, I wanted to bake a recipe that was simple and delicious: chocolate chip cookies. One of my favorite childhood memories is "helping" Grandma in her kitchen, scooping and rolling chip-laden mounds of dough to place on the baking sheet. After years of trying to re-create her recipe, I've come up with my own adaptation. These cookies should come out golden brown at the edges, chewy in the middle, and so full of melted chocolate chips that they fall apart when you pick them up.


Preheat your oven to 375 F, and get your 2 sticks of butter of of the fridge so they can soften.

Measure your dry ingredients into a small mixing bowl: 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking soda,
and 1 tsp salt. If you like your cookies on the crispy side, leave out 1/4 cup of the flour.
I like mine big and fluffy like Grandma's, so I leave it in.

Then, if you're feeling dangerous, add a dash of nutmeg.

Yeah, I said nutmeg. It's my "not-so-secret ingredient".  I like the way it complements the chocolate,
and just adds that little something extra.

Place your 2 sticks of softened butter in a large mixing bowl...

add 3/4 cup granulated sugar...

3/4 cup brown sugar...

...and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Beat with a mixer until creamy. Add the 2 eggs and combine.

Mix in the dry ingredients in 3 batches, until the batter is completely combined.

Then it's time for the chocolate. You can use whatever kind of chips you like. Grandma always had
Toll House semi-sweet morsels. But I happen to be in love with dark chocolate...

These chips are a little bigger than your normal "morsels". Which means bigger chunks of chocolate
in your cookie. I'm fully OK with that. The more chocolate, the better as far as I'm concerned.

You can add anywhere between 6 and 12 ounces (1/2 to a whole bag) of the morsels to your batter.
Mix them in with a wooden spoon. Then scoop out a heaping tablespoon of dough, roll it into a ball,
and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Twelve hefty-sized dough balls should fit comfortably on the sheet. Depending on the size, you should yield 36 to 48 cookies. (I like to make 36 larger cookies). Stick them in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

They should be just golden brown on the edges.
Let them cool on the sheet for a minute, then transfer to a wire baking rack.

OR right to a waiting plate...

Warning: melted chips may not hold cookies together.
It's ok to eat the ones that fall apart. In fact, you really should test them before giving them away to
anyone else. Just make sure to have napkins handy, and probably a glass of milk would be good too.
Makes 36- 48 cookies:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg, cinnamon, or pumpkin pie spice
2 sticks (1 cup) softened butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups (1 12-oz package) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bake for 8-10 minutes at 375, on an ungreased cookie sheet. 


Enjoy!

11 comments:

  1. I think I am going to try making these this weekend - I love the addition of nutmeg and bet it combines fantastically with the dark chocolate. I'll let you know how they turn out <3

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  2. Oh Yum! The cookies look so good I want to lick my screen! I can't wait to see what else you bake up :)

    -J

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  3. Well, if you've just started, you are certainly excellent at it! The pics are wonderful! And the recipe shall certainly be tried this weekend! I will mark this as one of my favorites - I love to cook - don't blog but love to follow a few and yours is certainly going to be one of them! Thanks for starting this!
    Teri Dingler

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  4. Ouu yummy! My Daughter and her Poppa have been making cookies every sunday latley, both are chocolate lovers, I'll have to suggest this one to them this weekend!

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  5. These look wonderful!!

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  6. thanks everyone! let me know how yours turn out : )

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  7. Hi, I just tried this. It was a little salty. I would suggest using unsalted butter or cutting the salt in half or using none at all if using salted butter. I'll try to do it again using salted butter and no teaspoon of salt. I also didn't have chocolate chips so I used a toblerone bar and cut it into small pieces. It turned out pretty good although a little salty.

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  8. sorry yours were salty... I didn't clarify in the recipe but I always always use unsalted butter and then add salt as needed. that makes it easier to control the salt and you can add or leave out as you like. plus, the amount of salt in salted butter can vary from brand to brand... hope the second batch came out a little better!

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  9. I love your blog. Once a food blog gets too cluttered with give-aways and such, it kinda stops being interesting to me. Your photos are lovely and your posts are just detailed enough without being too long.

    Check me out sometime at www.prettyhungrygirl.wordpress.com

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  10. I decided that because, time after time, I keep coming back to bake these cookies, they need a much more spectacular name then just 'chocolate chip cookies' ; )
    -Danielle

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  11. Thanks for the good and very helpful information. Thank you for sharing this article with everyone.
    Very likely to try your way. I love your blog.
    เที่ยวภาคกลาง

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