Chocolate Chip Cookies

Once detected, chocolate chip cookies tend to vanish rather quickly.

I haven't yet met a chocolate chip cookie that I didn't like.

There is nothing to fear but other chocolate chip cookie eaters.

To hunt the chocolate chip cookie, you must becomethe chocolate chip cookie.

Chocolate Chip Cookies From Scratch

The Chocolate Chip Cookie was invented one day when a cook was short on time to make cookies for dessert that night. She planned to make chocolate cookies but instead of melting the chocolate (a time consuming process), she just broke it up into small bits and stirred them into the dough. So, Chocolate Chips were created and the Chocolate Chip Cookie.

The key to making the best cookies from scratch is to use the best ingredients available. This means using real chocolate chips, real butter (not margarine) and real vanilla extract. These items may cost a bit more but the difference in taste is huge! The basic recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies is as follows:

It is important to collect all of your ingredients beforehand. There is nothing worse than discovering you are missing one while in the middle of mixing everything* together.

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 3/4 cup granulated (white) sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-oz. Pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

• 1 ½ to 2 cup nuts

1. Several hours before you plan to bake your cookies, take the butter out of the refrigerator and set it out to soften at room temperature. There is no shortcut for this step as it will not soften evenly in the microwave, causing the quality of your cookies to suffer.

2. Once you have all your ingredients ready, turn your oven on to 375° F.

3. Chop the nuts to the desired size, filling a measuring cup as you chop. Fill the measuring cup to someplace between the 1 cup and 1 ½ cup, mark depending on how small you chop the nuts and how much you like in your cookies. Use more if you leave the nuts in larger pieces, less if you chop them into smaller pieces. Set the nuts aside for later use.

4. While your oven is preheating, place the flour, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Use a large wire whisk to completely combine them. Getting the salt and baking soda well distributed into the flour helps the cookies bake up larger and taste better. Be careful to not fluff the flour out of the bowl!

5. Break the eggs into a smaller bowl. Use a small wire whisk or fork to beat the eggs. Set them aside.

6. In a separate large mixing bowl, put the softened butter, granulated white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract and beat them until creamy. The mixing of the batter is essential. The better the sugar is mixed into the butter, the creamier the batter, the better the cookies will be in the end.

7. Add beaten eggs and mix the batter thoroughly. Again, the mixing of the batter is essential. Make sure the eggs are beaten in until the batter is very smooth and creamy with no lumps at all. Making these cookies is a great workout for your arms!

8. Add about a ½ cup scoop of the flour mixture to the butter/sugar/egg batter. Beat the flour mixture into the batter.

9. Repeat Step 7 until all of the flour mixture has been added to the batter and it becomes a stiff dough. Don't forget to be thorough in your mixing. Smoother and creamier dough really does make better cookies.

10. Stir in the chips and nuts.

11. Drop by rounded tablespoon** onto ungreased baking sheets. Leave about 3" between lumps of dough to allow space for the cookies to expand as they bake.

12. Place the cookie sheet(s) in the center of the oven, being certain to leave room for air to move around them within the oven. Try to keep the oven door open for the least amount of time necessary. If it is open for too long, you will loose too much heat from the oven.

13. Bake the cookies for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

14. Remove them from the oven and place the cookie sheet(s) on wire cooling racks for 2 minutes to allow the cookies to set up.

15. Using a spatula, remove the cookies from the sheet(s) and place them directly on the wire racks to cool completely.

*Comments on ingredients:

• Make sure all ingredients are fresh. Has your flour been in your cupboard for 6 months (or longer)? Buy new flour. Same with your eggs, butter and nuts. Eggs that are not fresh will be runny. Butter left in the refrigerator too long can pick up foul smells and/or tastes. The oil in nuts left in the cupboard too long can become rancid. It is best to store nuts in the refrigerator. Buy them whole and chop them into the needed size pieces yourself. They will have better flavor.
• Butter should be unsalted. This is true for all baking. Otherwise, the cookies will be saltier than they should. Using real butter makes a much tastier cookie but also makes the cookies crisper. Using margarine or cooking oil makes the cookies softer. Different types of fats can make a very large difference in the end product cookies.
• Make sure the eggs are size Large. Otherwise, you will add too much egg (if using Jumbo size, for example) or not enough (if using Medium size, for example).
• You can substitute different types of chips, such as milk chocolate, German chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, etc.
• Walnuts are the traditional nuts used in chocolate chip cookies. However, you can use any kind you prefer.
  
  

**To make bar cookies: Buttera 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare the dough as above. Then, spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake bars at 375° F for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove the cookies from the oven and place them, still in the pan, on a wire rack to cool. Once cookies are completely cool, cut them into bars. Recipe will make 4 dozen bars.