Happy 2013! And as you can read, I am still in search of the BEST chocolate chip cookie. I'm just a plain dessert person at heart. You can serve up any of the fanciest desserts around and it will never pique my interest quicker than a chocolate chip cookie. Kind of like the dog in UP!...squirrel.
We were getting ready to make dinner for our New Year's Eve gathering when I needed a dessert. I'll admit, I was lazy, I knew Jeff would want a "fruit" dessert, like a pie or tart. I didn't want to make the dough...etc, etc. So, I made the executive decision to make, my favorite, chocolate chip cookies.
I couldn't make the ones we make all the time, Andria's Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are excellent but I needed to be a bit more creative. That was when I went into my Pinterest account and began the search. I found this new recipe on "The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies" board. Pictures speak louder than words and I went with "the best ever chocolate chip cookies" by Dishing the Divine.
I checked out the recipe and figured this would be so easy, melt butter, mix with sugar, eggs and vanilla, add dry ingredients, and chop some bittersweet chocolate. In 5 minutes, I had the chocolate chip cookie dough together and ready to measure.
The dough needed 30 minutes in the freezer which was perfect as I was finishing the last of the Lobster (lob-stah for you New Englanders) Cakes. At that point, my son, Brian, came in slightly frantic, "I need to bring a dessert to that New Year's Eve Party tonight", and it was 6 PM. Never fear, I doubled the recipe, plenty of cookies to be had.
Once they were partially frozen, I placed them on cookie sheets and into a 400 dgree oven for 7 minutes, then 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes. They came out beautiful, golden brown and crackly. I had 10 for my guests and two dozen went out the door with Brian. After dinner we enjoyed coffee and chocolate chip cookies with coffee and vanilla ice cream, PERFECT. These cookies had a great crunch with a caramel chewiness. The bittersweet chocolate is such a great balance for a sweet cookie. I will say, these were probably one of the BEST chocolate chip cookies I have made in a while. Reports from Brian's party ended with, "and there were none left." I will add these to my "Giant Cookies" list, too, because no one can ever have enough giant cookies.
I look forward to this next year, delving into the next culinary adventure. My prediction is that you will see us incorporate even more of our garden produce into our recipes and trying to once again simplify the process and of, course, search for more chocolate chip cookie recipes.
Do you have a BEST Chocolate Chip Cookie? We'd love to hear about it!
Ingredients for the BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies (slightly altered)
2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
3/4 cup of butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 - 2 cups of chopped bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghiradelli Bittersweet Chips and chopped them)
Preparation
1. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Mix the sugars and butter just until thoroughly mixed. Add the egg, yolk and vanilla and stir until creamy.
3. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Stir in the chocolate.
4. Drop the dough 1/4 cup at a time on a wax paper lined cookie sheet and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400.
5. Place approximately 6 cookies per cookie sheet as they will spread.
6. Bake for 7-8 minutes. Without opening the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350.
7. Bake an additional 7-9 minutes or until the edges look golden brown.
8. Let rest on pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.
Written by Tricia White
