Chocolate chip cookies

For my first food post I decided a good place to start would be chocolate chip cookies!  Everyone loves cookies, and even better… chocolate chip ones are the best.  Melted pockets of chocolate, gooey centers, crunchy edges and a perfect marriage of butter and sugar…YUM!

I had to do some research of my own to figure out which recipe I wanted to share with all of you, and which one would be worth a blog post.  After perusing my many cook books new and old, I found one that was blog worthy. 

I have never made this recipe before, but as it’s in the “All-Time Best Recipes” from Cook’s Illustrated I figured I had a pretty good chance of producing an amazing cookie.

Now normally I am one to be creative in the kitchen and take a basic recipe and give it a twist of my own, like adding more vanilla or chocolate.  But this time I decided to follow the instructions word for word and not veer from the recipe. 

Well it’s a good thing I followed every step, these cookies turned out better than I had expected and I loved every bit and had trouble not eating the whole batch! 

I would definitely make these again if I needed a really tasty go to cookie recipe to impress. 

Enjoy J

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Makes 16 cookies

*Avoid using a non-stick skillet to brown the butter; the dark color of the non-stick coating makes it difficult to gauge when the butter is sufficiently browned.  Use fresh, moist brown sugar instead of hardened brown sugar, which will make the cookies dry.

Ingredients:

1 ¾  cups (8 ¾ ounces) all-purpose flour

1 ½  teaspoon baking soda

14   tablespoons unsalted butter

¾     cup packed (5 ¼ ounces) dark brown sugar

½     cup (3 ½ ounces) granulated sugar

1     teaspoon salt

2     teaspoons vanilla extract

1      large egg plus 1 large yolk

1 ¼  cups (7 ½ ounces) semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

¾     cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chipped (optional)

Directions:

1.        Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2.      Melt 10 tablespoons butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly, until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes.  Transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl.  Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter and stir until completely melted.

3.       Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla to melted butter; whisk until fully incorporated.  Add egg and yolk; whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds.  Let mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds.  Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny.  Using rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute.  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if using.  Give dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain and ingredients are evenly distributed.

4.      Working with 3 tablespoons of dough at a time, roll into balls and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.

5.      Bake 1 sheet at a time until cookies are golden brown, still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are soft, 10-14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking.  Transfer baking sheet before serving.