“most susie homemaker cookbooks will tell you when making cookies to cream your butter and sugar together until the mixture is ‘light and fluffy,’” Chef Kim said as we discussed the different cookie categories before heading to the kitchen. “with cookies, you don’t want to incorporate a lot of air into the dough because it makes the cookies spread out, not up.” this makes for a thin, crisp cookie, which is definitely not what Chef Kim looks for in a chocolate chip cookie. there are a few exceptions to this creaming rule, like the stencil cookie, the thin, light-as-air crisp cookie we know as the fortune cookie.
to Chef, the ultimate chocolate chip cookie is and always will be made from the original toll house recipe. while i don’t have that, the following recipe produces a dense, chewy and flavorful chocolate chip cookie that is only made tastier when dunked in a glass of ice-cold milk.
chocolate chip cookies
yield: 12-15 3-oz. cookies
5 oz. butter
4 oz. granulated sugar
4 oz. brown sugar
1 3/4 t. salt
3 oz. eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
10 oz. pastry flour
3/4 t. baking soda
10 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips
cream together the butter, sugars and salt until combined. scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl a few times to make sure there aren’t any butter or sugar clumps hiding from you. mix together the eggs and vanilla extract, and add those to the dough. mix until combined.
preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. blend the dry ingredients and add them to the dough, again scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is well mixed. carefully fold in the chocolate chips. with an ice cream or portion scoop, scoop and drop the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, leaving it in this rough, round shape. (don’t fuss over it; it will spread into a wonderful chocolate-speckled dome in the oven.) bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, until lightly browned. i like them to be still gooey in the middle, so you may want to bake them a bit longer if that doesn’t sound like your ideal cookie. cool them on a rack for at least 15 minutes before eating.
“Chef,” i called out as we waited for our cookies to bake. “i think the only things missing from your order today were glasses and milk to have with our cookies.”
“you’re right. i find myself thinking that every time i teach this part of the class,” she replied.
i want a cookie…they look perfect!
They look like the real deal!!!