Foreword: A special thank you to Lindsay for letting me guest-blog on Rosemarried, one of my and my girlfriend’s favorite blogs. I mentioned that I was baking cookies and she offered (perhaps jokingly) to let me be a guest author. Be careful what you wish for. :)
It’s better to do one thing well, than many second-rate, as the saying goes. Nowhere in my life is this maxim more truthful than in my baking. I have always prided myself on my chocolate chip cookies. That’s pretty much all I do, and I do it well. I won’t even attempt to feign humility on this. “Why does no one else seem to take as much care with the details?” I asked myself at the tender age of 13. Even that young, I knew there had to be MORE — more to be desired from the various homemade cookies that are available to a suburban American boy with an unreformable sweet tooth. I developed this recipe over the period of several years, partly by trial and error, partly inadvertently (much like the invention of modern athletic shoes). The method is just as important as the ingredients so pay attention.
The recipe’s origins are shrouded in a little bit of mystery. My mom got it from her best friend’s sister, who somehow got it from the secret recipe vault at a cookie shop. I didn’t ask too many questions, as the LAST thing I need is a visit from the cookie mafia.
Bottom line: if you’re feeling lonely, whip up a batch of these, mention it on Facebook, and watch as your house suddenly becomes very popular. Make sure you’ve got plenty milk!
Joe’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 50-ish cookies
1 lb. butter
2 Cups dark brown sugar
1 1/2 Cups granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 Tbs baking soda
6 Cups white flour
4 Cups (24 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS:
1.) Melt/soften the butter either in the microwave or by letting it sit out for a while;
2.) Also let the eggs sit at room temperature for a while before mixing; this helps the eggs emulsify with the butter;
3.) Mix in the chocolate chips by hand (yes, with your actual hands); why? Don’t question the method! They just taste better this way;
4.) After mixing let the dough chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours; this will help the finished cookies have that perfect balance of size and thickness I so longed for as an early teen.
5.) Created well-rounded balls slightly smaller than ping pong balls, placed 3×4 on cookie sheets;
6.) Bake at 350 degrees (or 325 for convection ovens) for 12-15 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through; once the cookies start to brown ever-so-slightly you have a small window in which to work; I prefer to undercook them slightly (better underdone than overdone) — they will have a much better extended life in the freezer this way. Nobody likes slightly burnt cookies. Nobody. You’ll get the hang of it.
7.) Add some walnuts/pecans if you want.
Happy baking!
made these today and they were the bomb. yes, the bomb. i am never using a different recipe. i fear i am also going to eat this whole batch by myself.
Incredible.