What do I bake the most? These cookies. These exact cookies. They are a general crowd pleaser and can be ready to go in the oven in the time it takes your oven to preheat. These have been on my site for years but deserve a re-do with careful explanations and this is why…
My friend Cara told me she made a batch of these and was so excited to share them with her extended fam on vacay; when they dug in they were surprised at how crisp and hard they were. Culprit – overbooked. For them to be chewy they must come out of the oven when they look borderline raw in the center still – just set. I was upset when she told me because this recipe is STRAIGHT from a world renown cookbook; I hadn’t changed a thing because why mess with perfection? If you over bake them, though, you will not get that chew. PS when a recipe tells you to cook something for a range of minutes, you should set your timer for the lower number. You can always bake for more time but can NEVER bake for less!
There are two reasons this is so easy. One, you use melted butter. Every time I make cookies I forget to put my butter out ahead to soften. If you use melted you can forget that step! Two, you mix the batter by hand. No need to get out your electric mixer. No sifting, no creaming, no folding. Also – they’re BIG. Much more like a bakery chocolate chip cookie than a homemade. Craving chocolate chip cookies? If you start right now you could be EATING ONE in 30 minutes! Go!
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie
America’s Test Kitchen
Makes about 36
12 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled till just warm
2 c. + 2 tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. Ghirardelli 65% bittersweet chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 325. Line baking sheets with silpat or parchment.
2. Melt butter in large glass bowl. Set aside.
3. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
4. Once butter has cooled, add sugars and whisk to combine. Add egg, egg yolk and vanilla and stir or whisk again until combined.
5. Add dry ingredients and stir until almost combined.
6. Add chips and stir in.
7. Section out dough placing about 9-12 evenly spaced on each sheet. Shape into balls – handle dough gently and make sure there are several visible chips on top of each one.
8. Bake until the edges are set but the centers are still soft and puffy (almost looking uncooked), about 13 to 14 minutes. Take them out before you think you should – this is key.
9. Cool cookies at least 5 minutes on their sheets (or all the way if you have the time). Remove to wire rack once mostly cooled, and continue with the rest of the dough.
Keep cookies at room temperature tightly covered.
