I have met some chocolate chip cookies in my day.  I have disliked most of them.  The kind I knew were kinda dark brown, flat, walnut-filled yuck that quite sadly destroyed the image of something so classic, and fantastic–if done right.

I’m gonna share my secret to perfect cookie with you.  The trick is in the amount of bake-time.  Of course, the base recipe must be right (it took me years to find the right one), but I’ve had grown men stop in their tracks and call these cookies the best they’ve ever had.

The key is that it needs to be somewhere between done and gooey.  Practice it until you get it right with your oven.

Some more tricks for you…

Room temp butter.  Not margarine or any other fake oil.  Butter.  And not warmed in the microwave.  It’s just not right.  Better cold and beaten by the beater than microwaved.

No hot cookie sheets.  Give it a minute or three to cool before you add the next balls o’ dough.

Quality vanilla.  I use this vanilla and refuse to use any other for my baking.  It’s special.

Cold dough works best.

Let them cool on an oven rack until completely cooled before storing them.  If they are still warm, they will cause condensation and make your cookies soggy yuckiness.

But, personally, I don’t usually store them.  I make enough to eat and share and then save the rest of the dough in the fridge (or freezer) to make quickly the next time I want warm, gooey, chocolatey goodness because fresh cookies are really the best, aren’t they? And this recipe makes a lot of cookies (5 dozen or so) so it goes a long way.

Okay, so with all of that said, I’m going to tell you how to make chocolate chip cookie perfection.

Use a mixer to beat together 3 sticks (1 1/2 c.) room temperature butter

with 1 1/4 c. white sugar

and 1 1/4 c. brown sugar.  Beat until creamed and fluffy.

Add in 1 Tablespoon of vanilla

and 2 large eggs.  Mix well.

In a separate bowl mix the following dry ingredients together:

4 c. all-purpose flour,

2 tsp. baking soda,

 and 1 tsp. salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix it well, but don’t beat the life out of the dough.  When it’s all creamed together well, stop and add 24 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (or chunks or whatever floats your boat).

Drop the dough in rounded balls onto the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.

Place into a 350 degree preheated oven.

Now, here’s where you have to pay attention.  I recommend 12-15 minutes, but in cookie-land that is a pretty varied length of time.  A lot can happen within those three little minutes.  So please, for the love of chocolate, don’t set the timer, walk away and then pull them out when it goes off.  After 11 minutes, start watching them.  When they JUST begin to look like the edges are done and there’s a BIT of goldenness to the top, pull those guys out and let them cool.  They should look under-done in the middle.  They will sit and firm up for a few minutes and when they have had that chance for at least four minutes or so, move them to a cooling rack.

Or eat them.  But wipe the gooey chocolate off of your chin before you try to convince your family to wait until after dinner.

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

 

Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

12 mins

Total time

27 mins

 

The perfect chocolate chip cookie. Enough said.

Alison: That Which Nourishes

Recipe type: Cookies

Cuisine: american

Serves: 5 dozen

Grocery List

• 1½ c. butter
• 1¼ c. white sugar
• 1¼ c. brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 4 c. flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 24 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Here's how...

1. Blend butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add in vanilla and eggs. Mix well.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well.
5. Stir chocolate chips in.
6. Add dough by rounded Tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart.
7. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for approximately 12-15 min. JUST until the edges are done and there is a BIT of golden color to the top. They should still look underdone in the middle.
8. Let them cool for a few minutes and then move to wire racks to cool.

3.4.3177

Based on the recipe Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookies from Betty Crocker