Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was in a baking mood on Sunday. I made an oldie but goodie: easy no-knead whole wheat bread which instructions I posted just the other day. While I was in the mood I asked my dear husband what kind of cookies he might like if I were to make some. He said there is only one answer to that: chocolate chip cookies. These are his favorite. He will down just about any kind of cookie. He used to be quite fond of my shortbread cookies with hot tea on a winter's night. He will chow down on my three-ingredient peanut butter cookies and has been known to consume a significant number of oatmeal raisin (MY personal favorite). But given his druthers he'd take chocolate chip every time.

I got this recipe back in the early 80's. Found it in a consumer reports magazine of all places. They had done a taste test on varying recipes for chocolate chip cookies and this one came out as the staff favorite. I taught this recipe to our daughter very early. I think she was 8 or 9. She very quickly turned into the family baker. He prefers her cookies to mine, but mine will do in a pinch. She lives 1 1/2 hours away and won't come home every weekend to make them for the old guy so he has to resort to whatever I'm able to pull out of the oven. He still seems to like them well enough. He's tall and thin so can go through his evening ritual of filling a dinner plate with cookies and sticking them in the microwave for a few seconds to heat them up and make the chocolate all melty again. That plate and a glass of milk and I have a very happy camper on my hands. He also doesn't seem to gain an ounce...unlike the cook. Sigh.

The Practically Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie...from Consumer Reports
2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 white sugar
3/4 dark brown sugar, packed
2 sticks (1/2 lb) sweet butter at room temperature (Use butter. Don't use margarine in cookies.)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1-12 oz pkg semisweet chocolate chips

 

I like to gather all my ingredients at the beginning. Then I put them away as I use them.

Preheat oven to 375.

 Mix the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Measure out the two sugars. Use a stand-type electric mixer to mix the 2 sugars briefly at low speed.

Make sure your brown sugar is packed.

Both sugars briefly mixed together.

 Next up: Butter and vanilla extract.

Add small gobbets of butter at a time.

 Add the butter in small gobbets, mixing first at low speed, then high. Continue until all butter is incorporated. Beat the mixture until it is pale, light and fluffy. Then add the vanilla extract at the lowest speed, then beat at high speed for a few seconds.

Add the tsp of vanilla extract.

  

 Next add the eggs, again at low then high for a few seconds. The eggs should be well beaten in and the mixture should look creamed, not curdled.

Dry mixture ready to be added.

Add in the flour, baking soda and salt mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing at low speed for about 1 minutes, then at high speed for a few seconds.

 Scrape down sides with a spatula.









Pour bag of chocolate chips into batter.

Fold in chocolate chips

Fold chocolate chips into batter by hand. Don't use beaters.

                    







Bake on ungreased cookie sheet until pale golden brown.

Takes about 9 minutes in an electric oven and 10 - 11 minutes in a gas oven. Cool on a rack.

Enjoy!