Today was a chocolate chip cookie kind of day.
I already had most of the ingredients to whip up this batch on a last-minute whim but I still needed butter, chocolate chips and a baking sheet.
I picked up the needed items at Walmart and told the cashier lady, “guess what I’m doing today!” We chatted about baking and then she asked me, “are you a mom?”
I was surprised! I said no, no yet, (ha!) then said bye and left. I’m guessing she asked so she could wish me a happy Mother’s Day. If I were home, I would definitely have baked these for my mom.
This is my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe ever since an old roommate introduced it to me during our grad school days. I didn’t use Scharffen Berger chocolate (Nestle’s semi-sweet morsels did the job just fine) but the recipe’s liberal use of butter always keeps me coming back to make these.
The recipe is as follows, courtesy of Chowhound.
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1-1/2 ssticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chunks (approximately 8 ounces)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted nuts (your favorite), optional
Method
Position racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar on medium speed until well blended, about 2 minutes; scrape down the bowl.
Beat the eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. Add to the butter mixture and blend well; scrape the bowl again. On low speed, add the flour mixture and beat until just mixed; scrape down the bowl. Add the chocolate and optional nuts and mix until incorporated into the dough.
Drop rounded tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Bake, switching the position of the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking, until the cookies are golden brown but the centers seem slightly underdone, about 13 minutes. Do not overbake or the cookies will be crisp throughout instead of chewy. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to wire cooling racks to cool completely. The cookies will crinkle as they cool. (Store at room temperature in airtight containers for up to 1 week.)
