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The perfect chocolate chip cookie should be dense with a slightly crisp exterior and a chewy, moist interior.
Chocolate chip cookies. Say those three words to any group of people and a positive response is nearly guaranteed. It's hard to go too wrong with a chocolate chip cookie. Served warm with a glass of cold milk or on either side of a scoop of vanilla ice cream, they improve any day.
The perfect chocolate chip cookie should be dense with a slightly crisp exterior and a chewy, moist interior. There should be chocolate in every bite. Baking chocolate chip cookies is not the time to get stingy. Nuts are optional, but they should be toasted before adding to bring out the flavor and increase the crispness.
According to the Wikipedia page for chocolate chip cookies, they were first invented in the 1930s by Ruth Wakefield of Whitman, MA. The story is that crushed chocolate was mixed into sugar cookie dough under the assumption that it would melt into the dough during the baking process. Chocolate being what it is, the final product wasn't what was imagined, but something equally good — or possibly better.
Ms. Wakefield sold her recipe to Nestle in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate chips (really) and now a cookie recipe is printed on every bag of chocolate chips sold. Which brings us up to today.
Personally, I have a hard time believing that no one had bothered to put chocolate and cookies together at any point before the 1930s. The French have been working with cookies and chocolate for centuries and they are no slouches at combining flavors. But I digress.
Ever since Ms. Wakefield dumped chocolate into her cookie dough, there have been variations on the theme: M&M cookies, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, cookies with butterscotch chips, the list is endless. But the classics endure for a reason.
When making your cookies, use butter. If there is a compelling health reason to use margarine, then do so; but butter will give a much richer cookie. Professional chefs claim that the dough should rest for at least 24 to 36 hours for the flour to absorb the butter and egg. If you have that kind of willpower, go right head and rest the dough. The rest of us will have warm cookies in the meantime.
A trick I learned somewhere along the way is to grate a chocolate candy bar into the cookie dough. This helps provide chocolate flavor throughout the cookie and is also an interesting way to add subtle flavors to the dough. I've used orange chocolate and very dark chocolate mixed with milk chocolate chips. Both were delicious, so play around until you find a combination you like.
Once the dough is mixed, roll or spoon into balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Because these have no rising agent, the dough can be held indefinitely without any harm. Either freeze the dough in balls on a cookie sheet, then transfer to an airtight container; or roll the dough into a log, wrap in waxed paper and plastic wrap and freeze. To bake, slice a cookie off the log. This method is great for making one or two cookies at a time in a toaster oven. Cookies in case of emergency, if you will.
But above all, chocolate chip cookies — actually any baking — should be done while in a good mood. Happy cooks make better food.
Chef Kady Guyton be reached by email at kady@kdgcooks.com. An archive of past columns can be found at www.kdgcooks.com. She also welcomes readers questions and requests.
The perfect chocolate chip cookie should be dense with a slightly crisp exterior and a chewy, moist interior. There should be chocolate in every bite. Baking chocolate chip cookies is not the time to get stingy. Nuts are optional, but they should be toasted before adding to bring out the flavor and increase the crispness.
According to the Wikipedia page for chocolate chip cookies, they were first invented in the 1930s by Ruth Wakefield of Whitman, MA. The story is that crushed chocolate was mixed into sugar cookie dough under the assumption that it would melt into the dough during the baking process. Chocolate being what it is, the final product wasn't what was imagined, but something equally good — or possibly better.
Ms. Wakefield sold her recipe to Nestle in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate chips (really) and now a cookie recipe is printed on every bag of chocolate chips sold. Which brings us up to today.
Personally, I have a hard time believing that no one had bothered to put chocolate and cookies together at any point before the 1930s. The French have been working with cookies and chocolate for centuries and they are no slouches at combining flavors. But I digress.
Ever since Ms. Wakefield dumped chocolate into her cookie dough, there have been variations on the theme: M&M cookies, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, cookies with butterscotch chips, the list is endless. But the classics endure for a reason.
When making your cookies, use butter. If there is a compelling health reason to use margarine, then do so; but butter will give a much richer cookie. Professional chefs claim that the dough should rest for at least 24 to 36 hours for the flour to absorb the butter and egg. If you have that kind of willpower, go right head and rest the dough. The rest of us will have warm cookies in the meantime.
A trick I learned somewhere along the way is to grate a chocolate candy bar into the cookie dough. This helps provide chocolate flavor throughout the cookie and is also an interesting way to add subtle flavors to the dough. I've used orange chocolate and very dark chocolate mixed with milk chocolate chips. Both were delicious, so play around until you find a combination you like.
Once the dough is mixed, roll or spoon into balls and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Because these have no rising agent, the dough can be held indefinitely without any harm. Either freeze the dough in balls on a cookie sheet, then transfer to an airtight container; or roll the dough into a log, wrap in waxed paper and plastic wrap and freeze. To bake, slice a cookie off the log. This method is great for making one or two cookies at a time in a toaster oven. Cookies in case of emergency, if you will.
But above all, chocolate chip cookies — actually any baking — should be done while in a good mood. Happy cooks make better food.
Chef Kady Guyton be reached by email at kady@kdgcooks.com. An archive of past columns can be found at www.kdgcooks.com. She also welcomes readers questions and requests.
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
2 sticks of butter, softened1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp.salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups/16 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 chocolate candy bar, grated
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is fluffy
3. Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour until cookie batter is fully incorporated. Finally add chocolate chips until well distributed.
4. Drop about 2 tablespoons of dough onto an ungreased or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Remove from heat and allow the cookies to stay on the cookie sheet for an additional 2 minutes.
5. Transfer to a cooling rack. When cool enough to handle, enjoy!
