Chocolate Chip Cookies

Truth is, I have never been a baker... Oh I wanted to be so bad and I tried to create and perfect the art of baking, but truth be told I failed over and over.  When I chose to dive head first in the process of writing a cookbook, the first thing that came to mind was perfecting the chocolate chip cookie and creating a recipe that was 100% mine. Well, there is always room for improvement, but on my third attempt of creating the "perfect" chocolate chip cookie, I think I nailed it!

For me, the perfect chocolate chip cookie includes a chewy center and a crispy exterior- you really cannot go wrong with that duo! As I mentioned above, this was my third attempt at creating a chocolate chip cookie recipe. The first two recipes came out cakey and lacking the texture that I was trying to create.  The first recipe was awful and ended up in the trash! The second recipe ended up a little better, but I still was not satisfied.

The main differences between all three went as followed...

-Recipe one contained baking powder rather than baking soda. The baking powder reacted too quickly, creating a cookie that rose too quickly resulting in a larger mound and a more "cakey" texture.

-Recipe two swapped baking powder for baking soda and only included egg yolk. The baking soda helped reduce the rise speed, but the egg yolk still assisted in the "cakey" texture.

-Recipe three, I did not think too hard about.  At 7pm I jumped off the couch and just whipped them together. In this recipe, I focussed on increasing three things, amount of butter, flour, and brown sugar.


The only test I ran tonight when creating this recipe was oven temperature. Okay, holy cow did I not realize that oven temp played such a huge role in the outcome of your baked goods...

As you can see above, baking my cookies at 325º resulted in a flatter more traditional looking cookie. Baking at 350º and 375º resulted in the cookies not being able to take their time to spread out.

*Let me note that the flatter cookie has been my goal and now that I reached it, I may continue to tweak the recipe so that I can create a more golden color and caramelly texture.

Ultimately, my take away from tonight is to not over think a recipe... Prior to baking the first two batches, I researched a lot... I read about how each ingredient impacted the final cookie and although I am glad I had that prior knowledge, thinking too hard about each individual ingredient left me with two undesirable cookies.

So, bare with me as I learn how to navigate posting recipes!  Below I have shared my chocolate chip cookie recipe with you, enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Author: Rachel Kiger
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 14 minutes

Servings: 2 dozen


Ingredients:

• 1.5 sticks of butter melted
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325º
2. In a large bowl, combine butter and granulated sugar. Mix with a hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment until combined.
3. Add brown sugar to butter and granulated sugar mixer and mix.
4. Add your eggs and vanilla to the butter and sugar and mix until creamy.
5. Add your baking soda and salt to the above mixture. 
6. 1/2 cup at a time, incorporate your flour.
7. Once all your flour has been incorporated, stir in your chocolate chips. 
8. Using your hands or a spoon, roll dough into a desired ball (the larger amount of dough used the longer the bake time will be.)
9. Place on cookie sheet (leave 1.5 inches between each cookie) and gently press down on dough balls with the palm of your hand until the dough is no longer around, but flat.
10. On the surface of your dough, add 3-4 chocolate chips tip down. 
11. Bake cookie for 12-14 minutes.