People have different reactions to stress. Some people cry, some people eat, some people pull out their eyelashes - different strokes for different folks. Me, I like to bake. Okay, really, I like to drink. But not on work nights. That's only going to make things worse. So, I bake. It calms me. The soft murmur of the Kitchen Aid mixer soothes my soul. Somewhere between preheating the oven and creaming butter and sugar, the troubles of the day melt away.
Last week, I had a few rough days in a row. Work was insane, an emergency plumber was called to fix a broken pipe broke in the front yard - I could go on but no one wants to hear me complain. (Especially about problems that are no longer problems.) I took to the couch with a stack of magazines and the remote control. Unfortunately, two episodes of Jeopardy, one episode of Rachel Zoe and an episode of Glee later, I was still in a funk. There was nothing left to do but bake.
{that may have been the longest, most mind numbingly boring intro to a recipe in the history of the blogosphere}
I had the basics in the cupboard so I decided to make chocolate chip cookies. I don't know about you, but I'm not a huge fan of the standard back-of-the-bag chocolate chip cookie recipe. They're okay, but never as chewy as I'd like. So, I googled "chewy chocolate chip cookies." Original, right?
What did I find? The most delicious, chewy chocolate chip cookie ever. They were the exact opposite of every other cookie that has previously come from my oven - and in the best way possible. Whereas "back of the bag" cookies spread out and become flat and crispy, these stayed thick and chewy. I could continue to wax poetic about the virtues of this cookie but I think it's best that I just give you the recipe so that you can run to your kitchen and bake up a batch of these tasty treats.
Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled until warm
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used a mix of milk chocolate & semisweet)
Heat oven to 325. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. (I used a Silpat.)
Whisk dry ingredients together; set aside. With electric mixer or by hand, mix butter & sugars until thoroughly combined. Beat in egg, yolk and vanilla until combined. Add dry ingredients & beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in chips.
Roll scant 1/2 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, place formed dough onto cookie sheet, leaving ample room between each ball. (If you can figure out what the hell that means or why it might be important - congratulations, you're smarter than I. I just used a 1/4 c. measuring cup to scoop up the batter and put it on the sheet w/o rolling into balls.)
Bake until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft & puffy. (This took about 12-13 minutes in my oven but start at 10 minutes and check from there. Do NOT overbake!) Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking.
*after four days, you deserve a better post than this. but this was the best i could do. hopefully i'll be back with something better tomorrow.
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