Wow. I never thought baking a simple batch of chocolate chip cookies would be so flipping hard. I’ve created my own “captain’s log,” if you will of the thought process behind such simple little tasty treats that, before this friendly competition, I have not given so much thought. It’s amazing what the want of a week’s worth of bragging rights can do.
Day 1 (Friday night):
I have been lazily browsing the internet for days and flipping through all my happy-homemaker magazines (Southern Living, Good Housekeeping, Cosmo…wait..nevermind, that was something completely different with chocolate altogether) and hoping that some magic cookie recipe would jump out, grab me, and beg me to make it. However, no such luck. I did, however, find in all these fitness magazines that chocolate is good for your heart and for the purpose of anti-aging. That justified skipping my run, grabbing a glass of wine (also extraordinarily healthy), and finding a great cookie recipe in the name of health and longevity.
As it turns out, typing “best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever in the world” into Google turns up many claimants that they have, in fact, the world’s best chocolate chip cookie recipe. Amazingly, none of these people had their own bakery, Food Network show, or famous last name like Ghirardelli, Fields, Spunkmeyer, or Chips Ahoy! I take the recipes that look the best and merge them into one recipe I can call my own. I created 2 simple rules to live by for the sake of this recipe, and probably giving at least 1/2 the people who eat these cookies a heart attack
- More butter + lard + eggs = better. (Paula, this one’s for you)
- More brown sugar = better
I started the traditional route and pulled a few recipes from blogs, one from Southern Living, and a three from the Food Network. Below is a copy of the chicken scratch that may become the recipe for the BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES TO GRACE THE PLANET EVER!!
I felt like I was doing a horrible, never-ending algebra equation with a hint of chemistry mixed in. And for those of you who know me, math is not my strongest subject. Break out the calculator.
Day 2 (Saturday):
Okay, so maybe the first draft was not, by any means, the BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES TO GRACE THE PLANET EVER!! For starters, I think I went a little too Paula Deen-ish by throwing in extra shortening on top of the extra butter. (These are not health food, wait, yes…yes, they are – see day 1 post) Apparently, that makes for some very soft and crumbly cookies. Even a little too soft and crumbly for me as they really didn’t brown up like I wanted. By the end of my trial and error session, the grease on the cookie sheets from my cookies could have rivaled the griddle at Denny’s after the drunk-shift and breakfast shifts combined.
I did the first batch small, tablespoon size and they were okay. I tried some larger, flatter cookies, too. Flavor was good, but not at all what I was going for.
Awww, Isn't he cute!??
I also am going to try baking soda instead of powder. Baking soda is more common in cookies, but I thought after studying food chemistry online last night that baking powder may be the way to go if I was chilling the cookies. I think my leavening agent leavened too much.
Regardless, Baby J and J both loved the flavor. J wasn’t too impressed with the texture. Luckily for our dinner guests tonight, I made a backup gingerbread cake so they won’t be disappointed. J gave it 3 Yums! 3 Yums ain’t winning anything, and if that’s a guaranteed win on this blog, we should pick another topic. Our dinner guests, D & S, said that they were like a shortbread cookie with chocolate chips thrown in.
Back to the drawing board.
Day 3 (Sunday):
J tells me the recipe is pretty good for a first shot at making my own recipe. I think he’s trying to boost my ego in return for more cookie dough batter to lick. I tweak the recipe – less flour, more anise, more salt, and more vanilla. I also reverted back to the traditional baking soda for a leavening agent. I turned the heat down to 350 as a crazy daredevil move (the only recipes I read showed 375 and there was one 325). Baked the cookies and 14 minutes later gooey and crunchy tasty goodness emerged. I crossed my fingers and said a prayer as J came downstairs to try one and…(start playing Rocky theme music)..LOVED THEM! 5 Yums! from J. Hallelujah. So, below is my recipe for BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES TO GRACE THE PLANET EVER!! Hope now that I’ve named them that I get bragging rights for the week.
If you make them, please let me know what you think! If you are a coworker, Erin (they are being sent to you today), Kristin (I will drop them by on my break tomorrow), or anyone else who has tried them, please comment and let us know what you think.
The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies to Grace the Planet EVER!!
(Copyright 2010, Sugar)
By: Sugar
7/18/2010
Yield: 2 Dozen Big Cookies
Ingredients:
1 c. packed dark brown sugar
½ c. granulated pure cane sugar
1 c. unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
2 T. pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 ½ c. all purpose flour
¾ t. +/- salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. anise seed
12 oz. Ghiardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350
- Mix butter & sugars on low speed with an electric mixer until well combined.
- Add vanilla & eggs, continue mixing on low speed until well blended.
- Add salt & baking soda to mixer while still on low speed.
- Gradually add flour to wet ingredients while still mixing on low speed. Continue mixing until all cookie-doughy.
- Stir in anise.
- Stir in chocolate chips with a wooden spoon until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Spoon giant balls of cookie dough so that only 6 fit on a standard cookie sheet. Do not grease the cookie sheet or use parchment paper.
- Bake for 14 minutes at 350.
- Cool on wire racks. If you like extra melty, gooey chocolate chips eat immediately , but risk burning your tongue. Badly.
Happy Baking!!
XOXO,
Sugar
The way to a man’s heart is undoubtedly through his taste buds.
Oh! And a BIG PS –
This was the recipe on the back of the McCormick Anise jar. Apparently, Mrs. McCormick couldn’t really bake but wants you to buy her spices, or else she’s in bed with the Pillsbury dough boy.
