Chocolate Chip Cookies, Round 1

Writing to you from Madison, WI; my proud, determined, wonderful city, which has never gotten this much national attention. This isn’t exactly a political blog – it runs on butter and sugar more so than political savvy or intellectual curiosity – but I feel that I have to mention the good fight being fought just down the street from this coffee shop.

I’m a bit of a lost soul right now, searching for a path to start down after graduating last December. At least, in the midst of my fruitless job search, I’ve been able to dedicate some time to protesting alongside public workers, students, and tens of thousands of other concerned citizens for the past two weeks. Fight on, Wisco!

So, if you’re curious about my exciting post-grad life….well, I protest, I apply for an endless stream of jobs, I experiment with cheap, good meals, I plan baking projects, I hang out with my friends while they study and try not to distract them….if only I had a little income (and a little more purpose to my day), life would be pretty great.

In addition to having time to make posters and camp out at the State Capitol building, I’m of course embracing my free time to nurture my food blog obsession and bake things for my friends. For instance, I’ve set off on a quest to find my chocolate chip cookie recipe. I mean the recipe that I go to every time, for my own ideal chocolate chip cookies. Everyone has their own guidelines; my dad likes them crunchy to the point of almost burnt; my best friend in middle school would barely bake them, risky salmonella poisoning for her perfectly soft, doughy cookies. I like cookies that are soft in the middle (without being doughy), with a little bit of chewiness, and crispy edges.

For my first round, I used the Nestlé Toll House recipe as my starting point. In order to get a chewier cookie, I melted the butter completely and used a greater proportion of brown sugar to granulated sugar. I also refrigerated the dough for a few hours before baking.

The results? A very chewy cookie with a little bit of crispiness at the edges. I liked them a lot, but I would prefer them to have a little more substance to them, and a little bit more of a pronounced textural contrast (with parts of it soft, chewy, and crispy). The search continues.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, beat together melted butter and both sugars. Add vanilla. Stir in eggs one at a time.

Gradually beat flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips.

Refrigerate dough 3-4 hours, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350° and prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper (if you don’t have parchment paper, use ungreased baking sheets). Drop dough by rounded tablespoons on cookie sheets and bake for 9-11 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool completely.