Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookie
For years, Nestle brainwashed us into cakey gooey chocolate chipped cookies with their TV ads. I strove for years to get my Toll House cookies just right. Fast forward a couple (few) decades.....
I'm in the cookie aisle looking for gluten-free cookies for an expected guest. That landed me in the more expensive section of the aisle where I cam across Tate's cookies -- both gluten-free and not. I grabbed a bag of both varieties of chocolate chips. The GF were better than many GF products, but the regular ones exploded with buttery crispy goodness in my mouth. These are not inexpensive and became one of those special treats you buy when you need a lift or are expecting special 'worthy' guests.
Then comes COVID and I do that thing where I ordered 50 pounds of flour from Amazons -- just in case. While searching around for baking ideas to keep me occupied during the lockdown, I cam across several Tate's knock-off recipes and set out to find my own version. Once I got them where I wanted them in 2019, I can honestly say that these cookies have ceaselessly been in my biscotti jar save for about 14 days cumulatively and that may have had something to do with my hip replacement. I have myself in a rhythm of checking the jar and as soon as it looks low, plan a batch for the upcoming weekend.
A couple of months ago as I was putting the dough together, I got distracted by my husband and -- thankfully- realized that I had mistakenly doubled the salt and baking soda. There wasn't much to do but double the rest of the ingredients. What I didn't want to do on a Saturday morning in August was bake 12 or 13 dozen cookies so I experimented with freezing half the dough. A month or so later, when it was time to refill the jar, I baked from the frozen dough and it worked fabulously.
Cookie dough headed to the freezer Wrap the dough ropes so that there is wax paper between each carefully unwrap when the dough thaws If necessary, reshape the ropes A bench scraper works great to cut the ropes into sections.
Before I get my machination of recipe I want to remind you about my Butter Beware post. These were one of the cookie varieties that were ruined by using the cheap butter that is using new self-reporting rules to chintz on fat content. Make sure you use European butter whose fat content is dependable. While I'm talking about butter, consider freezing it and then shredding it on a cheese grater. I've started doing that instead of softening butter to room temp. I think it adds to the crispy light feel of the cookies.
Cookie dough mounds Flattened cookie dough cooling crispy chocolate chip cookies
If you want to freeze the dough, roll the dough into a long rope about 1/4 to 1/4" in diameter and roll it in wax paper. I rolled three ropes into on piece of paper but made sure to keep a layer of paper between each rope. When I used the frozen dough, I let it sit in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. Next time I might just work with it from the freezer. I sliced each rope into 1/2' i pieces and pressed them onto my pan.
THE RECIPE:
1C (2 sticks) butter shredded into a mixing bowl
3/4 C dark brown sugar
1/2 C white sugar
2 eggs beaten
1t vanilla
1t baking soda
1t salt
2C flour
1C semisweet chocolate chips
Add the sugars to the shredded butter and gently blend with a fork.
Add the beaten eggs and vanilla and continue to blend, but don't overdo it. You want that shredded butter to maintain its integrity and it's absolutely OK to see shards of butter in the finished dough.
In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk the flour, soda and salt to combine.
Gradually add the flour to the butter / sugar / egg mixture. don't worry if it isn't uniform in texture -- that's actually preferred
Add the chips gently to disburse in the dough
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Using 2 teaspoons or your fingers (my preference) place 1t mounds of cookie dough 2" apart on a silicon or parchment lined cookie sheet. (I get 21 cookies on an 11X17 pan)
Before the cookies go in the oven, gently press each one down a bit until it's about the thickness of the chocolate chips
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes
Cool on a cookie rack before storing them in an air-tight container.
Thought for food:
If you don't have enough cookie sheets to accommodate the entire batch which makes between 7 and 8 dozen cookies, once all of your sheets are loaded and ready for the oven, grab some foil or wax paper and divide the remaining dough into cookie-sized mounds to transfer and press on a cookie sheet once it's emptied and cooled.
