Chocolate Chips Cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are, I would say, a truly American creation. They are also one of my most favorite recipes. I can remember eating chocolate chip cookies almost my entire life. Every family has their recipe, and rarely do they stray from it. My family was no different: making chocolate chip cookies meant making my mom's chocolate chip cookies.

Chocolate chip cookies are also, I would imagine, one of the first baking experiences many children have. If they aren't helping to crack the eggs (so many eggshells), or pour in the flour (I'm dreaming of a white kitchen), they are helping to scoop out the cookies or...um...remove the evidence. I know, I know, there is some risk involved, but come on. Eating cookie dough is one of those things that every child needs to experience.

Anyway, chocolate chip cookies are one of the few recipes that all of my siblings know how to make. A couple of my sisters have branched out and now have their own recipes, but we all started with my mom's. By the way, before I tell you more about my family's recipe, I need to point out that the following recipe isn't my mom's: this is. I love my Mom's cookies, and they will always have a special place in my heart. The only problem is that when I was younger, I could eat probably a dozen of my Mom's cookies, but now I can only manage one or two before I get sick. I think they are just too sweet for my current tastes. But hey, I've grown up. And my cookies have grown up with me.

I wish I could say that this post's recipe is one of my own devising, but that wouldn't be 100% truthful. To be honest, it is one of my own conglomerating. When I was little I used to read cookbooks for fun, and the habit never really stopped. So I have seen a lot of cookie recipes in my life. This recipe kinda combines some of my favorite things about a lot of those recipes, along with a few tips that I have learned along the way.

Skip the tutorial and go straight to the recipe.
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Step 0:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 1:

Beat 2/3 cup room temperature butter until smooth. Slowly add 1-1/2 cups sugar and 2 Tbsp molasses. Cream until light and fluffy.
This is one of the most important steps of making cookies, and is often overlooked. Creaming the sugar into the fat creates lots of seed bubbles which later inflate under the influence of the chemical leaveners. Also, if you don't like molasses, try it in this recipe. But, if you still are resistant, just replace the sugar and molasses with 1-2/3 cups brown sugar.

Step 2:

Combine 1 egg, 1/4 cup water, and 1 tsp vanilla extract in a small bowl or cup.

Step 3:

Combine 3 cups flour, 1/4 cup cornstarch, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, and a dash of cinnamon in a large bowl or bag.
This has some of the secrets of why these cookies are irresistible. The cornstarch gives the cookies softness, while the flour gives them chewiness. The baking soda keeps them from spreading too much and provides a little lift, and the baking powder puffs the cookies a little more. The cinnamon adds the perfect hint of earthiness and will have everyone asking what the secret to your cookies is.

Step 4:

Alternate adding the wet and dry ingredients in 3 installments each, mixing completely but briefly in between each addition.
Why bother with this hassle instead of just dumping everything in and mixing? It's because this will create a more homogeneous dough. Have you ever just scooped perfect cookies and then gotten to the bottom of the bowl and found the remaining dough is too wet? This is the solution to that problem.

Step 5:

Scoop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet using a #50 disher, or by rounded tablespoonfuls. Roll each portion into a ball, then flatten slightly.
Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, or until the edges begin to turn brown.
I can see people asking me why I bother to use a disher and then roll the portions into a ball, only then to flatten them. I have a good reason, I promise. I use a disher so that my cookies are all the same size, which means that they will all finish baking at the same time. I roll them into a ball and then flatten them to give the cookies a head start on the right shape and spread.

Step 6:

Allow the cookies to cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Chips Cookies:  Yields 36 Cookies
2/3 cup butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp molasses
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 dash cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cream together butter, sugar, and molasses until light and fluffy. Beat together egg, water, and vanilla extract. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl or bag. Add the wet ingredients to the creamed mixture in 3 installments, alternating with the mixed dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips and mix briefly to combine.
Scoop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet using a #50 disher, or by rounded tablespoonfuls. Roll each portion into a ball, then flatten slightly.
Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes, or until the edges begin to turn golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack until cool.
Download nutrition information.