fly-by blogging

I should be doing other things. Like roasting garlic or making pie crusts in preparation for the big meal on Thursday. But… instead… I thought I might do a little catching up since, you know, time flies lately.

So, in light of all of the heavy duty cooking the next two days will undoubtedly bring for many of us, I thought I’d counter that with an easy classic… the chocolate chip cookie. Bonus that it’s also this month’s Cookie Carnival recipe.

This recipe produces a great cookie. Not surprisingly, both my husband and I enjoyed the dough more than the baked cookie… but whether cooked or uncooked (insert statement about the risks associated with eating raw dough here), these were tasty and easy and packed with chocolate. I used a hodge podge of add-ins from my pantry… semi-sweet chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, and toffee bits… which made them unbelieveably decadent. So, feel free to take the liberty to switch up the chips! It only adds to the adventure!

The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies
(from Regan Daley’s In the Sweet Kitchen; the Definitive Baker’s Companion)
1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsps. pure vanilla extract
3 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
16 oz. flavorful bitter or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly butter them, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or a large bowl if mixing by hand, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

Using your hands, shape knobs of dough about the size of a large walnut and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Stagger the rows of cookies to ensure even baking. Bake 12-15 for smaller cookies, 14-17 for larger ones or until the tops are a light golden brown. If the cookies are neither firm nor dark when they are removed from the oven, they will cool chewy and soft. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. If somehow they don’t get inhaled immediately, they may be stored airtight at room temperature for up to one week.