What a lovely sight, a tin full of chocolate chip cookies! These are my husband's favorite cookies. However, he doesn't like a lot of chocolate chips, where as Kyle and I like more chips, but my eldest son Timothy, doesn't care either way. As the story goes, thanks to the faulty reasoning of one Ruth Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn, we now have these buttery chocolaty gems to enjoy! She was originally making the very popular Butter Drop Do cookie recipe, except she wanted |
to make the batter chocolaty, like a browney. So she cut up a Nestle chocolate bar thinking it would turn the buttery dough into chocolate dough as it melted. But what happened instead was that the chunks of chocolate melted as expected, but they unexpectedly kept their shape and stayed where they were suspended in the buttery dough. Can you imagine her disappointment? Being a thrifty inn keeper, she served them to her guests anyway, and the rest is delicious cookie history!
The only thing I don't really care for with the traditional Toll House recipe is the "wet dog" taste it has. I found that the offending soggy hound flavor is imparted by the large amount of baking soda. So by simply reducing the amount of this alkaline leavener, that reacts to the acid in the brown sugar, it effectively solved this pesky palate problem, while still allowing enough leavening to make them rise and be chewy. It is my belief that we use too much leavener in most of our recipes anyway, especially baking soda. So here is my recipe, along with a few other changes, that make this cookie classic all my own.
The only thing I don't really care for with the traditional Toll House recipe is the "wet dog" taste it has. I found that the offending soggy hound flavor is imparted by the large amount of baking soda. So by simply reducing the amount of this alkaline leavener, that reacts to the acid in the brown sugar, it effectively solved this pesky palate problem, while still allowing enough leavening to make them rise and be chewy. It is my belief that we use too much leavener in most of our recipes anyway, especially baking soda. So here is my recipe, along with a few other changes, that make this cookie classic all my own.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Preheat oven to 350F and move racks to upper and lower third the oven.
Cream butter and sugars on med. high speed until light in color and fluffy in texture, add
the oil, mix well.
Add egg and vanilla, beat until well mixed and uniform in texture, scraping the side of
the bowl.
Add flour and baking soda, mix well, you can even over beat it at this point, as it causes
the gluten to develop, making for a more chewy cookie.
Add your favorite brand of chocolate chips and fold them in by hand until well
incorporated.
Scoop dough onto ungreased cookie sheets leaving enough room for spreading. I'll leave it up to you on how big you want your cookies to be, if I want them regular size I use a #40 ice cream scooper, this gives me fairly uniform cookies, and I bake them for 12 min. rotating the pan half way through and switching oven positions. If I want larger cookies, I break out the big #10 scoop and bake the cookies for about 18 min. rotating half way through and switch rack positions. Serve warm for maximum yumminess
with copious amounts of ice cold milk.
Place cooled cookies into an air tight container to retain freshness, if there are any left that is.
# 40 scoop yields about 18 cookies
# 10 scoop yields about 8 giant cookies
- 1 stick butter - room temp.
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 3/4 c. brown sugar [light or dark]
- 1 Tbsp. veg. oil
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 1/2 c. bread flour [makes for a chewier cookie; you can certainly use all purpose]
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 3/4 c. chocolate chips [use more if you like]
Preheat oven to 350F and move racks to upper and lower third the oven.
Cream butter and sugars on med. high speed until light in color and fluffy in texture, add
the oil, mix well.
Add egg and vanilla, beat until well mixed and uniform in texture, scraping the side of
the bowl.
Add flour and baking soda, mix well, you can even over beat it at this point, as it causes
the gluten to develop, making for a more chewy cookie.
Add your favorite brand of chocolate chips and fold them in by hand until well
incorporated.
Scoop dough onto ungreased cookie sheets leaving enough room for spreading. I'll leave it up to you on how big you want your cookies to be, if I want them regular size I use a #40 ice cream scooper, this gives me fairly uniform cookies, and I bake them for 12 min. rotating the pan half way through and switching oven positions. If I want larger cookies, I break out the big #10 scoop and bake the cookies for about 18 min. rotating half way through and switch rack positions. Serve warm for maximum yumminess
with copious amounts of ice cold milk.
Place cooled cookies into an air tight container to retain freshness, if there are any left that is.
# 40 scoop yields about 18 cookies
# 10 scoop yields about 8 giant cookies