I have had an obsession with making amazing chocolate chip cookies since high school. I was trying to hook a very cute boy, who I found out liked chocolate chip cookies. This cute boy also worked with a bunch of other guys who also liked chocolate chip cookies. Therefore, by making really amazing chocolate chip cookies and delivering them to cute boy’s work, I could impress said bunch of guys, who would then encourage said cute boy to date me and you get the picture . . . hook set.
And, it must have worked because that cute boy is now my cute husband.
Now, I am not calling these “the best chocolate cookies” or “the ultimate chocolate chip cookies” or even the “the greatest chocolate chip cookies.”
Why you ask??
Because I think titles like “THE best chocolate chip cookies” should be reserved for cookies that remind you of a special time or certain someone. THE cookies your wife, mom, aunt, grandma or someone made that were just THAT good.
And only THAT person can bake THAT feeling into THE cookies.
I have continued to hone and tweak my cookie recipe to what, I think, is just about perfection over the last 18+ years. All in the name of hoping my husband will fondly refer to them as “THE” cookies. And after a few years of using this recipe, I think we are there!
So, maybe they will be THE cookies for your special someone too. But for now, I will just say that these cookies are pretty, damn, amazing.
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Let’s talk about the butter:
FIRST, these cookies do require a bit of prior planning. Don’t stop reading, you can do this.
Second, I tend to make sexual references when I blog about food. I was going to apologize if that makes you uncomfortable, but I’m really not sorry. Sex is funny and food makes me horny . . . or is that the wine . . . it’s probably both . . .
Moving on.
You MUST get the butter out in advance so it can be room temperature. That means at least a few hours before making the cookies, you call up the butter, ask what’s it’s wearing, offer to buy it dinner (or drinks, at least). Then walk to the fridge, knock on the door, tell the butter it looks nice and take it for a nice spin around the kitchen before you lay it on the counter and . . .
Seriously you guys, get a room.
Don’t skip this step and think that by softening the butter in the microwave it will be just as good. It’s just not, trust me. Think of the butter as great foreplay–you wouldn’t want the microwave version of foreplay, would you?
So, now that your butter is soft and warm . . . for the COOKIES . . . sheesh . . .
Let’s bake.
Amazing Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
I created this recipe by combining a few I’d seen online with the classic chocolate chip cookie recipe in the Better Homes & Gardens Cook Book. The result is slightly crisp on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, possibly orgasmic, husband-hooking, cookie perfection.
- 1/2 cup butter at room temperature (if you scrolled past the part about the butter above, you better scroll back up)
- 1/2 cup butter-flavored Crisco
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons of milk
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- semisweet chocolate chips (I am not listing an amount here because I eyeball it–some people like lots of chips, some like just a few. The traditional recipe calls for about 2 cups. Go crazy and just dump them in until you are happy.)
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and Crisco with an electric mixer until combined.
Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix well, scraping the sides.
Beat in eggs and vanilla, mixing until all is combined.
Add the flour one cup at a time and beat with the mixer. The dough may get too thick for the mixer, so you might need to stir in the remaining flour by hand until all combined.
Finally, stir in chocolate chips.
Drop rounded teaspoons of the cookie dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. I line my cookie sheets with foil because it makes for easier clean-up and my cookie sheets are not pretty. Actually, they are horrifying. Maybe I need new cookie sheets. . . .
Bake . . . for about 8 – 14 minutes . . . okay, so I said these were amazing but I did not say they were the easiest cookies in the world. What I mean is, you gotta keep an eye on them as they bake.
A good friend of mine makes phenomenal chocolate chip cookies and her one major tip is: don’t overcook them. If anything, slightly undercook them.
You want to pull them out just as the tops get slightly golden. It may feel a little premature, but in this case, it’s okay. Guys, if you are reading this–it’s the ONLY case . . . just making sure you are not too hot and bothered after reading about the warm butter . . .
ANYWAY . . .
For my oven, this usually happens around the 12-minute mark. But it’s kinda old and a little touchy. I know my oven. I understand its temperament, its hangups, its insecurities. Get to know your oven. It may take some time, but buy it a nice bottle of wine, turn up the heat and it should start to open up . . .
Okay, this really got off track.
I usually get about 2 – 3 dozen cookies out of this recipe, depending on the size of my balls . . . I mean the rounded teaspoons.
A few other tricks
- Before putting the dough on the cookie sheet, put the dough in the freezer for a few minutes and store in the freezer between batches. I read this trick online and it was something about firming the butter up so the cookies come out more plump than flat. So many sexual innuendos here (especially from a flat-chested broad) but I am going to leave this one alone.
- If you want to take the flavor up a notch, sprinkle them with some sea salt crystals. I love the chocolate and salt flavor-combo and it makes them look fancy. And who doesn’t enjoy a fancy cookie? My sister-in-law tipped me off to this one because she uses the same technique with box brownies and it’s seriously moan-worthy.
And that’s the show, happy eating!
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