Chocolate Chip Cookies

Like I had said before I was going to take on a baking project this week.  I was asking around for ideas and someone mentioned that there is nothing better than the perfect homemade chocolate chip cookie.  I have been baking for as long as I can remember and without trying to sound full of myself, I am a rather good baker.  However, chocolate chip cookies have always perplexed me.  I either burn the bottoms or don't cook them all the way through.  This challenge was perfect and I found about 7 different recipes to try.  Here is what I came up with for each recipe...

Recipe #1: The Good Looking One


Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, MELTED
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg, ROOM TEMPERATURE
1 egg yolk, ROOM TEMPERATURE
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips


Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F
-Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside
-In another bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until completely blended.  Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until completely combined.  Mix in the sifted ingredients just until blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand last.  Refrigerate the dough for at least an hour before baking.
-Measure out 1/4 cup of the dough at a time and form quickly into rough ball.  Put on ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet or silpats.
-Bake 15-17 minutes until edges are light brown and cool on wire racks.

This is the resulting cookie.  It was by far the most aesthetically pleasing.  I added 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar so the cookie would have the cracked top.  It isn't necessary but I like how it makes them look.  These cookies were medium in shape and thickness and crunchy all the way through once they set up.  The taste was okay.

Recipe #2: The Chewy One

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, ROOM TEMPERATURE

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

2 teapoons vanilla extract

2 eggs, ROOM TEMPERATURE

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

-Sift together the flour and baking soda; set aside

-In another bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until completely blended.  Beat in the vanilla, salt, and eggs until completely combined.  Mix in the sifted ingredients just until blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand last.  

-Drop tablespoon sized balls of dough about 2 inches apart on ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet or silpats.

-Bake 8-10 minutes until tops and edges are light brown and cool on wire racks.

This is the resulting cookie.  I don't really like how they look but they taste better than the first recipe and they set chewy and cakey in texture (less dense than the first).  The tops are light brown and the bottoms are dark brown.

Recipe #3: The Good Tasting One

Ingredients:

1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup unsalted butter, ROOM TEMPERATURE

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg, ROOM TEMPERATURE

3.4oz instant vanilla pudding mix

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

-Sift together the flour and baking soda; set aside

-In another bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until completely blended.  Beat in the instant vanilla pudding mix and then beat in the vanilla and egg until completely combined.  Mix in the sifted ingredients just until blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand last.  

-Drop cookies on ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet or silpats by the rounded tablespoonful.

-Bake 10-12 minutes until edges are light brown and cool on wire racks.

This is the resulting cookie.  I have to admit that I was very skeptical of this recipe.  The pudding mix made the dough somewhat dry and the addition of only one egg resulted in a yellow-y looking dough.  I personally prefer a crunchy cookie.  This one tasted AMAZING.  While it's not much to look at it was crunchy and had a sort of caramelized taste to it.  Out of the 7 different recipes I tried, I liked this one the best.

Recipe #4: The Light One

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons hot water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 eggs, ROOM TEMPERATURE

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

-Sift the flour; set aside

-In another bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until completely blended.  Beat in the vanilla and eggs until completely combined.  Dissolve the baking soda in the hot water and add to batter along with the salt.  Mix in the sifted flour just until blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand last.  

-Drop by large spoonful on ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet or silpats.

-Bake for about 10 minutes until edges are light brown but centers are still soft and cool on wire racks.

This is the resulting cookie.  It is a medium sized, medium thickness cookie.  The thing that stood out the most to me about this one is that it is very light in color, both on top and on the bottom.  The person who originally asked me to do this project liked these the best and he likes soft, chewy chocolate chip cookies.

Recipe #5: The Phoebe Buffet Cookie

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, ROOM TEMPERATURE

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs, ROOM TEMPERATURE

2 cups NESTLE TOLL HOUSE semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

-Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside

-In another bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until completely blended.  Beat in the vanilla and eggs until completely combined.  Mix in the sifted ingredients just until blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand last. 

-Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet or silpats.

-Bake 9-11 minutes until cookies are golden brown and cool on wire racks.

This is the resulting cookie.  I call it the Phoebe Buffet cookie because of the episode of Friends where Monica is trying to figure out Phoebe's grandmother's recipe and it turns out to be the recipe on the back of the chocolate chips.  These cookies are darker brown but standard in taste and texture.  They tend to have less chocolate chips throughout but still a very good cookie.

Recipe #6: The San Francisco Treat

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, ROOM TEMPERATURE

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs, ROOM TEMPERATURE

2 cups GHIRARDELLI semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

-Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside

-In another bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until completely blended.  Beat in the vanilla and eggs until completely combined.  Mix in the sifted ingredients just until blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips by hand last.  

-Drop by the tablespoon onto ungreased, non-stick cookie sheet or silpats.

-Bake 9-11 minutes until cookies are golden brown and cool on wire racks.

This is the resulting cookie.  It is dark brown, large, thin, and crispy.  I like these almost as much as the third recipe, however it has less chocolate and the Ghirardelli chips are rather pricey.

Okay I know I said seven different recipes, but honestly, I am all baked out.  I can now make chocolate chip cookies blindly.  Sad.  However I am very glad I took this project on.  I learned a lot of good basic tips that will result in cookies you will love.

1. ALWAYS use room temperature eggs.  It makes a huge difference.

2. Invest in pure vanilla extract, not imitation vanilla.  It is very cheap at Costco where I got a large bottle for about $5.  You can also make your own using whole vanilla beans (can also be found at Costco) and a cheap 750ml bottle of vodka.

3. The butter temperature (cold, melted, room) makes a huge difference as well.  Pay attention.

4. Pack the brown sugar when it calls for it.

5. Use a 1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar in your recipes if you want them to look a certain way.

6. Your oven temperature and time baking is very sensitive.  My oven runs hot and dry so I generally set it 10 degrees cooler than the recipe calls for.  I also tend to have to bake the cookies a minute less than it says.

I hope these recipes and tips help you out in your own chocolate chip cookie adventures.  If you want to skip the baking step, stop by my place within the next few days because I have about 20 dozen cookies I need to give away :)