The Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's a beautiful, sunny, yet cold day here in Arlington.  The minimal snowfall we got last night dusted the trees and rooftops enough to look make my neighborhood look like a peaceful and quaint winter village.  That scene calls for something a sweet treat that is classic and all-American -- chocolate chip cookies.  And not just any chocolate chip cookies.  I found a recipe on the Brown Eyed Baker blog about a year ago for chocolate chip cookies that has made me fall in love with these cookies all over again (which I didn't think was possible!).  So while I enjoy this winter scene outside my window today and while Claire is sleeping, I'm going to be baking these lovely treats.



Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Courtesy of Baking Illustrated/Brown Eyed Baker)
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2008/06/21/thick-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookie


Ingredients:
2 cups plus 2 T. (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
12 T. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Method:
Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.

Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a side metal spatula.

Enjoy!