cookie countdown: chewy chocolate chip.

cookie countdown: chewy chocolate chip.

• 7.01.2014

Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies. Even when I hated chocolate, I'd grab for another cookie. When they're good, they're good. So you eat as many as you can before you eventually A.) start worrying about your waistline or B.) get called out for porkitude.

I just made that up and it's brilliantly awkward. Porkitude, porkitude, porkitude. There... now it's an official word.

Ahem, so cookies. There are so many recipes for chocolate chip cookies floating around the Internet and in cookbooks - it's hard to find good ones that are second-batch worthy. I decided to take on the challenge of sifting through my bookmarked "potential favorites" and find the best... just for you. (And me, who are we kidding.)

In a way, I kind of cheated. I began with a recipe that was already tried-and-true, and nixed a ton of recipes that were originally contenders. Reasoning? 1. There needs to be at least one guaranteed amazing cookie in the testing batch, so familiarity is good. 2. I wanted the recipes to be easy for me and for you. Weird ingredients and strange cooking practices won't cut it here. Maybe another time. So I've kept these easy and breezy with a little experimenting here and there. All in all, good things.

Contender No. 3.

In this series, I'll be sharing three recipes that I tried, in order of preference. So yes, you gotta hang in there for the best of the best! Don't worry, they're all delightful and I recommend each one - otherwise you wouldn't see them here!

I would also like to point out that I read up on my Nascar flag meanings before tackling this. Because being nerdy is fun.

Green means go. And so we begin.

I found this recipe from Chew Out Loud earlier last month and decided to include it in the chocolate chip cookie countdown. Originally, I had much grander plans than using just three recipes, but as I mentioned earlier... a lot of them were just weird. Infused with uncommon ingredients, too soft (I like crunchy-on-the-outside, chewy-in-the-middle cookies)... you name it. I'm cheap, so no crazy grocery lists here.

These were super simple to make - no waiting on butter to come to room temperature, no overnight chilling. Just mix it all up, pop the dough in the fridge for an hour, and presto! Chewy little cookies at your service.

The cookies that came out of the oven tonight are definitely better than your average cookie. If you ball the dough up before you chill it, the cookies don't spread as much and leave a bit more substance to the bite. However you choose to do it, they're good. Soft and gooey and chocolate chip-ity.

My only complaint is that there isn't really anything about these cookies that make them ultra-amazing. They're simply homemade with good flavor. For some, that's all that's important. Dad took these into work this morning and everyone loved them.

As for me... onto cookie number two.

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Click for printable recipe.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
¾ cup (12 tablespoons) salted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup packed light brown sugar
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 large whole egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

2. In a large bowl, beat together butter and both sugars until smooth. Add in the eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium-low until combined.

3. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed just until combined. Gently fold in the chocolate chips, then wrap dough in cling wrap and chill for at least one hour.

4. To bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Scoop 1½-inch balls of dough onto a lined cookie sheet, and bake until soft and puffy, about 12 minutes. Allow to cool completely on the sheets... but enjoy the cookies immediately! Makes 3 dozen.

Recipe from Chew Out Loud