The BEST Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ever since Matthew started preschool, he has been begging me to make chocolate chip cookies with him. Initially, I told him that we did not have any butter in the house and had to wait until next week (when our budget started over) to buy some. He waited patiently for our shopping trip this weekend and then asked politely while we were at the grocery store: "Mommy! Don't forget the butter for our chocolate chip cookies!" So, we bought the butter, gathered the rest of our groceries and returned home.

Unfortunately, I was having a really bad day. I had just attended the funeral of a priest friend earlier in the day, Emma was being super clingy and whiny, and Matthew was just bugging me. I was in no mood to bake with him and planned on holding off on the project until another day. All I wanted was for them to take a nap (so I could take one too!). When we got home and fed them, it became perfectly obvious that my dear, obnoxious children were not going to nap. So, Paul gently suggested that maybe I should bake with Matthew to "make me feel better." I mustered up as much patience as I could and tried to humor him.

It did not go well.

First, Emma took a bite out of the stick of butter. And then went back for more. Matthew tried to pry it out of her hands and it led to a full-out fistfight between the two of them. Paul had to take a picture of Emma with the butter, claiming: "Photographic evidence that she is my daughter!"

Then, it became perfectly obvious that the kids were more interested in eating the extra chocolate chips than making the cookies.

Finally, while the cookies were baking, Matthew and Emma got into another fight over the vacuum cleaner of all things and Matthew was forbidden from eating any of the newly baked cookies.

This fun baking project turned out to be a complete disaster. However, the cookies themselves are fantastic and as I sit here typing out this post, my kids are sitting together (semi-quietly) by the window, enjoying their cookies and milk happily. It's a rare moment where they are not screaming at each other and I am going to enjoy it. Maybe the baking wasn't such an abysmal failure after all.

These cookies have been a family favorite for about four years now. I went on a search for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe a few years back and these won our hearts. I am a huge fan of thick, chewy cookies. If you are too, this recipe is from you. No surprise it comes from the editors of Cook's Illustrated  and my favorite cookbook. Luckily, in addition to being my favorite cookie recipe it is also the easiest because you do not have to wait for the sticks of butter to reach room temperature before whipping up the dough. The butter is melted instead - one of the apparent secrets to chewy cookies. Make these, serve with tall glasses of milk, and try your best not to eat half a batch at once! (Like my kids are doing right this second)

The Best Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
From the New Best Recipe

Note: I use my kitchen scale to weigh all my ingredients. It's way easier and accurate than measuring. I highly recommend purchasing one if you are a serious baker. They are not that expensive and will make you feel wonderfully scientific in the kitchen! In fact, the scale I use is the same one I used in my college organic chemistry lab.

2 cups + 2 Tablespoons (10 5/8 oz) unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled until just warm
1 cup packed (7 oz) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 oz) granulated sugar
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 bag semisweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 325 degrees.  Line 2-3 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat baking mats.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix both sugars and the butter.  Beat in the egg, the yolk, and vanilla until combined.  Add the dry ingredients and beat on low until just combined.  Stir in the chips.

If you want to make LARGE, delicious, bakery-style cookies, roll a scant 1/4 cup of dough into a ball.  Pull the ball apart, rotate the jagged sides to the top side of the cookie, and press the two pieces back together.  Put on the sheet jagged side up.  This makes them look really pretty and professional when they are done baking.  Be sure to space them 2-3 inches apart. If you don't want monstrous looking cookies, using a tablespoon scoop to gather a heaping tablespoon of dough and follow the directions as stated above. However, be sure to check the smaller cookies earlier as the baking time will be reduced.

Bake until the cookies are light golden brown, the edges are starting to harden, and the centers are still soft and puffy, about 15 – 18 minutes for LARGE cookies. More like 10-11 minutes for smaller cookies.  Halfway through the baking time, rotate the sheets front to back and top to bottom.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheets.  Remove them from the sheets with a wide metal spatula.