Is there anything the smell of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies can't cure?
If there's anything as nostalgic as chocolate chip cookies I haven't found it yet.
Technology can do a lot of things...it can prepackage, freeze, squeeze into tubes, spread out into sheets and score for easy breaking apart, but it can't package up the smell of homemade chocolate chip cookies. If love had a smell...this would be it.
About 11 years ago I met my husband (The Deputy). Little did I know that I was going to be inheriting the best in-laws ever. Namely, the best mother-in-law ever. Now, this woman makes the most amazing chocolate chip cookies you've ever put into your face. And that's not an exaggeration...ask anyone who's had one of her cookies and they WILL agree with me. People beg her to bring her cookies to functions...and she does it, every time. (I should say this - My mother is quite the baker too...but I don't recall her ever really making chocolate chip cookies when I was a kid. She did however make the most amazing sugar cookies ever and I missed that talent too. And don't get me started on the one egg marble cake with fudge frosting...oh...I wouldn't under any other circumstances say this, but I wish it was my birthday.)
So, of course, what does the Deputy want me to bake? Chocolate chip cookies. Which is embarassing and frustrating all at the same time...and this may be why he bugs me to do it. I have my mother-in-law's recipe. And it's been a long standing joke that she gave me the recipe wrong, or left out a vital ingredient, or told me the wrong cooking temperature and times. But no. Sadly, I have seen the original recipe and mine looks just like it. So it's me, not the recipe. (Side note: My brother-in-law also tries to recreate these cookies and fails miserable too, so it's not just me.)
Lately, the Deputy has been after me to try the cookies again. So, what the heck? What's the worst that could go wrong? Well, other than my complete frustration that of all the things in this world that I can't do...chocolate chip cookies are in the top 5.
Chocolate Chip Cookies - a la Patsy Littlefield
2 Sticks of Butter* (room temperature)
12 Tbs of White Sugar
12 Tbs of Brownulated Sugar**
1 Tsp of Water
1 Tsp of Vanilla
2 Eggs (room temperature)
1 Tsp of Baking Soda
2 1/2 Cups Flour
Chocolate Chips (of course)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Get out your cookie sheets and prep them however you like. Parchment, silpats, silicone baking sheets...whatever.
In a seperate bowl combine the four and the baking soda and whisk it together.
In the bowl of your mixer...start by creaming the butter. (Or if you don't have a mixer, use your handheld mixer, or if you're feeling particularly industrious, a wooden spoon works really well too.) Gradually add the 12 Tbs of white wugar and the 12 Tbs of brownulated sugar. Beat together and until creamy. (The brownulated sugar will give the creamed mixture a different kind of texture than most people who bake are used to. It seems almost runny.)
Beat in the water, vanilla, and eggs one at a time, mixing well between each ingredient.
Gradually add the flour and baking soda to your main ingredients bowl. After each addition, stir only until just incorporated into the butter and sugar mixture. If you overbeat your flour you'll end up with tough cookies. (haha...tough cookies)
Once all of your ingredients are combined together it's time to add the chips. You can add them by hand or you can just dump them right in and let your mixer do the work. This is how I choose to do it because stirring just isn't something I'm into. If you chose to let your mixer do the work, don't add your chips all at once. Add them gradually or you'll end up with them all on the bottom and you'll still be stuck stirring them into your dough.
Using a cookie scoop, or a couple of teaspoons, drop by scoopfuls onto your prepared cookie sheets leaving some wiggle room between them. (I typically only put 6 cookies on a sheet so that I don't end up with cookies mating.)
Bake for about 9-11 minutes. (Start on the low side, you can always put them back into the oven for a minute or two, but if you burn the cookies, you can't undo that.)
Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes. (See my Tips & Tricks for more info on this.)
Remove from cookie sheet and cool completely on wire rack!
Eat! Enjoy!
*She is of the generation that uses margarine for a lot of baking. I, however, hate margarine with a passion and refuse to use it. This may be my flaw in this recipe and at some point I will break down and try it with the margarine.
**I know what you're thinking...what in the hell is "brownulated" sugar. It's granulated brown sugar. You know that beautiful shiny sugary top that you get on a lot of bakery cookies? You know the one that dissolves onto your tongue into a delicious sugary mess? Well, this is the secret ladies and gents...and it can be found in your local grocery store with all the rest of the sugar.
If there's anything as nostalgic as chocolate chip cookies I haven't found it yet.
Technology can do a lot of things...it can prepackage, freeze, squeeze into tubes, spread out into sheets and score for easy breaking apart, but it can't package up the smell of homemade chocolate chip cookies. If love had a smell...this would be it.
About 11 years ago I met my husband (The Deputy). Little did I know that I was going to be inheriting the best in-laws ever. Namely, the best mother-in-law ever. Now, this woman makes the most amazing chocolate chip cookies you've ever put into your face. And that's not an exaggeration...ask anyone who's had one of her cookies and they WILL agree with me. People beg her to bring her cookies to functions...and she does it, every time. (I should say this - My mother is quite the baker too...but I don't recall her ever really making chocolate chip cookies when I was a kid. She did however make the most amazing sugar cookies ever and I missed that talent too. And don't get me started on the one egg marble cake with fudge frosting...oh...I wouldn't under any other circumstances say this, but I wish it was my birthday.)
So, of course, what does the Deputy want me to bake? Chocolate chip cookies. Which is embarassing and frustrating all at the same time...and this may be why he bugs me to do it. I have my mother-in-law's recipe. And it's been a long standing joke that she gave me the recipe wrong, or left out a vital ingredient, or told me the wrong cooking temperature and times. But no. Sadly, I have seen the original recipe and mine looks just like it. So it's me, not the recipe. (Side note: My brother-in-law also tries to recreate these cookies and fails miserable too, so it's not just me.)
Lately, the Deputy has been after me to try the cookies again. So, what the heck? What's the worst that could go wrong? Well, other than my complete frustration that of all the things in this world that I can't do...chocolate chip cookies are in the top 5.
Chocolate Chip Cookies - a la Patsy Littlefield
2 Sticks of Butter* (room temperature)
12 Tbs of White Sugar
12 Tbs of Brownulated Sugar**
1 Tsp of Water
1 Tsp of Vanilla
2 Eggs (room temperature)
1 Tsp of Baking Soda
2 1/2 Cups Flour
Chocolate Chips (of course)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Get out your cookie sheets and prep them however you like. Parchment, silpats, silicone baking sheets...whatever.
In a seperate bowl combine the four and the baking soda and whisk it together.
In the bowl of your mixer...start by creaming the butter. (Or if you don't have a mixer, use your handheld mixer, or if you're feeling particularly industrious, a wooden spoon works really well too.) Gradually add the 12 Tbs of white wugar and the 12 Tbs of brownulated sugar. Beat together and until creamy. (The brownulated sugar will give the creamed mixture a different kind of texture than most people who bake are used to. It seems almost runny.)
Beat in the water, vanilla, and eggs one at a time, mixing well between each ingredient.
Gradually add the flour and baking soda to your main ingredients bowl. After each addition, stir only until just incorporated into the butter and sugar mixture. If you overbeat your flour you'll end up with tough cookies. (haha...tough cookies)
Once all of your ingredients are combined together it's time to add the chips. You can add them by hand or you can just dump them right in and let your mixer do the work. This is how I choose to do it because stirring just isn't something I'm into. If you chose to let your mixer do the work, don't add your chips all at once. Add them gradually or you'll end up with them all on the bottom and you'll still be stuck stirring them into your dough.
Using a cookie scoop, or a couple of teaspoons, drop by scoopfuls onto your prepared cookie sheets leaving some wiggle room between them. (I typically only put 6 cookies on a sheet so that I don't end up with cookies mating.)
Bake for about 9-11 minutes. (Start on the low side, you can always put them back into the oven for a minute or two, but if you burn the cookies, you can't undo that.)
Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes. (See my Tips & Tricks for more info on this.)
Remove from cookie sheet and cool completely on wire rack!
Eat! Enjoy!
*She is of the generation that uses margarine for a lot of baking. I, however, hate margarine with a passion and refuse to use it. This may be my flaw in this recipe and at some point I will break down and try it with the margarine.
**I know what you're thinking...what in the hell is "brownulated" sugar. It's granulated brown sugar. You know that beautiful shiny sugary top that you get on a lot of bakery cookies? You know the one that dissolves onto your tongue into a delicious sugary mess? Well, this is the secret ladies and gents...and it can be found in your local grocery store with all the rest of the sugar.