[Cookie 045] Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hello, are you new to the kitchen? First time baking? First time cooking altogether? No, probably not...but in case you've grown a bit rusty on your gastronomical tools, check out this little bit of video art:

Yeah, now you know. Ladles are used to fling hot soup at your enemies. Duh. And knives are used to stab. Double duh. These are the basics, people. Another basic: the best cookie dough to eat raw is that of the Chocolate Chip variety. Really.

Now I know there are many, many, many delicious kinds of cookie dough to eat raw (dare I say that most cookie dough is delicious), but let me ask you this: why does only one type of cookie dough get its own flavor of ice cream? Because it's the best. You don't hear of Snickerdoodle Dough Ice Cream (though that sounds absolutely delicious, come to think of it). It's just common knowledge that Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is the king of cookie doughs. And thus, I bring you Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies--a kick ass dough that makes a classic cookie.

So we've unanimously come to the conclusion that Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is the best cookie dough out there, and though the dough in most Chocolate Chip Cookie recipes tastes the same prior to baking, the resultant baked cookie can vary wildly. You've got your thin and crispies, your fat and chunkies, your round and doughies, and of course, your Soft and Chewies like these here. Generally, when I ask my friends what texture of cookie they like most, they tend to veer toward the Soft and Chewies anyway, so I had a feeling that this recipe would be a winner.

And it is. It's just right. Perfect, especially when eaten minutes after they've come out of the oven, alongside a nice glass of cold milk. There's a reason that this cookie is such a go-to cookie, and this recipe pretty much explains why. So, what I'm trying to get at is that you should bust open that bag of chocolate chips sitting in your freezer and make these right now. You won't regret it...and if you do, just mail me the leftovers.

But let's talk shelf-life, shall we? Yes, the cookie is fantastic straight out of the oven, hot and gooey and fresh, but unless you freeze the dough in order to bake it spur-of-the-moment, the cookies don't always stay this way. But don't worry, it's easily remedied with the microwave. Just pop a cookie in, put the timer on for a little bit, and pour yourself a glass of milk. Voila--almost as good as new, or at least as close as you'll get.

And one more thing--the recipe is dead easy (obviously) but if you have a cookie scoop, be careful careful careful. The chocolate chips screwed mine up a little bit because they got jammed behind the scooping arc thingy, and now it's kinda out of service. I'm sad. But at least my cookies came out round and nice, right? Whatever, enough chitchat. Get into the kitchen, stat!

Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
2. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

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{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 1/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4.5/5 (As basic as you can get)
Tastiness: 4/5
Attractiveness: 3.5/5
Is it worth it?: Yes. Why wait, bake today!

{Pairings}
Drink: Milk, duh! You stupid or sumthin'?!

Song: Daily Routine -- Animal Collective
Activity: So, you take the cookie and dip it in your milk, but hold it in there too long and then OH NO it breaks off and falls down into the bottom of your cup and then WHAT EVER DO YOU DO? You drink all the milk and then, hurray! Soggy delicious cookie waiting for you at the bottom. That's an activity, right?