The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie

If someone were to ask “What is your favorite cookie?” this recipe will top my list.  I love cookies that have a crisp edge and soft centers, lots of chocolate too of course.  This basic dough can be played with in several directions, all of which are mouth-watering!

I was putting the last pan into the oven when hubby beckoned from the other room.  I had just told him that I was five minutes away from being freed from the oven and surface again after diving into this batch of chewy chocolate and peanut butter chip cookies.  But no.  I was urgently needed for something.  *Sigh* Alright, I’m coming… Shocked by the sight before me, I completely forgot about those perfect little goodies baking away in the oven.  The entire closet was no longer in the closet. It was covering the floor and book cases and dresser.  “Look at this!”  Yeah, what a mess!  “No, I found all this great stuff…”  I couldn’t stand the clutter, even though probably 95 % was my stuff.  Hubby had good intentions, just lacked good timing.  The bonus was finding CD’s that I thought were stolen, necklaces that I made with hemp and beads, coins in jars (hunny’s favorite treasure), and fuzzy track pants – that still fit!  I wore the pants to bed, luckily because winter really gave us a chilly night. 

Sniff  Sniff      What’s that smell?

Well, you can guess what came wafting into the room.  Toasty cookies.  They were not even salvageable, the centers were burnt right through.  Many expletives later, I sat myself down with a small bowl of ice cream to forget about the whole incident.  And maybe a cookie or two.

Here is the recipe which I will explain how to modify.

Chocolate Chip Cookies A La Anna Olsen

This was originally conceived by Anna Olsen at Food Network.ca (Show: Sugar)

• 3/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 56 grams (4 tbsp) chocolate chips (go ahead and eyeball that one 😉 )

Pre-heat oven to 350ºF.  Cream the butter and sugar.  Add the vanilla and egg.  Mix the dry ingredients and dump into the mixer.  Slowly mix until the flour is incorporated.  Toss in chips and blend by hand (or really slowly in the mixer).  Drop by tablespoonful on to your cookie sheet and bake for 8 – 10 minutes, the very outer edges will be golden and the centers will look puffed.  Don’t worry, pull out the sheet and let the cookies cool considerably before removing to a rack.

Yield is about 2 dozen if you are conservative with the amount of dough dropped for each cookie.  Estimated total calories for a batch: 2330 (about 195 each).

Modify this recipe with any of the following:

• Peanut butter chips, instead or in addition to the chocolate chips
• Replace 1/2 cup of the flour with 1/2 cup of dark cocoa powder
• Chopped nuts could be added (no taste test for me though!)
• M&Ms or Smarties (depending on what side of the border you live on, I actually prefer Smarties)

I think Santa would enjoy these cookies, so we will have to bake a fresh batch on Christmas Eve.  Serve warm with a glass of low-fat milk 🙂