chubby chicks with oven mitts: Rub 'em all over your body chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I started really cooking when I was in junior high and my favorite thing to make was cookies. I have always been a good cookie maker when I didn't follow the recipe and just dumped everything in the bowl at the same time and mixed it by hand. I don't know why it worked, but it did. Since then I have tried to make cookies the "grown up way" with my Kitchen Aid mixer, but never got good results. I would follow a recipe precisely, but while they would taste good they were some sad looking cookies. Usually very thin with chips sticking up. When making the same recipes by hand I would get excellent results.

A few months ago I found a blog where they painstakingly went through every tiny step on how to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I decided to give it a whirl and they turned out amazing! Using my mixer, they tasted excellent and looked pretty too! I think the key is that you add the flour last. You can pretty much beat the crap out of the ingredients until it becomes more delicate with the addition of the flour. The more you work flour, the more gluten it develops. Gluten makes dough tougher and chewier which while good for pizza dough, is not what you want in cakes or cookies. I plan on trying this method in my other cookie recipes, but for now I wanted to share this one with you.

NOTE: I made a double batch when preparing this recipe, so my amounts will look much larger than the amounts you are using. Unless, of course, you double the batch too. Then we'll be twinners!

Step 1

Does anyone else have the urge to cut a hole in a box after I say step one? Anyway....put a small mixing bowl on your kitchen scale (if you don't have a scale, you really should get one. They are cheap and make a huge difference. See "measuring ingredients by weight" for details) and add the flour, then use measuring spoons to add the soda and salt. Whisk it together until it's fully blended.

Step 2

Using the wire whisk attachment on a stand mixer, cream butter and shortening on high for about 1 minute. If you don't have a very powerful mixer, this could take up to 3 minutes.

This is what it should look like after step 2

Step 3

Remove your mixer bowl from the mixer and place it on your scale then turn the scale on. This should give you a zero reading on the scale. Add the 6.5 ounces of brown sugar then zero out the scale and add the 6.5 of white sugar. Look how many measuring cups we have saved washing and our recipe is more accurate to boot! Return the bowl to the mixer and beat it on high for 30 more seconds.

Step 4

Add eggs and vanilla and beat another 15 seconds or until it looks like the picture above.

Step 5 - That adorable little helper is my 2 year old son, Wrigley

Switch to the paddle attachment and find a toddler who-won't-go-play-with-Daddy-so-Momma-can-bake and have them add the chocolate chips. If you don't have one of these, just dump them in yourself. Now I know what you're thinking: "Wait! We haven't added the flour yet!" Keep your britches on. We want to mix the flour as little as possible to avoid creating unwanted gluten (remember our science lesson in the intro?) so we are going to add the flour at the last minute. Just mix the chips in on speed one for about 10 seconds.

Helpers need a little reward

This is what the dough should look like after step 5

Step 6

Now it's time to add that flour mixture. Add a little at a time to avoid flinging flour all over your kitchen. Mix it in on speed 1 until it just comes together. It's ok to have a few flour streaks. DO NOT over mix it. At this point touch the dough. It should be sticky, but if it's super-sticky add a heaping tablespoon of flour. If it's too dry, you're screwed. Go ahead and bake the cookies anyway. Polite people will still tell you they taste good. Make note of these people and never ask for their food opinions in the future.

Step 7

Use a 3/4 ounce scoop, scoop the dough onto a plate (I used a serving platter that was the perfect size for holding 24 cookies), cover and stick in the fridge for 30 minutes or up to 2 days. If you would rather freeze the dough for later use, put this same plate in the freezer for 2 hours then transfer them to a Ziplock bag. They need to be frozen individually first or they will all stick together. I usually bake about 1-2 dozen then freeze the rest for fresh baked cookies in minutes.

I just wanted to show off my leftovers and half drunk pitcher of iced tea

Step 8

About 15 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 375 and prepare your cookie sheet. I use cheap-o half sheet pans from Sam's Club that are $10 for a two pack. Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper (so you don't have to wash the cookie sheet, just throw away the paper) or use a Silpat. This is something I wanted for almost 20 years, but just got one a couple months ago. It is awesome! I usually just bake 6-9 cookies on a sheet for my first batch so I can see how much the spread. Since these didn't spread very much, I started using 12 cookies per sheet for subsequent batches.