Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Chocolate Chip Cookies

My first post on the blog. It had to have chocolate, the ultimate in flavor, texture, versatility - God's gift to humankind. Tell me, what is it that it can't set right? So, here are Chocolate Chip cookies, the vanilla in the cookie world, my favorite.

A colleague's birthday had come up and the cake promised to her (that's up next) couldn't live past the preceding weekend as it went away, one thin sliver at a time. This recipe is from Martha Stewart and turned out nice, soft, chewy cookies. I halved the ingredients to get around 2 dozen cookies. I tried varying the baking time to get a crispier version too.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Whisk the flour and baking soda in a separate bowl and keep aside. Combine the sugars - brown and white and butter (at room temperature) till well mixed and fluffy with an electric mixer. Add the salt, vanilla and eggs and beat further at a lower speed until well combined.


Add the flour mixture, mix and add the stir in the chocolate chips. As you would notice, I had just half the chips required, so I added roughly chopped milk chocolate.


Fold them in to get your batter.


Plop tablespoonfuls of the batter 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking tray. The paper is important here to avoid an over crisp bottom.  Resist the urge to smoothen them and keep the tops rough for a final jagged look.


Bake for 8-10 mins till cookies are golden around the edges. And see them turn into these beauties.

Let cool in the baking tray for 2 mins and then on a wire rack for 10 mins. As you would take them out, you would find them to be puffier but they would become flatter as they cool. For a crispier center, bake them for 12 mins. Enjoy!

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