If there's one thing I know how to do, it's bake. I grew up in an Italian family, so my mom had me in the kitchen as her assistant the minute I was able to walk. It is because of her that I continue to teach myself new recipes and experiment with baking techniques. Although chocolate chip cookies are a pretty simple and easy treat to make, I have worked relentlessly to create the perfect cookie dough in order to keep these classic pastries a fan favorite at any event. The recipe is still easy to follow, so even if you're a little intimidated by the thought of having to use an oven, I don't think this will be too challenging for you. Not to mention, the end results are worth the home baking mess!
Before you begin mixing your ingredients together, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get some cookie trays ready! (I like to use wax paper or rubber cookie mats so that my cookies don't get stuck to the bottom of the tray.) Now that the your oven is heating up we can start making the dough. These are the ingredients you'll need:
1 cup (or two sticks) of melted butter
3/4 cup of packed brown sugar
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 oz (or 1/4 cup) of cream cheese (regular, block cream cheese is the best to use)
2 and 1/2 cups of flour (sifted)
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 and 1/2 cup of chocolate chip cookies
To start, I melt my butter in the microwave by using 20 second intervals to make sure it doesn't get too hot. Once the majority of the butter is liquid I pour it over the brown and granulated sugar in my bowl. Then I turn my mixer on medium/high until the butter and sugar is nice and smooth. Next, I put in one egg at a time at a medium speed, add my vanilla and cream cheese, then turn the mixer back to medium high for a minute or two to let the eggs get fully whipped into the batter. After all of the wet ingredients are fully mixed I put a sifter over the bowl and pour half of my flour into the sifter. Along with the flour, I also put in the salt, cornstarch, and baking soda and stir until all of the dry ingredients have been sifted into the batter. I turn the mixer on low and slowly let the dry ingredients get folded into the dough. Once the flour is mostly mixed I sift the remainder of the flour into the bowl. I let the mixer set on low until the flour is evenly distributed throughout the dough and then I turn the speed to medium to make sure everything is mixed together completely. Last but not least, I pour in the chocolate chips and use a spatula to gently fold them in.
I use a cookie scooper to place even sized balls of dough onto the baking sheets and flatten them down using the palm of my hand. It is important that each ball is the same as the last so that they cook evenly as possible. I put them in the oven for 5 minutes, then take them out, with the trays (taking the one on top and moving it to the bottom and vice versa) while also spinning the tray so that the cookies towards the back of the oven are now towards the front. I let them back for another 3 minutes, then continue to bake them at 1 minute intervals until they do not juggle when the pans are shook. I know that this is a very "extra" way of baking cookies but i have my reasons! I like to make sure the cookies get equal amount of time on both top and bottom trays and front and back of the oven. I want to make sure that both trays of cookies are getting the same amount of exposure to the heat. I also know that each oven is different, so the baking times aren't always spot on. I check them every few minutes to make sure they aren't over baked. I like to take them out at the perfect time so that they're crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside! Remember that the cookies continue to bake even after they're taken out of the oven since they are still very hot. That's why I like to take them out even if they don't look "all the way" cooked.
Side note: This dough isn't just great for chocolate chip cookies. You can use it for your own creations as well! Use the base for a white chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookie, or roll the balls of dough in cinnamon and sugar for a simple snickerdoodle. Get creative with the recipe, just as I did, and you can make your very own signature cookie!
Good luck baking, sunshines!
XO
Sonny