Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is my very own recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  It is formulated for maximum chewiness, which is highly desirable in a cookie, in my book. You'll notice some... well... unusual ingredients for a cookie, but I promise it works.

I have had many a chocolate chip cookie that is incredibly tasty the day it was baked, but through a lot of trial and error, fiddling and... whatever else a person might do to get things just right...  I finally developed a recipe for a cookie that maintains its soft, chewy texture for 3-4 days when stored in an airtight container.

Let's begin, shall we?

 You will need: butter, eggs, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, milk, salt, all-purpose flour, bread flour, vanilla, wheat germ, flax seed meal, molasses, and chocolate chips.  And flour spilled on your counter.

Start by putting 2 sticks of butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.

Add 1 1/2 cups brown sugar. 

Using the paddle attachment, cream it up.

In a separate bowl, measure 1 cup all purpose flour.

Add 1 1/4 cup bread flour.  I realize most people probably don't keep bread flour in their pantry.  You could certainly increase the all-purpose flour to 2 1/4 cups, but it wouldn't be as chewy.  The higher gluten content in the bread flour is what contributes to the cookie's chewiness.  Whole wheat flour has a higher gluten content than all-purpose, so that would be a better substitute if needed.

To the flours, I add 2 Tbsp. each of wheat germ and flax seed meal (or ground flax seed).  This is completely optional-- it doesn't add to the chewiness, but it's good for you and you can't really tell it's in there.  If you wanted to leave them out, increase the all-purpose flour by 1/4 cup so the wet to dry balance is maintained.

Then add 1 tsp. each of baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  If you're salt-sensitive, feel free to knock that down to 1/2 tsp.  I just like my sweets a little salty.

Now, go back to that creamed up butter and sugar.  Throw in one egg and one egg yolk.  Why the egg yolk?  Well, most recipes would call for 2 eggs.  But egg whites contribute to crispiness in cookies, which is not what we're going for in this recipe.  The fattiness of the yolks help to keep the cookies moist.

Now, to compensate for the lack of the egg white, throw in 2 tablespoons milk.

Pour in about a tablespoon of molasses.  It's delicious.

Add about 2 tsp vanilla.














I used this stuff, because I got some for Christmas and hadn't found an excuse to use it yet.  Totally not necessary.  But fun.










Now beat that all up together.  The batter should turn a lighter color.

Add the flour, a third at a time, beating after each addition just until incorporated.  Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula each time.

There!  That's how it should look.  It's pretty sticky.

Now add 1- 12 oz. package chocolate chips, or about 2 cups.  I personally like bittersweet, but you could go with semi-sweet just as well.  Or milk chocolate. (Just don't tell me about it.  I might cry.) This particular chocolate is a mixture of bittersweet and extra bittersweet.  I like the flavor, but the extra bittersweet melts kind of strangely in the cookie.  It still tastes great, but the aesthetics of the cookie are compromised.  ha.

I use a medium cookie scoop to scoop these out on some cookie sheets I've lined with a silicone baking mat and parchment paper.  Why both? Well, because I like how the silicone keeps the bottoms from getting too brown.  But I've also noticed that my silicone baking mats tend to hold on to flavors.  Like soap.  And soapy cookies are not yummy.  At least not in my book.  Hence the parchment.  But feel free to use only one of those.
Or neither.
Do what you want.
Be true to yourself.
Wear clean underwear.
And all that stuff.

Bake them at 350〫for about 12 minutes.  Mine are always perfect at 12 minutes, but that's with my cookie scoop and my oven.  So somewhere between 10-15 minutes depending on your oven and scoop and barometric pressure and all that.  You want to take them out when the edges just start getting brown.  The middle will still look a little underdone.  You want that.  The secret is to keep them on the hot cookie sheet for about 5 minutes after you take them out of the oven.  That way the middle will continue cooking without the edges getting too dark and crispy.

After about 5 minutes, put them directly on a cooling rack.  Or straight into your mouth.

Oh my goodness.  I could eat these cookies every day. Give me a glass of milk, STAT!

Like I said, if you package these up once they're cool, they'll stay delightfully moist and chewy for a few days.

And hey, check it out!  Here's a printable version of this recipe courtesy of Tasty Kitchen!