Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Is there anything that says welcome home, and I love you more than the American classic, Chocolate Chip Cookie? With so many variations, chip and nut choices, one could make a hundred recipe versions of this most popular cookie. Adding peanut butter or cocoa powder to the dough can introduce many more options. Crispy or chewy, are also considerations in choosing your favorite recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies.

As the weather has been changing, and the school year has begun, I’ve been experiencing the urge to bake. Some of my favorite childhood memories, were of baking with mom in our home on Podunk. She taught me the basics about measuring, reading the recipe (usually the one right off the bag of chips), creaming the sugars and butter first, then slowly adding the flour mixture. Finally, stirring in the chocolate chips. spoonful, by spoonful, we would carefully fill the cookie sheets, being sure to leave enough room between each little pile of dough. Oh how our old house would smell as the first batch was ready to be cooled for eating. My little brother and father would usually be in the living room anxiously awaiting a plate of our masterpiece. I would proudly deliver the cookies while they were still warm and gooey.

This time in the kitchen with Mom, was time spent bonding and learning about each other. She was the teacher, and I was the student. Now, as an adult, I remember these moments fondly, and want to create the same moments with my boys. Caleb, my 4-year-old, is now in kindergarten and comes home at lunchtime. This leaves us with a few special hours together before his older comes home. We took advantage of this time to “surprise” his older brother by spending the afternoon making Calebs choice of cookies, Chocolate Chip of course.

It was an afternoon spent together, learning, teaching, lots of hugs and I was even told “we are good cookers, Mom”. Caleb was proud of his creations and immediately offered them to his brother, Cody, when he arrived home.

Today, I encourage you to take the time to make a memory and cook with your loved ones. Use your favorite recipe, or feel free to use the following, as I found these to be the perfect classic combination of chewy and slightly crispy on the outside.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg 1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.