August 26, 2011

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever

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I’m sure there are a ton of recipes for “the best” chocolate chip cookies but this might really be it. These cookies are soft and chewy in the middle and slightly crispy on the outside. They taste like rich, buttery toffee. But in a cookie. And with chocolate. Mmm!

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And these cookies are perfect for ice cream sandwiches.

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What makes these chocolate chip cookies so good is browning the butter. Melting the butter makes a chewier cookie and browning it provides a deep toffee flavor. I used a recipe from Cooks Illustrated and tweaked it a little.

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Ingredients:

14 Tbs unsalted butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups AP flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 (or you can wait to crank up the oven and just let it heat while the dough chills). Make some room in your freezer or fridge for pans of cookies. Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper.

In a large skillet, melt 10 tablespoons of butter over medium high heat. Cook the butter, stirring frequently, until browned and nutty smelling. It helps to use a stainless steel pan so you can see the color of the butter better. Stir in remaining butter. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, eggs, salt and vanilla. Whisk in butter. Let the mixture stand for 3 minutes and wisk again. Repeat two more times. This helps to dissolve the sugar in the butter, making a chewier cookie.

Stir flour and baking soda into batter. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon dough in large mounds (about 3 Tbs) onto parchment lined sheet pans, at least two inches apart. Place cookies in fridge or freezer until firm and cool to the touch. Last time I made these it was hot as heck in my kitchen and it took about 10 minutes to cool them down in the freezer.

Bake cookies, one sheet at a time, for 12-14 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Load them up with ice cream and enjoy.

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