31 Days: Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Welcome to Day 17 of 31 Days of Baking as part of Write31Days October challenge.

I am all about chocolate chip cookie dough. Like brownies yesterday, sometimes I make chocolate chip cookies only for the raw dough. Today's recipe has a great dough. There are hundreds of chocolate chip cookie recipes. What drew me to this one is the chewy part. I am not a huge fan of the crisp or rock like cookies. My dad loves those kinds. My mom makes them special for him. My sister and I groan.  My kids and I love the super soft or gooey types of cookies.

The science behind cookie making fascinates me which is one reason I am participating in The Kitchn's Baking School. This particular recipe comes from the Food Network magazine which offers this advice:

"Sifting the dry ingredients incorporates air into the batter and helps make the cookies soft."

"The high proportion of brown sugar keeps these cookies moist in the middle." I had no idea that was a purpose of brown sugar.

"Chilling the dough prevents it from spreading too much in the oven." I always though chilling the dough was simply to annoy me.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda together into a large bowl.
2. Beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes (use the paddle attachment for a stand mixer). Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture and beat until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand. Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the dough and refrigerate at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 375. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake until the cookies are golden around the edges but still soft in the middle, about 12 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely. Makes about 30 cookies.
source: Food Network magazine, March 2012

What I changed:

I made a fourth of the recipe. I forgot to take the egg out ahead of time so it was still chilled, not at room temperature. In my challenged kitchen, parchment paper does not exist so nixed that when baking. And I didn't sift the flour.  I am a slacker.

My Thoughts:

The dough is even better after sitting in refrigerator overnight. The cookies kept their puffiness and are soft. Very good. It is a keeper if you don't already have a favorite soft cookie recipe.

Till tomorrow...