Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

Has it really been 3 months since my last post?  Some of my co-workers asked me about my blog the other day and I sheepishly commented that I hadn’t written on it in forever.  I explained to them that it is more of a blog for my friends and family and mainly for myself to keep track of the cookies I have tried and liked; I claim to be no smittenkitchen (my favorite blog of all time), but even a 3 month lag is a bit much.  So tonight I start anew with a Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe I really like.  I have made these twice now and they are pretty dang good… not perfect, but as you know I have high expectations for my chocolate chip cookies.

This recipe was taken from the blog browneyedbaker.  She claims these are the best chocolate chip cookies ever and she got the recipe from Cooks Illustrated, so can’t complain there!  As I’ve discussed before the key to a chewy cookie is melted butter, more brown sugar than white sugar and the extra egg yolk.  Plus these cookie are huge!  I usually feel like making big cookies is a waste because you end up with half the cookies, but sometimes it is fun to make big cookies just like you buy from the bakery.

The only other thing I found about these cookies is that the recipe calls for you to bake them until the edges are just turning brown.  I found that while the cookies were super soft and chewy, they were a little on the under-done side, especially because the cookie is so much bigger than usual cookie.  So I recommend bake the cookies the full 15-18 min. amount, if not a minute or two longer.  That way you get the chocolate chip cookie that melts in your mouth… and let’s face it now that it’s summer, it will probably melt in your hand too!

 Giant Chocolate Chip Cookies

(makes 18 large cookies)

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1 ½ cups chocolate chips

Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.  Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.  Mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

This next part you can skip if you don’t feel like it.  It is supposed to make your cookies have a nice jagged surface when the cookies bake, making them prettier, but I think it doesn’t really do much.  But just in case you want to do it:   Roll 1/4 cup (or a little less) of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

Lastly, bake until the cookies are light golden brown on the outer edges and puffy in the middle, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Enjoy with a large glass of milk!