There is this phenomenon that happens among most groups of people where a person comments on something they ate at a specific place and enjoyed very much, then another one in the group says something like “oh, yeah, that is a great spot. But you know what? I know this other place that serves the same whatever and it is way better than where you mentioned”. It’s a law, people are always going to passively trash on anything they unconsciously consider to be less good than the things they like. The same goes for homemade chocolate chip cookie recipes, everyone thinks theirs is the best. One of them is probably right, but the truth is, as with everything in life, chocolate chip cookies are a matter of taste and making them is a learning process.
First Batch of Cookies
The first batch you bake is not going to be great, that is a guarantee. But you go and keep on trying, you are going to get better at it and, eventually, you will find your own “I know this amazing chocolate chip cookie recipe” to passively trash on your friends who have just told you about theirs. This post is meant to help you with that process, we are going to give you two chocolate chip cookie recipes that are not the best but are a pretty good ground to start building your own amazing batch.
General Rules For Cookie Baking
Well Measured Flour and Butter
There are a couple of main principles that guide every cookie recipe. First, the best results always come from well measured flour and butter, while it can be tempting to go crazy with the butter, keep those impulses under control. Cookies baked with over generous amounts of butter tend to come out mushy and more dough like, even when properly baked. As for flour, if too little, cookies come out under cooked when not burned, if too much, they end up crispy instead of crunchy.
Baking Time
The second principle is baking time. Be disciplined with the time, cookies need constant stable 375 degrees Fahrenheit heat for about ten minutes, or 190 degrees Celsius. Your tell is going to be the edge of the cookie. If the edge seems right, they are good to go, even if the middle looks undercooked. Cookies continue to bake a little outside the oven, so take them out when you see the edge begin to turn brown and leave them out to cool down.
Do Not Overmix
Finally, the golden rule of cookies, do not overmix. Dough should have the consistency of ice cream, thick enough so it doesn’t run on the frying pan and soft enough so you can scoop a ball with ease. In mixing terms, that means no more than a dozen turns with a spatula. Immediately after flour mixes with the liquid mix, stop turning.
Simple Recipes For Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
For 12 cookie batches, not more, at least while you tweak the recipes to your own taste, the ingredient list is as follows.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup of molten butter
- ½ cup white sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- Vanilla extract (To taste, 1 teaspoon recommended)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder or soda
- Pinch of salt
- 1 ½ cups flour (all purpose)
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks
Instructions:
Mix the butter with the sugars until you get a smooth foam. Add the egg and beat along with the vanilla. You should have a batter thick enough, so it leaves a two-second string when lifted with a fork. Use a spoon of water to dissolve the baking powder and add with the pinch of salt. Add the chocolate chips or chunks and powder the flour over the mix. Stir slowly until flour disappears and stop. Take an ice cream scoop or a spoon and drop the dough at inch distance in a baking pan covered with a baking sheet.
Put the pan inside the preheated oven (375 degrees F) and cook for 10 minutes. Check cookies and, if ready, take them out. Let them cool to room temperature.
No Brown Sugar Recipe
Ingredients:
- ½ cup of softened butter
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon baking powder or soda
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 1 cup and 2 spoons flour (all purpose)
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
- ¼ cup white chocolate chips
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions:
Mix the butter with the sugar to a paste. Add the egg and beat the mix until you see it flow evenly. Sift in the salt, the baking powder with the flour. Mix everything with large slow circle motions. Add the chocolate, white chocolate and nuts. Stir slowly. Use a tablespoon to drop the dough on a baking pan.
Put the pan inside the preheated oven (375 degrees F) and cook for 8 minutes. Check for golden edges around the cookies and take them out. Let them cool.
Both Recipes Are Kind Of The Same, Right?
Yes. Most dishes are quite versatile as to the process one must follow to cook them, cookies are as well. The main steps are consistent, creaming the butter with the sugar, adding and beating the egg, adding the flour and stop before overmixing.
What changes are the little details, like the amount and type of sugar, the type of chocolate, the extra ingredients like nuts. That is the fun part of cookie baking, going around the process several times, each of them changing something to taste, a little bit more of this, but less of that, until finally you find the exact recipe for you. Maybe it’s a tad crunchier cookie that dips well in milk, so a minute more in the oven, or a little less butter. Maybe it’s a more cookie, less chocolate ratio you want, so add a dash more of vanilla extract and take a quarter cup of chips. It doesn’t matter, cookies are great. Go make your own.
