When I was a kid, my tastes for chocolate chip cookies were almost sacriligious. I prefered them out of the box to fresh from the oven.
Boxed cookie were verboten in my house - making their soft, chocolatey goodness so much sweeter when I got my hands on a box. Because the boxed cookies, found at the end of the grocery aisle with the donuts and coffee cakes, were far and away THE best. No sleeves of Chips Ahoy for me.
Fortunately, I've learned the error of my ways. So my family can celebrate Chocolate Chip Cookie Week the way it was meant to be honored - muching on homemade goodies a la my old French friend Nes-lay Toulouse (yes, that's Nestle Tollhouse to you party poopers).
Because like Monica in one of my favorite Friends episodes, I have resigned myself to the fact that all my home tinkering can't improve on the original . . . with one exception. I leave the chips up to my daughter. She's allowed to pull anything I have in the closet out for CCC baking - the white chips, the caramel swirled chips, the half butterscotch, the semi-sweet, the dark, the milk chocolate - and they all go in one big batch.
Yes - it's my kid who has improved on the classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. It seems fitting - chocolate chip cookies are, after all, the ultimate kid treat. Is there any kid that WON'T eat them?
Are you ready to celebrate? Chocolate Chip Cookie Week is the second week of March, and courtesy of Nestle Tollhouse, here's their famous recipe:
Ingredients:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) chips - they call for Nestle Tollhouse, of course, but throw in EVERYTHING you've got
- 1 cup chopped nuts (with all the nut allergies, I leave these out)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Combine
flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated
sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until
creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by
rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for nine to eleven minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for two minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Image: Very Best Baking
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