Let's Bake!

You know how you go through hundreds of chocolate chip cookie recipes and none of them ever seem to be just the right one? Well maybe that's just me....but I finally found the PERFECT one! Usually I would keep secrets like this to myself, but it's so good, I want everyone to know! Enjoy!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts, toasted, then coarsely chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Have ready 2 ungreased baking sheets. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper; set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on high speed, cream the butter until fluffy and pale yellow. Add the granulated and brown sugars and continue beating until the mixture is no longer gritty when rubbed between your finger and thumb. 

Add the egg and vanilla and beat on low speed until blended, occasionally stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. 

Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed or stir with a wooden spoon just until blended. Add the chocolate chips and the walnuts, if using, mixing or stirring just until blended.

Shape the dough into 1-inch balls or drop by rounded tablespoons onto the baking sheets, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies until golden brown around the edges, about 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool briefly on the pans on wire racks before transferring them to the racks to cool completely. 

Since it's just me and Chad at home, there is no way we are going to eat 3 dozen cookies. So, after I roll the dough into balls, instead of cooking all of them, I put the majority of the dough on a plate or in a freezer bag and stick it in the freezer. It makes it easy when you're carving a few, warm, delicious cookies. 

Another one of our favorites is to roll out the dough with a rolling pin and cut the dough into circles (trace a large cup). Drape it over the outside of a muffin tin and bake. Carefully remove the cookie from the pan and let it cool. Scoop ice cream into the cookie and you have just made yourself the most delicious, yummy and eatable bowl!