Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's such an overwhelming decision, figuring out what to blog about first. And the past week has been so full of fun food adventures, it's hard to know where to start. But, I've made my choice and I'm going with something really classic that we can all relate to - Chocolate Chip Cookies. It's going to sound kind of all over the place but I kept thinking about this scene from the movie Stranger Than Fiction. (Which if you haven't seen it yet you MUST because it's one of my favorite love stories of all time. It's Will Farrell as stuffy tax man audits wild non-tax-paying baker Maggie Gyllenhaall and though it's unlikely they fall in love and he brings her "flours" sorry I just spoiled it but holy crap I melted into a little puddle when that part happened.) Anyway, here is the (grainy)clip so you don't have to read my blah blah blah recap of a movie:



So anyway, chocolate chip cookies, like the lady said, are pretty much the cure-all to any hardship. Think I'm being hyperbolic? Ok well come on over next time your day sucks and we'll see what I can do. My point is, unless you're like poor Howard Crick, you've probably had some form of dough with chocolate chips in it pulled out of the oven by your mama - or grandma or someone - and after the chocolate chips were cool enough to not remove the skin from the roof of your mouth you got to stick that thing in a glass of milk and eat it and yummmmmm. So now, to steal directly from Proust, when you have a real life adult crappy day, you can totally get that feeling back - I promise! - just by baking some chocolate chip cookies and eating them with a glass of milk (or soy milk or rice milk for our vegan and non-dairy friends out there). So the other day I was feeling just fine but I wanted some chocolate chip cookies and also needed some for my 16 mile run. (I like to fuel with chocolate chip cookies instead of Gu, though I'm starting to think I'll have to switch soon for these long distances.) ANYWAY (man I know how to get off track) I made some chocolate chip cookies.

Now, I used to make the recipe on the semi-sweet Ghiridelli chocolate chips bag but my ex-boyfriend always complained that his mom's were better and I have to say that I thought the recipe was a bit too sweet. So I tried the Joy of Cooking recipe and, for my taste, they were too buttery. How is that possible you ask? I mean, I would eat butter with a spoon if it was socially acceptable - and wouldn't make me morbidly obese - but when it comes to a chocolate chip cookie, I like something with substance. Which leads me to the true inspiration for this post. When I say too buttery, what I mean is that the butter to flour ratio was so high that they ended up being those types of chocolate chip cookies that are very thin and flat and melt in your mouth (cause they're made out of butter!). I took those ones to a gathering and people ate them up and went on about how good they were. So we all, I would say, have our own idea of what makes a good chocolate chip cookie. To me, a good chocolate chip cookie is thick but not too crunchy - about 1/4 inch, maybe even thicker, so that I have something to dunk in milk (I'm a big fan of dunking pretty much everything) and something really solid to crunch between my teeth. For this particular batch, I ended up adding flour to the last dozen or so cookies and they came out much more to my liking. The recipe I'm posting is the approximate variation I did on the Joy recipe. Also, a note about walnuts. I tend to think that they take a chocolate chip cookie from good to great. They also open the door for other really fun stuff - like the creation of Cowboy Cookies which I got from Martha Stewart last fall and include oats, coconut, and pecans in addition to chocolate chips. Yummmmm. Sooooo, I'm going to post my recipe below but would love to hear what other people think the perfect chocolate chip cookie means and whether they think they've found the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe In the World yet. I, for one, have not and am now officially on a mission. Enjoy (and thanks for listening to me ramble, that will get shorter I swear).

Kelly's Variation on JoC Chocolate Chip Cookies
Preheat the oven to 375. Grease or line 2 cookie sheets.

Whisk together:
1 3/4 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

Beat in a large bowl until well-blended:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

Add and beat until well combined:
1 large egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Stir in the flour mixture until well-blended and smooth. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup chopped walnuts(optional).

Drop the dough by heaping teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Bake, 1 sheet at a time, until the cookies are just slightly colored on top and the edges are brown, about 8 - 10 minutes. Let stand briefly, then remove to a rack to cool.

Makes about 36 cookies.