Gifts of Food
Here are some tips for preparing, delivering and receiving food during today’s difficult times:
AN AMERICAN FAVORITE - Chocolate Chip Cookies are a true American creation. According to folklore, one afternoon in 1937 Ruth Graves Wakefield was out of Baker’s chocolate for her Butter Do Drop cookie recipe. She figured a Nestlé’s semi-sweet chocolate bar would work so she chopped that up thinking it would simply melt and spread throughout the dough — but it held its chipped shape and thus chocolate CHIP cookies were created. Ruth, being no fool, later approached Nestlé’s with the creation and struck a deal to receive free chocolate for life in exchange for printing her recipe. Ever since then, cooks have sought to improve on the original Toll House recipe. This superb version comes from Edible Kentucky’s own Chef Meagan Jeanette.
Ingredients
SERVINGS: 3 dozen Cookies
- 2 cups Weisenberger Mill all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (2 sticks) Kerrygold salted butter, melted low and slow so it doesn’t separate (if you don’t use salted butter, then add 2 tsp salt to dry ingredients)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, Mexican is best (I scrape in half a vanilla bean, too, if I have one)
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 and 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, Callebaut or Guittard or best you can find.
- Optional: 1 square Amore di Mona Dark Chocolate bulk bar or 1/4c dark chocolate chips, roughly chopped (this will melt while cooking and create a slight marbled effect).
- Optional: Kosher salt as needed
Instructions
- Crispy outside, chewy inside cookies.
Sift together the flour and baking soda; set aside.
Place granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium high speed for about 5 minutes, until mixture falls off the whisk in thick ribbons. I often use an immersion blender with a whisk instead of a stand mixer and it works just as well.
Add brown sugar and melted butter to egg mixture. Mix on medium speed with paddle attachment (or hand mixer) just until combined. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until almost combined but some dry flour still remains, 10-15 seconds. Add chocolate chips and mix on low just until combined. Repeat with chopped dark chocolate. Cover and refrigerate dough for as long as you can stand to wait (overnight is best, but I know that’s asking a lot).
Place both oven racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 325°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Thaw dough in room temp until mostly soft but still cool (check at 30 minutes). Using a 1oz scoop or spoon, drop cookie dough onto the prepared cookie sheets 3 inches apart. For best results, create “craggy” cookies by tearing the dough ball in half and then mushing them back together with the craggy torn parts facing up.
Transfer to oven and bake 14-16 minutes. At 7 minutes, rotate cookie sheets from front to back and switch their rack positions. Remove from oven when cookies are golden brown on the edges, but still soft in the middle. Let sit on tray for 3-5 minutes to firm up, and then cool on a wire rack.
Optional (but highly recommended): While still hot, top cookies with a sprinkling of kosher salt.
Notes: You’ll want to keep the dough cool while baking multiple batches, so put back in fridge occasionally. Make sure cookie sheets are completely cool before reloading.
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