I thought a long time about which recipe to choose for the first post on my brand new food blog…and this is it. CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES! Who doesn’t like chocolate chip cookies? (If you don’t, I wouldn’t say it out loud.) Well, I’ve tried a lot of different recipes for these things, and this is the one I like the most. The ingredients are the same as most chocolate chip recipes. Just a few things you do a little differently when mixing, and the best thing is…you don’t need to dirty your mixer! Just a frying pan (that’s right..I said frying pan), a bowl, a wooden spoon and a little muscle. Give ’em a try. I bet you’ll like them.

1. Brown the butter.

2.Add sugars, salt and vanilla and whisk.

3. Add egg and yolk and whisk some more.

4. Repeat.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted (optional)

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two large baking sheets (18 x 12 inch) with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Heat 10 tablespoons butter in a 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown with a nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using a heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to a large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into hot butter until completely melted.Add both sugars, salt and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking two more times until mixture is thick, shiny and smooth. Using wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about one minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough a final stir to insure no flour pockets remain.
3. Divide dough into 16-24 portions, each about 2 – 3 tablespoons. Arrange dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 – 12 balls per sheet. Do not crowd.
4. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 – 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet half way through baking. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack and cool cookies completely. ENJOY!

   (Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated and America’s Test Kitchen)