By Sherrie Norris
The second week of March has been declared Chocolate Chip Cookie Week. Why not? It’s one of the most popular of all cookies, if not the most popular cookie of all times, so of course, it deserves its week in the spotlight. You might be wondering, are there really enough different types of chocolate chip cookies in existence to warrant a food column devoted to its cause? Oh, you bet there are! Some folks like them soft and chewy, others like them thin and crispy. Some call for nuts, coconut, other fruits or various ingredients that might be hanging out on the pantry shelf. I’ve rounded up several recipes that might offer you a few variations — from the original to those with more unique personalities.
For that one very favorite and well-known cookie, we’re told that It all started back in 1939. Ruth Wakefield, who ran the successful Toll House Restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts, was mixing a batch of cookies when she decided to add broken pieces of Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate into the recipe — expecting the chocolate to melt. Instead, the semi-sweet bits held their shape and softened to a delicate creamy texture. It was then, legend tells us, that the chocolate chip cookie was born.
Ruth’s ‘Toll House Crunch Cookie’ recipe was published in a Boston newspaper and her invention of the chocolate chip cookie quickly became the most popular cookie of all-time.
The Original Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
¾ up granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Nestlé Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts (if omitting, add 1-2 Tbsps. all-purpose flour)
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 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.
Best Ever Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie
8 Tbsps. salted butter
½ cup white sugar
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Microwave butter to barely melt if for about 40 seconds. With electric mixer, beat butter with sugars until creamy. Add vanilla and the egg; beat on low until just incorporated – about 10-15 seconds. Beating the egg for too long will result in harder cookies.
Add flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until crumbly. Press crumbles together into a dough with your clean hands, forming a large ball that’s easy to handle — not too wet, not too dry. Add chocolate chips and mix in with your hands.
Roll the dough into 12 large balls and place on a cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes until cookies look puffy and dry and just barely golden.
Do not overbake. Remove from oven even if they don’t look done.
Cool on pan for a about 30 minutes They will lose their puffiness and will become dense, buttery, soft cookies that no one can resist.
Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
¾ cup butter, softened (regular or vegan)
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. salt
¾ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
½-¾ cup pecans, roughly chopped (plus more for topping)
Preheat oven to 350°F; line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, or regular bowl and a handheld mixer, combine butter and sugars, mixing until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
Add in the egg and vanilla; beat until just combined. Do not over-mix or dough will be tough.
Mix in the flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda until a dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans; mix until just combined.
Using a medium cookie scoop or spoon, place dough/balls on baking sheet around 3 to 4 inches apart. Sprinkle more pecans and/or chocolate chips on top of each ball of dough, if desired
Bake cookies, one pan at a time for even baking, for 8-11 minutes. Remove from the oven when the edges look set. They will still look under-baked in the middle, but don’t worry! After about 5 minutes, move them to a cooling rack.
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