Tart Bites: Chocolate Chip Cookies

Transcribed by Otter.ai; Lightly edited by Linda. Please forgive typos or grammar errors J

Episode 115 - Chocolate Chip Cookies

6:42 

Linda 00:00

Welcome to Tart Words. I'm your host, Linda Hengerer. And I'm a writer, a reader and a baker. I talk to writers about their latest book and what inspires them, chat with fellow author Suzanne Fox about what writers can learn from reading their favorite authors, and share fast and easy recipes for anyone looking for a sweet treat. Join me as I share Tart Bites, Tart Thoughts, and Tart Words. 

Welcome to Tart Bites. 

Today I'm talking about chocolate chip cookies. Everybody has their favorite recipe and I'm going to share mine with you today. Growing up, my mother baked Toll House Cookies using the recipe on the back of the bag. She modified the recipe, doubling the batter portion but keeping the same amount of chips the recipe called for. I loved them, and her cookies were very popular in the neighborhood.

As I grew up, I began baking the cookies using the recipe as written. I began experimenting in the past few years: I changed the sugars; I changed the flour; I changed the chips (both type and quantity); I played around with the type of nuts. My husband has nut issues, so I’ve taken out the nuts. I kept the AP (all-purpose) flour, but I like the mix of different chocolate chips (both flavor and size) and the addition of toffee chips.

My husband calls these cookies “Crack” because they are addictive. 

My Baking Tips:

I use room temperature, unsalted butter (I leave the sticks out for a few hours or overnight).

I use room temperature eggs (I leave them out for a few hours or overnight; you can also put them in a glass or bowl of lukewarm water for 5 minutes).

I firmly pack the brown sugars.

I refrigerate the dough for at least four hours, for easier handling, and I use a small ice cream scoop to form uniform cookies. 

When I bake the cookies, I pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and then turn it down to 385 degrees after I put the cookies in. After taking them out, I turn the oven up to 400 degrees for 2 minutes, then back down to 385 degrees when I put the next sheet in. 

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

½ cup granulated sugar

½ cup packed light brown sugar

½ cup packed dark brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 large eggs, room temperature

2/3 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate morsels

2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

2/3 cup milk chocolate chips

2/3 cup toffee chips/bits

2/3 cup chopped, toasted walnuts (OPTIONAL: Replace nuts with 2/3 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees if baking the same day; I refrigerate my dough for at least four hours before baking. I preheat the oven and fill two baking sheets before putting the first sheet in the oven, so I’m not trying to beat the clock to fill the next baking sheet.

Cream together softened butter, all sugars, and vanilla.

In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. 

In another bowl, combine all chips, bits, and nuts. Stir together to mix the layers of chips.

Add eggs, one at a time, to butter and sugar. Beat well after each egg is added. 

Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until all flour is just incorporated.

Add chips/bits/nuts, and mix in by hand.

04:13

Using a small scoop, or two teaspoons, place onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake for 9 minutes on a dark pan, or 11 minutes on a light pan, until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes before removing with spatula and placing on cooling rack. 

Cool completely before putting into an airtight container.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies (depending on the size of the cookies).

NOTE 1: For crisp cookies, cut open a brown paper bag and place on the counter with the inside of the bag face up. When you remove the cookies from the hot baking sheet, place them on the brown paper bag first. By the time all the cookies are off the hot baking sheet and on the brown paper bag, the cookies can be transferred to a cooling rack to cool down to room temperature. The brown paper bag absorbs some of the butter and moisture from the cookies so they will stay crisper longer in an air-tight container.

NOTE 2: When I double the recipe, I use 1 cup each of semi-sweet chocolate chips (mini and regular size), milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, and toffee bits. This is a total of five cups of chips to add in; adjust to your preference.

Variation - Cookie Cups:

Instead of using baking sheets, I use mini-muffin pans. The baking time is the same (11 minutes), and I keep them in the pan for 2 minutes to cool before removing them to a cooling rack. I use the handle end of a spoon to remove them; they’ll be soft, so be gentle. Because they don’t spread out, they aren’t as crispy as the cookies.

The cups can be filled with whatever you’d like, such as a scoop of ice cream, pudding, or caramel.

This recipe is delicious any way you make it!

Thank you for joining me this week. To view the complete show notes and the links mentioned in today's episode, visit tartwords.com/tart115. Follow now in the app you're using to listen to this podcast or sign up for email alerts through an easy signup form for bakers, readers, and writers at tartwords.com/about. Thank you again for joining me, Linda Hengerer, for this episode of Tart Bites.