I am a dessert person.
(I hear longtime readers saying, “duh” in unison. Hi guys! I love you!)
Most days it’s nothing extravagant – a few spoonfuls of full-fat plain yogurt with a drizzle of maple syrup, a few soft dates, a piece of juicy in-season fruit or – in the dead of winter – some half-thawed frozen cherries.
But sometimes (okay… very, very often) nothing but a cookie or sliver of cake will scratch the itch.
My sister Kathleener-wienerbean-McNugget (others call her Katie) and I are both CCC maniacs. Though we each have our favourite version that we consider the best, we agree that they are absolutely perfect when the cookie has cooled but the chocolate is still melty.
This version is MY best – perfect chewy-crispy balance; enough brown sugar to lend a heady caramel undertone and nice chew without overwhelming the flavour or making them too soft; just the right amount of flour so that they hold a nice toothsome texture that’s thick enough, but not cakey; studded with shards of good quality dark chocolate rather than Chipits; enough salt to nuance the dough beyond just sweet, and a good hit of vanilla.
Because there’s just the two (well, three, but little peanut has yet to experience sugar-butter nirvana) of us here, I usually bake about 6 cookies fresh and freeze the rest of the dough.
I just portion it out in tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet, and pop the dough balls in the freezer until firm. Then I zip them into a freezer bag, and have cookies ready to throw in the oven at a moment’s notice (just reduce the oven temp by 25 degrees F and bake for a couple minutes longer – watch them, you’ll know when they’re done).
I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to share these with you – it’s like when you forget to tell your big news to your best friend because you just assume you’ve already told her. Do you do that?
Go bake CCCs!
Extra-Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to between 60-65ºF
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg cold is fine
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 â…” cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp coarse salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Combine butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low until combined, then gradually increase to medium-high (setting 6 on a KitchenAid) and set timer for 5 minutes, pausing once to scrape down sides and bottom of mixer bowl.
- Beat in egg and vanilla extract and beat on medium-low speed until fluffy without any wet streaks, about 1 min. Again, pause to scrape down the bowl.
- BReduce mixer speed to low and incorporate flour mixture to just combine, scraping down mixer bowl again once or twice. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Using 1 ½ tbsp of dough for each cookie, roll into balls. Place about 3 in apart on 2 parchment paper–lined baking sheets. Bake one sheet at a time in centre of oven until edges are golden and centres appear slightly paler but not wet; 9-11 minutes.
- Remove pans from oven. Immediately bang the pan sharply on the counter to deflate cookies them if they’re puffy in the middle. Use a spoon or rim of glass overturned glass to gently re-shape the cookies into perfect circles. and press in a few more chocolate chips if you like.
- Let cool for 5 minutes on the pan before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
