More Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Can one ever REALLY have or try too many chocolate chip cookie recipes? Hmm, maybe I shouldn't ask for an answer to that one!

This is a recipe that we've tried at least once before, but I was surprised to find I hadn't blogged about it. It comes from The New Best Recipe, a cookbook from Cook's Illustrated that is definitely under utilized in this house. I keep forgetting about it and that's a shame - there are a lot of great recipes inside.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This chocolate chip cookie strays from the typical recipe by melting the butter (great for those of us, like me, who want to make cookies NOW and don't want to wait for the butter to soften) and by using one whole egg along with one egg yolk. As usual, I did not make the 1/4-cup sized cookies, but used a regular-sized cookie scoop. Though I'm sure this alters the texture of the cookies a bit, they still come out nice and chewy. Speaking of chewy, testers claim that allowing the cookies to cool on the baking sheets will promote chewiness. I can't attest to that fact. Though I did allow some of the cookies to cool on the baking sheets, I had to remove some before they were thoroughly cooled so that I could use the cookie sheet again. And now of course, I have no idea which are which and can't compare.

These cookies have the wonderful, buttery, butterscotchy flavor of a Toll House cookie, but they keep their shape better. I know many, many folks who have troubles with the Toll House cookies spreading too much and getting too crispy. Other times, I find that Toll House are more soft than chewy - I like chewy. I think the Cook's Illustrated cookies spread a little more for me this time than they did last time because I did not let the butter cool down enough. Did I mention that I'm a bit impatient?

Toll House still have the best overall flavor to me, but these cookies still have most of that great flavor but with a significant improvement in texture. Overall though, I'm thinking that the Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies might be my favorite. They have ALL the buttery taste of Toll House, but a much better texture - nice and chewy. Still, there are chocolate chip cookie recipes out there that get great reviews that I have yet to try.......so this probably won't be the last chocolate chip cookie post here. Surprise, surprise.

Before I go, I'd like to add a relevant product review. I normally use Ghirardelli's Bittersweet Chocolate Chips when I bake, but I did not have enough left for this recipe, so I used a bag of Nestle Chocolatier 53% dark chocolate morsels that I got for free using a coupon. I liked the idea that these were an even darker chip than the Ghirardelli, but I did not care for these at all. The texture was a bit gritty - my big complaint with chocolates like Hershey's or Nestle - and the flavor was not deep, rich and chocolate - there was something "off" about it. I tried the chips side by side and the Ghirardelli - smooth and creamy, with a nice chocolate flavor - won by a mile. If taste weren't reason enough to never buy the Nestle chips again, the Nestle Chocolatier chips are more expensive and come in 10-ounce bags instead of 12-ounce. No contest on this one.