What am I celebrating today?

August 4, 2021

Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!

I always followed the recipe on the back of the Nestle’s bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips . . . until I read King Arthur’s blog on cookie chemistry. Now, the Nestle recipe is still good, but King Arthur’s recipe is my new favorite.

Here is the blog post

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

2/3 cup (142g) light brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup (131g) granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (92g) vegetable shortening
3/4 teaspoon salt (use 1/2 teaspoon salt if you use salted butter)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional
1 teaspoon vinegar, cider or white
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
2 cups (240g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 cups (340g) semisweet chocolate chips*

*For cookies with extra chocolate in every bite, use up to 16 ounces (2 2/3 cups) chocolate chips.

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.
In a large bowl, combine the sugars, butter, shortening, salt, vanilla and almond extracts, vinegar, and baking soda, beating until smooth and creamy.
Beat in the egg, again beating until smooth. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is thoroughly combined.
Mix in the flour, then the chips. Perfect your technique Blog Cookie chemistry By PJ Hamel
Use a spoon (or a tablespoon cookie scoop) to scoop 1 1/4″ balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2″ between them on all sides; they’ll spread.
For enticing salty-sweet flavor, sprinkle a touch of sea salt atop the cookies before putting them in the oven, if desired.
Bake the cookies for 11 to 12 minutes, until their edges are chestnut brown and their tops are light golden brown, almost blonde.
Remove the cookies from the oven, and cool on the pan until they’ve set enough to move without breaking. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Store cookies, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 5 days; freeze for longer storage.