Cookies!

What's Christmas without cookies? Furthermore what better cookie is there than the chocolate chip? It's the classic. Developed in 1933 when Ruth Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, chopped up a Nestle semisweet chocolate bar and stirred the pieces into her cookie batter. She expected the chocolate to melt and make chocolate cookies. However, the pieces held their shape and the chocolate chip cookie was born. Immediately word of these new cookies spread and in 1939 Nestle began to offer packages of small pieces of chocolate, what we today refer to as chocolate chips. Every package of chocolate chips, to this is day, includes the recipe Mrs. Wakefield developed on the back.

While Mrs. Wakefield's recipe may have the been the one I grew up on in my opinion it's far from the ideal chocolate chip cookie. Most likely due to two reasons. Number one the flour used in the original Toll House cookies was most likely a high-protein spring wheat, similar to the bread flour we have today. The recipe on the back of the package calls for all-purpose. Using all-purpose instead of bread flour would result in flat, dry cookies, as I'll explain later. Number two is at the Toll House Inn the dough was left to chill overnight. Chilling the dough allows the doughs' flavors to meld resulting in deeper levels of flavor. Also, a cooler dough melts at a higher temperature which means the cookies spread less in the oven.

When I want an outstanding chocolate chip cookie I look to one recipe and one recipe only. The Chewy from Alton Brown who featured it on his Food Network show Good Eats. The recipe stems off the original Toll House one, but deviates in some major places. One of the changes worth noting, as I explained earlier, is the use of bread flour. Today, I used King Arthur's Unbleached Bread Flour which has a protein content of 12.7%. This is higher than All-Purpose Flour which usually comes in around 10.5%. This is important because nearly all of the proteins in flour are either gluetenin or gliadin. When these proteins are mixed with water they from elastic sheets of gluten. When gluten is formed in a baked good it provides toughness and chewiness. Since bread flour has a higher protein content is can absorb more water, therefore producing more sheets of gluten which provide the cookie with chewiness. The water in this recipe is provided by melting the butter, each stick of butter is approximately 15% water. Also, to ensure that the cookie stays moist and chewy the recipe calls for 1 1/4 cup of light brown sugar compared to only 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Brown sugar is made by processing molasses with sugar crystals. Light brown sugar contains 3.5% molasses. Which is the key to keeping the cookies moist because it is hygroscopic, meaning it absorbs water from the atmosphere. More water equals more gluten which in turn produces more chewiness.

So if you are still using the recipe on the back of the package. I encourage you to try this one. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

The Chewy

-Adapted from Alton Brown, Good Eats

-2 sticks unsalted butter

-2 1/4 cups bread flour

-1/2 teaspoon table salt

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1/4 cup granulated sugar

-1 1/4 cup light brown sugar

-1 egg

-1 egg yolk

-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

-2 tablespoons milk

-2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter.

2. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, salt, and baking soda.

3. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugars. Once thoroughly creamed, add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla, and milk.

4. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Once combined, fold in the chocolate chips.

5. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, but preferably a few hours.

6. Once dough has been chilled preheat the oven to 375 F.

7. Scoop dough into round balls using an ice cream scoop. Place the dough balls 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheet. It is important that your balls of dough are the same size so that they will all be cooked at the same time.

8. Bake for about 12 minutes or until the edges began to brown. Rotating the baking sheet half way through to ensure even browning.

9. Once finished transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes.