The Best Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies
Try this recipe for the best homemade chocolate chip cookies.
Try this recipe for the best homemade chocolate chip cookies.
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 3 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (i only use white lily which has a low protein content. if you're using flour with a higher protein content such as king arthur or pillsbury it may affect the results.)
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature (do not use margarine or any butter substitute. i only use land o lakes unsalted butter.)
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 1 12- ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips (i like ghirard
- 1 12- ounce package milk chocolate chips
- Carbohydrate 338.185860270791 g
- Cholesterol 1848.22166707298 mg
- Fat 397.518582654325 g
- Fiber 0.0176666666666667 g
- Protein 33.0346141631558 g
- Saturated Fat 244.923296514418 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (1128g)
- Sodium 1828.00533326002 mg
- Sugar 338.168193604125 g
- Trans Fat 30.1631990941641 g
- Calories 4972 calories
Step-by-step
- Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl to blend.
- Using electric or stand mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add white sugar and brown sugar and beat until well blended. (You should be creaming the butter 5-7 minutes until the texture and color are both light.)
- Add eggs and vanilla and beat until mixture is creamy and well blended.
- Gradually add flour mixture, stirring just until blended.
- Pour half of chocolate chips into the bottom of a large bowl and then add half the dough on top of the chips.
- Stir dough and chips together, then add more chips and more dough until all is mixed together.
- For best results, cover and place dough in refrigerator for 24-36 hours. You can bake these cookies immediately if you wish.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 and line cookie sheet with parchment paper or non-stick baking mat.
- Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough and roll into a ball and place on cookie sheet, giving each cookie plenty of room.
- Bake for 14-15 minutes until brown around the edges and pale brown in the middle.
- Cool slightly on cookie sheet.
- Transfer cookies to racks; cool completely.
Standard shortbread relies on a high ratio of solid fat to flour without chemical leaveners, whereas drop cookies utilize eggs and leavening agents to achieve structural lift and a chewier interior. Achieving the correct crumb requires deliberate selection of the base flour. Flours milled from soft winter wheat, possessing a lower protein percentage around nine percent, yield a tender bite by limiting gluten network formation. Substituting a high-protein bread flour or all-purpose flour milled from hard red spring wheat introduces significantly more gluten, resulting in a dense, bread-like chew rather than a delicate spread.
Fat selection dictates both spread during baking and moisture retention after cooling. Real dairy butter contains approximately eighty percent butterfat and twenty percent water. Margarine and plant-based spreads introduce variable water content and emulsifiers that alter the creaming phase. Creaming the butter and sugars for five to seven minutes incorporates microscopic air cells that expand under heat, which is essential for proper leavening. Skipping this mechanical aeration or substituting liquid vegetable oils produces greasy, flat disks that lack structural integrity.
Resting the dough in refrigeration for twenty-four to thirty-six hours allows the flour proteins to hydrate fully and the butter fats to resolidify. Baking chilled dough slows down the rate at which the butter melts in the oven, reducing outward spread and concentrating the caramelization of sugars. Ovens should be preheated to 325 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure the exterior sets at an optimal rate while the center remains pale and soft. Pulling the sheets when the edges turn brown and the middle stays pale prevents over-baking.
Common failures typically stem from rushing the mixing and cooling stages. Overworking the dough after adding the flour activates excess gluten, leading to tough edges. Furthermore, placing hot unlined baking sheets into the oven or overcrowding the pan restricts airflow and prevents even thermal transfer across the batch.
