Chock-Full of Chocolate Chips

Who doesn't love birthdays?! Stop pretending you don't! Okay, so maybe you stop loving your own birthday as time goes on, but you still love other people's birthdays, right? Well I do. Perhaps I'm weird like that. But I love to bake goodies for friends and family on their birthday...........whether they want me to or not!


My friend DV's birthday is this week so I dug through my books and files and found a new cookie recipe to try. Ever wonder how many chocolate chips a single cookie can hold? I'd say this many:

This recipe came from The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook, it's the cover recipe and it certainly lives up to the esteem! I like my chocolate chip cookies warm and gooey, slightly crisp around the edges but deliciously doughy in the center. These....are perfect. And extra chocolatey!

Chock-Full of Chocolate Chip Cookies
adapted slightly from The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook 


Ingredients
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
6 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 oz (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 oz (2 cups) milk chocolate chips


Directions
1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute.  Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.  Add the egg and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute.  The mixture may look slightly curdled.  On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated.  Mix in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

4. Use a Tablespoon to drop heaping spoonfuls of dough (about 3 level Tablespoons each) onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies 3 inches apart.

5. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the edges are lightly browned and the centers are golden, about 15 minutes.  Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes.  The cookies will flatten slightly as they cool.  Use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

6. The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Yield: 27 large cookies (I ended up with 24).

Yes, milk is going to be necessary with these bad boys!