Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hurricane Ike posed a threat to me. It might damage my apartment and therefore damage my kitchen, which means damage to my oven, which means that I couldn't bake.

Yes, I know. I exaggerated a little. But the feeling was true. I was actually anxious of the thought that I wouldn't be able to bake again for a while due to hurricane damage. So I decided to bake one last time before I left the apartment to evacuate. I thought of what to bake for the longest time and decided to bake a mocha chiffon cake and chocolate chip cookies for the following reasons:

1. They both don't need refrigeration
2. They are both relatively simple to bake

Since I've posted a lot of chiffon cake entries, I decided to just document the cookie part this time.



The recipe for this is taken from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours:


2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

8 oz unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 large eggs

12 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped into chips

1 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Center a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 375F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mat.

Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Then, working with a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for about 1 minute, until smooth. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after every addition.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing only until incorporated for every addition. Then, by hand with a rubber spatula, mix in the chocolate and nuts.

Spoon the dough by slightly rounded tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving about 2" of space between them. Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until they are brown at the edges and golden in the center. The cookies may still be a little soft in the middle but that's okay. Pull the sheets from the oven and allow them to rest for about 1 minute. Then carefully transfer them to cooling racks with a wide metal spatula to cool to room temperature.

I brought the chiffon and the cookies to Austin to share. I'm glad they liked it too!