Alton Brown's "The Chewy" Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've made these cookies several times now, and they have always been a huge hit. It's hard to even feel motivated to try a different chocolate chip cookie recipe. I also use this dough in the center of my cookie dough cuppycakes now.



Alton Brown's "The Chewy"
(Adapted from Food Network with only minimal modifications.)

INGREDIENTS
* 2 sticks unsalted butter
* 2 1/4 cups bread flour (it's really important to use bread flour)
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 egg yolk
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I use Ghirardeli)


INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 375 degrees F. (Note: I usually preheat my oven to 25 degrees lower than what recipes say, because it runs about 10 degrees hot and also I use nonstick bakeware. So I actually baked these at 350.)

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda and set aside. (Note: Be careful to melt the butter slooooowly. If you do it too quickly - i.e. on too high a heat - it will separate and you'll end up with greasy cookies.)

Pour the melted butter in the mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar. Cream the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the egg, yolk, 2 tablespoons milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough, then scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheets (I skipped the parchment because my nonstick baking sheets are AWESOME), 6 cookies per sheet. (AB says to use a #20 disher to scoop the cookies. I use a large OXO cookie scoop, which according to the Internets, is the same size.)

Bake for 14 minutes (my cookies took about 14-15 minutes - keep an eye on them or they'll burn) or until golden brown, checking the cookies after 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet for even browning. Cool completely and store in an airtight container.

NOTE: I chill my dough for 24-36 hours before baking the cookies (though AB doesn't say to do this). I find that it really improves the flavor of the cookies. Your mileage may vary.

Chewy Chocolate Cherry Cayenne Cookies

Taken from here.



INGREDIENTS
* 1/4 cup flour
* 1/4 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
* 8 oz (1 1/3 cups) bittersweet chocolate chips or squares, 63 % to 70% cacao
* 4 Tbs butter, unsalted
* 2 Tbs brewed espresso (I used espresso powder dissolved in boiling water)
* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
* 1 tsp cayenne powder
* 2 large eggs
* 2/3 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup dried cherries
* 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
* 1/4 cup chopped pecans


INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven 375°. (Note: I usually preheat my oven to 25 degrees lower than what recipes say, because it runs about 10 degrees hot and also I use nonstick bakeware. So I actually baked these at 350.)

In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Set aside.

In a double boiler or pot of simmering (not boiling) water with a heat-safe bowl set on top as shown, melt the bittersweet chocolate and butter. When melted, turn off heat and add espresso, vanilla and cayenne. Stir. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl or standing electric mixer (if you have one use it, I don’t and this saddens me but at least I get a workout) beat the eggs with an electric mixer on high just until frothy about 2 minutes. Slowly add sugar and beat on high until egg and sugar mixture is thick, about 13 more minutes. (Note: I ended up beating the egg and sugar mixture for about 14-15 minutes.)

Gently fold using a spoon or spatula cooled chocolate mixture into egg and sugar mixture. Fold until partially combined. Add flour and carefully fold again until partially combined. Next add the dried cherries, semi-sweet chocolate chips and pecans. Fold until everything is just mixed. Be careful not to over mix and deflate the eggs. If the mixture is a little runny, chill in refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place small spoonfuls of cookie batter (I used a small cookie scoop that's about 3/4 of a tablespoon) onto baking sheet. Leave about 2 inches between each cookie (I put 8 cookies on each baking sheet).

Set in oven and bake for 9 minutes. Oven times do vary. What you are looking for is a shiny brownie-like crust.

When finished, cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then remove from the baking sheet and place on a cooling rack.

Thick, Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I stole this recipe shamelessly from Smitten Kitchen, with only a couple changes.



INGREDIENTS
* 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
* 1-1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
* 3/4 cup raisins (I recommend Newman's Own organic)


INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F. (Note: I usually preheat my oven to 25 degrees lower than what recipes say, because it runs about 10 degrees hot and also I use nonstick bakeware. So I actually baked these at 325. I also didn't use parchment paper and my cookies were fine.)

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together. Stir this into the butter/sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins.

Cover the dough and chill it in the fridge for at least one hour. Using cold dough helps the cookies bake up thick and chewy.

Roll dough into balls of about 1.5 tablespoons each. I use a medium OXO cookie scoop and put 9 cookies on each cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes taking them out when golden at the edges but still a little undercooked-looking on top (mine took about 14 minutes). Let the cookies sit on the hot baking sheet for five minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.

Yields about 3 dozen cookies.

Paula Deen's Monster Cookies (Rawr!)

Apparently, monster cookies are well-loved by a lot of people, but I had never heard of them until recently when I found the recipe on Paula Deen's website. Now I've made them twice in the past month or so just because they are so easy to make and people always seem to love them.



Monster Cookies
(makes 36 cookies)

INGREDIENTS
* 1/4 cup raisins, optional (I recommend Newman's Own organic raisins)
* 1/2 cup chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup multi-colored chocolate candies
* 1 stick butter, softened
* 1 12-ounce jar creamy peanut butter
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
* 3 eggs
* 2 teaspoon baking soda
* 4 1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal (not instant)


INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats.

(Note: I usually preheat my oven to 25 degrees lower than what recipes say, because it runs about 10 degrees hot and also I use nonstick bakeware. So I actually baked these at 325. And I did not use the parchment paper for these cookies and they were fine.)

In a very large mixing bowl, combine the eggs and sugars. Mix well. Add the salt, vanilla, peanut butter, and butter. Mix well. Stir in the chocolate candies, chocolate chips, raisins, if using, baking soda, and oatmeal. Drop by tablespoons 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets (I actually used a medium OXO cookie scoop, which is 1.5 tbsp).

Bake for 8-10 minutes (my cookies were a little larger and took 14-15 minutes to bake). Do not overbake. Let stand for about 3 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool. When cool, store in large resealable plastic bags (or an airtight container like the one I use, pictured below).

Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies

This was my first time making peanut butter cookies. I lovingly borrowed this recipe from here.



Peanut Butter Crinkle Cookies

INGREDIENTS
* 1 cup butter
* 1 cup creamy peanut butter
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 1 cup sugar
* 2 eggs (room temperature)
* 2 tsps vanilla extract
* 2 1/2 cups flour
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1 cup powdered sugar (or more as needed for rolling)


INSTRUCTIONS

The original recipe says to preheat your oven to 350. I usually preheat my oven to 25 degrees lower than what recipes say, because it runs about 10 degrees hot and also I use nonstick bakeware. So I actually baked these at 325.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper (I skipped this step).

Place powdered sugar in shallow bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and peanut butter. Once combined beat in the white sugar, and brown sugar until well blended. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Gently add to creamed mixture and mix until almost combined. Chill dough for 10-20 minutes.

Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Gently roll the dough balls into powdered sugar and place dough balls on parchment lined baking sheets. Carefully press down on each ball with a glass to flatten tops slightly. (NOTE: The cookies that turned out the best for me were the ones I pressed into thick disks (almost like a round Tinker Toy piece shape.)

Bake for 10-12 minutes (it was actually 16 minutes for me) in the preheated oven, or until top is crinkly and edges are set. Cool on sheet for 10 minutes and transfer to baking rack to finish cooling.

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

Someone posted this recipe on LiveJournal, and I just had to try it. It's a Martha Stewart recipe. Martha is my hero, and I don't care who knows it.




INGREDIENTS
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 cup Dutch cocoa powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
* 2 cups sugar, plus more for dipping (the "dipping" sugar should be the raw kind)
* 2 large eggs
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract


INSTRUCTIONS

1. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, 2 cups sugar, and eggs on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix to combine. Gradually add dry ingredients, and combine with mixer on low speed. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and chill until dough is firm, about 1 hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with Silpat baking mats. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Dip top of each ball into sugar. Place on prepared baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until set, about 8 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

(I have nonstick cookie sheets, so I preheated my oven to 325 degrees and I believe the cookies stayed in the oven for 10-11 minutes. Also, I did not use the Silpat baking mats.)