Chocolate Chip Cookie (Dough)

I know, just in time for swimsuit season... but seriously, when my kids get out of the pool, they are STARVING!  So I mixed up a batch of these.  I roll them into a log and put them in the fridge, and then they operate just like slice-n-bake... or use a scooper and freeze them.

  And you are never more than 15 minutes away from warm, fresh-out-of-the-oven deliciousness.

But let's be honest.  Although (when baked) these cookies are the PERFECT mix of crispy and chewy, melty, gooey, (why did I make these again!)... they are more often consumed in their doughy state.  Chocolate chip cookie dough = heaven.  Just ask my babysitters!

** A quick notes/ updates on this recipe: after two years, this is still one of my favorite go-to recipes, and these can be found in my freezer right now.  But I forgot to include something in the original recipe -- if you ARE going to bake the cookies, they are so much better if you chill them first (either 30 minutes in the freezer or 2 hours in the fridge, minimum).

And... it's similar to the one on the back of the Nestle package, but it uses a yolk instead of an extra egg, and it reverses the ration of brown and white sugars, completely changing the texture of the cookie into something more amazing.


Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

3/4 cup butter, softened or melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325.
Put the butter in a mixer and mix on high until fluffy.  Add sugars and mix on high for 2-3 minutes.
Add the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk.  Beat until light and creamy.  Add the salt, soda, and flour.  Mix until JUST combined.
Mix in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough - either in the fridge (if you don't want to scoop it first), or use a small ice cream scoop to drop the cookies onto a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper) and freeze them.

After the dough is cold, place the cookies about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. 

Bake at 325 for 12 minutes or so (times will vary depending on the size of each cookie - you want a brown rim around the bottom edge).

To store:
1. To refrigerate (lasts 1 week, if you're that lucky).  Shape into a log.  Roll up in plastic wrap.  Store in the refrigerator OR
2. To freeze (lasts up to 6 months, although again they have never made it that long in my house).  Scoop dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Remember that these cookie balls can be closer to each other - freezing cookie dough does not make it spread.
Flash freeze for 30 minutes.  Store in a zip-top bag in the freezer.

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven.  Put in the frozen cookies.  You may need to flatten them after the first 5 minutes of baking, and they will probably take longer to cook - 15 minutes or so.

Baby = COOKIE MONSTER!  He loves them.