Chocolate Chip Cookies

You may or may not know this about me, but I am not a raging chocoholic (shocker, I know!). My tastes run more to oatmeal raisin, anything cinnamon-y, a good old-fashioned coffee cake - you get the gist.

But last week, for some really strange reason, I had a desire for chocolate chip cookies. I had recently run across a recipe from Nigella Lawson that looked terrific. As I do, she likes chocolate chip cookies that are neither too thin/crispy, nor too fat/doughy. She claimed to have perfected the ultimate cookie. And since I was having this totally out of the ordinary (for me) craving, I thought this would be THE recipe to try. 

Her recipe calls for milk chocolate morsels, but when I saw espresso chips in the store, I had to have them. I’m glad I made the swap. The espresso chips give the cookies a much deeper, richer flavor (highly recommend!).

This recipe makes 14 large cookies. Another cookie pet peeve of mine is the  trend toward BIG cookies - I just don’t get it. I made them according to the directions, but I think next time (yes, these were so good there will be a next time), I will make them a tad smaller.

Besides the chips, the only other change I made was to add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, which I think is essential. 

The cookies have the perfect texture and flavor that I want in a chocolate chip cookie. Whip up a batch and let me know if you agree! All chocolate chip cookie opinions are welcome here.

Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Nigella Lawson)

Ingredients:

1-1/4 sticks soft, unsalted butter

2/3 C soft light brown sugar

1/2 C superfine sugar (I used regular granulated sugar)

2 t pure vanilla extract

1 egg (fridge-cold)

1 egg yolk (fridge-cold)

2 C all-purpose flour

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 9 oz bag espresso morsels

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F
2. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
3. Melt butter and let it cool a bit. Put the brown and white sugars into a  mixer bowl, pour the slightly cooled, melted butter over them and beat together.
4. Beat in the vanilla, the cold egg, and cold egg yolk until your mixture is light and creamy.
5. Slowly mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt until just blended, then fold in the chips.
6. Scoop the cookie dough into a 1/4 C measure or a quarter-cup round ice cream scoop, and drop onto the prepared baking sheet, plopping the cookies down about 3” apart. You will need to make these in two batches, keeping the bowl of cookie dough in the fridge between batches.
7. Bake for 15-17 minutes in the pre-heated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks.

Make ahead: the cookies can be made up to 3 days ahead and stored in an airtight container. Will keep for a total of 5 days.

Freeze: the baked cookies can be frozen in an airtight container or resealable bag for up to 3 months. Defrost for 2-3 hours at room temp. Unbaked cookie dough can be scooped onto parchment-lined baking sheets and frozen until solid. Transfer frozen dough to resealable bags and freeze up to 3 months. Bake direct from frozen, as directed in the recipe, but adding an extra 2-3 minutes to the baking time. And you could always freeze the spare egg white (bag it, label it, freeze for up to 3 months) for meringues at a later date. Use within 24 hours of defrosting.