I am a stress baker. There, I said it. I feel better now, not because I said but because if I bake it, I eat it.
You know how certain foods conjure up memories from your childhood? For me, those foods include homemade dill pickles (blue ribbon at the county fair, woot woot!), Frito salad, Hamburger Helper, and chocolate chip cookies. I still make and eat the cookies. The others...well, there's hope for the pickles, but that's about it.
Cookies have always been my hands-down favorite thing to bake. My mom and I spent countless hours experimenting to get just the right amount of cakey-ness. I'm not a big fan of flat, greasy cookies. I want to take a bite and actually feel like I am eating more than just sweet butter. But hey, that's my preference. The secret, I have found, is to use margarine, extra flour and a little extra sugar. I typically use butter in my baking (although I was raised on margarine), but this is one recipe where butter just doesn't cut it. It will leave you with a flat cookie.
When my son was younger (as if he's an old-timer at the age of five!), I used to stand him on a chair at the kitchen island and make him my helper. He thought it was really cool to pretend pour, mix and play with all the gadgets. Anything that he could pretend to plug in won his seal of approval. Now he'd rather attach a PVC pipe to his mouth and be a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, then eat the cookie after a hard day's work.
With the boy out of the picture, I enlisted the help of my 16 month old daughter. Umm, yeah, I totally thought that one through (as she was trying to grab at the balls of dough and became livid when she got a taste of one and wasn't allowed any more). It took a lot of maneuvering, but I managed to keep her hands out of the bowls and off the cookie sheets long enough to whip out a nice big batch.
And now, you can, too.
I wasn't planning on posting this recipe on my blog until after I made the batch, posted a picture on Facebook and was asked to post the recipe. So I apologize there are no before or during pictures of the dough, but I'm guessing we all know what cookie dough looks like, anyway.
You know how certain foods conjure up memories from your childhood? For me, those foods include homemade dill pickles (blue ribbon at the county fair, woot woot!), Frito salad, Hamburger Helper, and chocolate chip cookies. I still make and eat the cookies. The others...well, there's hope for the pickles, but that's about it.
Cookies have always been my hands-down favorite thing to bake. My mom and I spent countless hours experimenting to get just the right amount of cakey-ness. I'm not a big fan of flat, greasy cookies. I want to take a bite and actually feel like I am eating more than just sweet butter. But hey, that's my preference. The secret, I have found, is to use margarine, extra flour and a little extra sugar. I typically use butter in my baking (although I was raised on margarine), but this is one recipe where butter just doesn't cut it. It will leave you with a flat cookie.
When my son was younger (as if he's an old-timer at the age of five!), I used to stand him on a chair at the kitchen island and make him my helper. He thought it was really cool to pretend pour, mix and play with all the gadgets. Anything that he could pretend to plug in won his seal of approval. Now he'd rather attach a PVC pipe to his mouth and be a Coast Guard rescue swimmer, then eat the cookie after a hard day's work.
With the boy out of the picture, I enlisted the help of my 16 month old daughter. Umm, yeah, I totally thought that one through (as she was trying to grab at the balls of dough and became livid when she got a taste of one and wasn't allowed any more). It took a lot of maneuvering, but I managed to keep her hands out of the bowls and off the cookie sheets long enough to whip out a nice big batch.
And now, you can, too.
I wasn't planning on posting this recipe on my blog until after I made the batch, posted a picture on Facebook and was asked to post the recipe. So I apologize there are no before or during pictures of the dough, but I'm guessing we all know what cookie dough looks like, anyway.
The BEST Thick and Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients:
1 c margarine (2 sticks), softened but not melted
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 (12-oz) bag chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In medium bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In large bowl, mix margarine and sugars on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs and beat until combined. Add vanilla and combine.
4. Gradually add flour mixture to large bowl, mixing in between, until just combined. (I usually do 3 batches.)
5. Mix in chocolate chips.
6. Place dough in 1-in balls on non-stick cookie sheet. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until sides and top just start to brown. Cool for a few minutes, then move to wire rack to finish cooling.
Makes approx 4 dozen.
Ingredients:
1 c margarine (2 sticks), softened but not melted
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 (12-oz) bag chocolate chips
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In medium bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In large bowl, mix margarine and sugars on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs and beat until combined. Add vanilla and combine.
4. Gradually add flour mixture to large bowl, mixing in between, until just combined. (I usually do 3 batches.)
5. Mix in chocolate chips.
6. Place dough in 1-in balls on non-stick cookie sheet. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes, or until sides and top just start to brown. Cool for a few minutes, then move to wire rack to finish cooling.
Makes approx 4 dozen.