My new favorite cookie - Alton Brown's Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

During Covid-19, we have been staying at home. I have the essentials, luckily, flour, eggs, sugar, and butter. And with those you can make lots of things. Mostly baked goods. This has been a time for me to experiment and try new recipes. And I thought this would be a good time to find the ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie.

I have had my share of chocolate chip cookies. I have always loved cookies. I have quite the sweet tooth. As a child, like most, I would enjoy eating my cookies with milk. Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, graham crackers, and all cookies alike would be dipped in milk and thoroughly enjoyed while I sat on the floor watching a movie.

Not much has changed. I still love eating cookies and my boyfriend absolutely loves chocolate chip cookies. He likes them soft, chewy and filled of chocolate chips. As I have gotten older, I like my cookies crisp on the outside and soft and chewy in the inside.

I have tried countless recipes over the years searching for the perfect cookie. For years I used the recipe on the back of the Ghirardelli chocolate chip bags. It was our favorite cookie for years. It was classic and still is. It is one of my favorites. It can be a soft and chewy cookie if left in the oven for a short amount of time or crispy if left in the oven longer.

Yet, I have always been on the hunt to see if there could be even a better recipe. And I found it! It is from Alton Brown and if you love a soft, chewy cookie filled of chocolate chips this is the recipe for you. His recipe differs then moust


Ingredients (Adapted from Alton Brown)

• 2 sticks unsalted butter (Sometimes I just use 1 and half sticks)
• 2 1/4 cups of bread flour (I didn't have bread flour, so I used 2 cups of all-purpose flour. He indicates that bread flour will be even more chewy. I had great success with using all-purpose. If you try this with bread flour, let me know how this goes.)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup white sugar 
• 1 cup brown sugar (His video shows 1 and 1/4 cup, but his site says 1 cup. I used 1 cup)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I didn't have any, so I substituted with maple syrup)
• 2 tablespoons milk (I used non-fat milk or 2%. milk and both worked perfectly)
• 2 cups of chocolate chips (I added dark chocolate and semi-sweet milk chocolate chips)

Instructions 
Makes about 24 cookies (depending on the size of your cookies).

- Heat oven to 375 degrees.
- Melt the 2 sticks of butter in a saucepan (remember I usually just use about 1 1/2 sticks, your preference) or in a microwave bowl. It doesn't have to be completely melted, but very very soft.

- In a large bowl mix the 1 cup of brown sugar and the 1/4 cup of white sugar, then pour all the butter in the bowl and mix it with the sugars very well until creamy. 

- Add the 1 egg and 1 egg yolk and mix it, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (I used maple syrup) until well blended with the sugars and butters, as shown in the above photo.

- Add the 2 tablespoons of milk and add the 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt to the bowl and mix it.
Note: In Alton's recipe he says to mix the baking soda and salt in the flour. In my experience, when I mix the baking soda and salt in the flour, even with the most mixing and using a mixer, I sometimes can taste the baking soda in the baked cookie, so I include the salt and baking soda with the wet ingredients and never had a problem again. The other difference is that Alton used a table mixer, but I just used mix it with my spatula by hand.

- Next add the 2 1/4 cups of flour little by little until completely combined.

- Add the 2 cups of chocolate chips and combine it. I sometimes use a little more. I make sure it looks even. Chill the dough in the fridge for about an hour.  If you do not have an hour, at least chill it for 20-30 minutes. This holds the cookie up in the oven, so it does not go completely flat, unless you want the cookie to spread quickly in the oven - it's your cookie, you do what you want to do : ) 

- Once chilled, scoop onto parchment-lined baking sheet (it is okay if you do not have parchment paper), 6 cookies per sheet. I used a small ice cream scooper (a large rounded tablespoon).

- Bake for about 9-10 minutes. This is what worked in my oven, but it might alter on yours. Alton recommends checking after the 5 minutes. He said it might take up to 15 minutes. For me 9 minutes is usually the sweet spot for soft cookies.

It is a delicious, soft and extra chewy cookie. It comes out as a golden brown perfection. They lasted a few days and even on the last day they were still delicious and chewy. The best homemade cookie I ever made!!

I recommend taking the first bite after it has cooled for a few minutes out of the oven, so you get to experience the softed melted chocolate chips.

Enjoy!