Dan’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are probably too many chocolate chip cookie recipes out there. Really. I mean who does not have one (or three???) that they love? There is the Nestlé Tollhouse Recipe, which I grew up on, and I also remember the giant saucer-sized cookies we would pick up from bakeries in New York City. My mother ran a gourmet food store in the 1980s, and there were endless amounts of chocolate chip cookies and mocha chip cookies. I remember sneaking into the basement of her store, going into the walk-in freezer with a spoon, and eating raw cookie dough from the giant plastic containers that is sat in waiting to be scooped up into perfect little balls and baked to perfection. I never really told her that. Until now… Surely now – and probably then – many health code violations would have been found from my double dipping the spoon. Oh well.

I am not at all a fan of crunchy chocolate chip cookies. They are a complete waste of my time. I like the soft ones. The ones that do not send crumbs all over the countertop, and the ones that collapse perfectly in your mouth when you bite into them. The ones that are just barely finished when they come out of the oven. They are almost undercooked, but not. Those are my kind of chocolate chip cookies. I recently stumbled upon a recipe, which yielded perfect cookies. I think the trick is melting the butter in advance. These cookies can be made with vegetable oil to make them dairy free (check the dairy in your chocolate if you are really going all out my friends…).

As for the name… Dan is a friend who was introduced to us by one of my favorite people in the world. Dan is also an amazing architect. He saw a picture of the cookies, and asked for the recipe. It was right around the time I started writing again. To me it was only fitting that I named the cookies after him. So enjoy. OH, and as for the measurements of chocolate… I do not really measure chocolate. I mean that is another thing, which does not really make sense to me. I put in however much I think I need on that particular day.

Dan’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe by Lily

Servings

16

servings

Prep time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Cooking time

8

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

23

minutes

My go to chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients

• 1/3 C granulated sugar (100 g)

• 3/4 C light brown sugar (165 g) packed

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 C melted butter (115g) – NOTE – I used salted… (vegetable oil can be substituted here)

• 1 medium egg (room temperature

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract or rum

• 1 1/4 C all-purpose flour (155 g)

• Chopped chocolate (you could put in about 1 1/2 C) or stick with my method, which is “how do I feel today…?” I like a mixture of 70%, 60%, and something fun, like Vosges Black Salt Caramel, Green & Black’s is also a great option

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions

• In a large bowl whisk together dry ingredients and set aside
• In a separate bowl mix the melted butter (or oil) with the sugar and beat until smooth with no lumps.
• Add in the vanilla and egg and continue to mix until glossy.
• Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture until almost blended. Scrape down the side of the bowl with a spatula as needed
• Add in the chocolate and continue to mix until all ingredients are well combined. Be careful not to OVER MIX.
• Allow the dough to rest in the fridge for on hour (60 minutes) or overnight. Dough should be covered in container or wrapped in plastic.
• Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Remove the dough from fridge.
• Use a small /medium ice cream scoop and scoop the dough onto a prepared cookie sheet. Space each cookie about 2-3 inches apart.
• Bake for 8-9 minutes and remove from oven.
• Allow cookies to cool before eating.