Alice's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm usually a Nestle Toll House cookie kind of gal. Baking right from the recipe on the bag, but I decided to give a new recipe from Alice at Savory Sweet Life a try. Living on the edge as usual. I learned a baking lesson recently that I don't need to bake enough to feed an army so I cut the recipe in half AND I followed the directions. I still was able to get 2 cookie sheets out of the recipe.

A strange thing happened, when Alice said to whip the butter for 5 minutes, and I followed her instructions, my butter and sugar mystically changed to the "whipped" butter a lighter fluffier consistency... so I followed her instructions on adding the eggs, baking, cooling, and well when they were done baking, they darn-well turned out looking like her cookies. I was amazed. Obviously I take too many liberties when I bake if I'm "amazed" when something turns out. These had a malty kind of flavor to me. Maybe it was the milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet? If only I could get this excited about cleaning the bathroom. 

Alice’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes approx. 45-48 cookies using a sm-med 2tbl. cookie scoop

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup (2 sticks)  salted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups (12 oz) all-purpose flour *If at all possible, please weigh the flour (I added 2 T unbleached flour for altitude)
1 tsp. smallish-medium coarse sea salt *please do not use table salt, the sea salt gives the cookies a nice flavor and hints of texture. If you only have table salt, use 1/2 tsp. *When using sea salt, you will get small crunchy flecks of salt when you bite into the cookie.  If you do not like this taste, go with 1/2 teaspoon of table salt. (I used kosher salt)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups/16 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips *I use Nestle Toll-House (I used milk chocolate)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy (approx. 5 minutes on medium speed on a K-5). Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes.  Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour until cookie batter is fully incorporated.  Finally add chocolate chips until well distributed.  The cookie batter should be somewhat thick.  Drop about 2 tablespoons of dough or use a medium cookie scoop and plop the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are nice and golden brown. Remove from heat and allow the cookies to stay on the cookie sheet for an additional 2 minutes.  Pick up the parchment paper with the cookies still on top and transfer to a cool non-porous surface.  Allow the cookies to cool on the paper for at least 3 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Recipe Source: Savory Sweet Life: Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe by Alice

Chocolate chip cookie and milk.

Please visit Alice's blog if you'd like chocolate chip cookie troubleshooting help! BTW the 13 minute baking time is the perfect amount of time to unload and load the dishwasher. Amazing how these things work.

After I'd tried a warm cookie, I took Squirrely to see the honeysuckle vines down the street. They are AMAZING! You smell the perfume in the air before you even see the flowers. It's like with the cookies... a nose knows... "What's that? Someone's baking?" Only better.

Suz