The Winner for the “Best” Chocolate Chip Cookies!
August Fourth is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day and in honor of the big day, we thought it would be fitting to tell the story of how one of our own Liberty Tabletop employees went on a chocolate chip cookie baking binge!
It all started in February 2021 just after a second covid lockdown. Ann Fowler, a retired kindergarten teacher who recently joined our team in the Summer of 2020 was working from home. Ann handles non-flatware customer orders and takes the time to properly process and assure each customer is getting what they order. If you’ve ordered a non-flatware item at Liberty Tabletop you may have had the pleasure of working with Ann! In November, Ann and many of our other office employees had to work from home due to the growing number of covid cases in the Central New York area. Since Ann had been working from home from late Fall through most of the Winter, she admits she was getting a little stir crazy!
So, Ann decided to do what half of America did during the lockdown, she baked cookies!
She started looking for recipes on Pinterest where she goes for most of her recipes. She narrowed her search down to five recipes, all of which were titled the “Best Chocolate Chip Cookies”. She then decided to bake all five recipes and see which was really the best! Over the course of a few days, she started making different chocolate chip cookie recipes, and then finally she had made them all! With too many cookies to eat on her own and decide which was truly the best she thought she would host a cookie contest. She created care packages filled with the five different chocolate chip cookies and gave them to family and friends to vote on which was the best chocolate chip cookie recipe.
Ann said some cookies were flat and chewy, others were thick and crispy, but it really comes down to preference. After the cookies were narrowed down to the final two, she made the call. “It was really close, neck and neck for the best cookie,” Ann admits. “The one I choose is chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside and I’m going to tell you, they’re good!”
According to Ann, the secret to the winning cookie is maple syrup and corn starch!
Ann says her cookie contest was the most “unscientifically scientific way to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe,” and it worked!
Try out the Chocolate Chip Recipe yourself for National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day and let us know what you think!
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies are flavorful and sweet with soft interiors and slightly crispy edges. Plus these cookies are easy to make — you’ll only need one bowl and a spoon — no hand or stand mixer required!
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 9-14 minutes
Chilling Time 1 hour
Servings18-24 cookies
Calories 132 kcal
Author Chelsea’s Messy Apron, LLC
Ingredients
• 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup (94g) light brown sugar, packed (Note 1)
• 1/3 cup (63g) white sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt (reduce if using table salt OR if sensitive to salt)
• 1 and 3/4 cups (225g) white all-purpose flour
• 1 and 1/4 cups good quality milk chocolate chips, separated (or use semi-sweet or dark chocolate — whichever is your favorite)
Instructions
1. MELT BUTTER & COOL: In a very large, microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Once melted, refrigerate 5 minutes. It’s important that the butter isn’t hot when you add in the sugars or it will melt the sugar and make the cookies greasy.
2. ADD WET INGREDIENTS: Once butter is cooled to room temperature, stir in the light brown sugar and white sugar. Stir until smooth. Stir in the egg, vanilla extract and maple syrup. Stir again until smooth.
3. ADD DRY INGREDIENTS: Add in the cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add in the correctly measured (See Note 2) flour and mix until just combined. Don’t over mix. Gently stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips until combined.
4. CHILL DOUGH: Cover the bowl tightly and chill for 1 hour.
5. PREHEAT OVEN: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a pan with parchment paper or use a nonstick liner.
6. ROLL DOUGH BALLS: Roll balls of dough into tall cylindrical balls (see picture above for shape and size). Place 6-8 cookie balls on a sheet to give the cookies plenty of room to spread. Dough balls should be about 1.7 ounces (~2 and 1/2 tablespoons). Place tray back in the fridge for 10 minutes (dough gets warmed being rolled into balls and handled!)
7. BAKE: Bake for 9-14 minutes, erring on the side of under-baking, which keeps them soft and chewy (We like ours right at 12-13 minutes). The cookies will continue to bake slightly out of the oven, so take them out as soon as the edges start to lightly brown.
8. MAKE ‘EM PRETTY: Remove from the oven and press the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips onto the tops of the cookies (this ensures even placement of chocolate and also makes them look pretty). Allow to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
9. STORAGE: We like these cookies best on day 1 and 2 of being made. They do last up to a week, but they begin to lose texture and flavor. To store: Place in an airtight container and keep at room temperature. Wait until cookies are completely cooled before adding to the container.
Notes
Note 1: For a richer toffee-like flavor, use dark brown sugar. These cookies do spread a bit more and are a little less pretty with the dark brown sugar as compared to the light brown sugar; if you like toffee-flavored cookies, though, it’s worth it.
Note 2: Spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level the top with the back of a butter knife.
Nutrition
Calories: 132kcal
*Recipe originally posted at https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies/