Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok, I'm not a fan of store-bought "Crunchy" chocolate chip cookies.  Sue me... They're just not that flavorful and if I'm going to blow a diet, I'm going to blow it on the perfect cookie!  A balanced, chewy, large, nut and chocolate rich cookie... Let's do this!

You Will Need:

• 2 Sticks of regular Salted Butter
• 12 Ounces of Bread Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 2 Ounces of white sugar
• 8 ounces dark brown sugar
• 1 Large egg + 1 egg yolk
  
• 2 Tablespoons Whole Milk
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 12 Ounces of Chocolate Chips or "Chunks."  Chunks are usually chocolate chips, but they could be anything you like.  I prefer 3oz Milk Chocolate chips, 3oz Dark Chocolate Chips, and 3oz Pecans.  As long as your chunks total about 12oz, you're good to go!

Assemble your stuff.  Note that I was out of Bread Flour when I made these cookies.  Yes, I was totally bummed about it!  Bread Flour makes a HUGE difference in the "chew" of this cookie, so make the effort to find/get it.

Start off by melting the butter.  I like to use the microwave, but keep an eye on it!  You don't want to boil/burn it so GENTLY melt the butter and set it aside to cool slightly.  

The best way to approach this recipe is with three bowls.  You'll have your melted butter bowl, a bowl for your flour, and a bowl for the egg mix.  

So... 

Sift your flour and baking soda together in a bowl, set it aside.

Whisk/beat your eggs, milk, and vanilla into a bowl, set it aside.

Combine the sugars and the melted butter into the mixing bowl of your cool stand mixer and strap on the paddle attachment.  Crank it up to medium speed and teach those sugars and butter a lesson!  Stir and mix them for at least two minutes.

Slow the mixer down a bit and dump in the egg/milk/vanilla bowl.  Spin it back up and let it ride for 2 minutes.

Use a silicon spatula to gradually slide the flour/soda from its bowl into the mix.  Keep the speed fairly slow or you'll have flour all over the kitchen!  Take your time and get it all mixed in there.  Scrape the sides of the bowl if you have to, but eventually you'll have a nice uniform cookie dough!  

Take the mixing bowl out of the mixer and fold in your chunks with the spatula.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and tuck it into the fridge for ONE HOUR!  Why?  Because the butter needs to get cold again.  Do NOT skip this step!  Your cookies will scoop, bake, and present so much better when you do this! 

Once the bowl is chilling in the fridge, preheat your oven to "Convection 350" or to 375 if you don't have a convection oven.

Time to scoop!  Meet my cookie scooper!  It's red for a reason... Many things in the restaurant industry are color coded, and serving scoops are no exception.  The red one is 1.5oz.  This recipe makes EXACTLY two dozen cookies if you make sure that each cookie uses 1.5oz of dough (and if you discipline yourself NOT to eat any dough during the process).

Place 12 cookies, 1.5oz each, onto a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat or with parchment paper.  Don't mash them down, just line up your cookie balls so they all have equal space between them.  They'll fit!

Slide both sheets into the oven and set a timer for ten minutes.  They will NOT be done in ten minutes, but this is when you should turn on the oven light and start watching them.  You want to see a nice round cookie with a brown edge.  When the edges are nice and brown, pull them out and let them cool!

You'll be tempted to eat them immediately.  Don't!  Things need to cool and set for about ten minutes.  Good things come to those who wait!  

What you'll end up with is a nice firm chewy cookie!  It will still hold up to a dunk in a cold glass of milk!!