I’ve never been an avid baker. Truth be told, I’d rather indulge on pizza. That being said, it’s become a type of therapeutic activity for me. Today, I took my anxious mind and baked… and baked… and baked.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a challenge without trying new recipes. I recently made oversized Levain Bakery copycat cookies. For Christmas, though, I wanted something a little smaller that immediately felt homemade and comforting for the holidays. As I was making this recipe, I felt like every direction left little room for error. Don’t over-mix. The butter has to be just right. Chill if warm. When I was finally finished navigating my way through the chain of commands, I thought, well that is a disproportionate amount of chocolates. Seriously… this ratio. Spoiler alert: it’s amazing. Find the entire recipe here: The Baking ChocolaTess.
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (see notes below)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (see notes below)
- 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray..
- In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and salt together.
- In another large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat together the butter, and sugars about 2 minutes and is smooth.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix on low speed until mixed in.
- Gradually add the flour mixture and mix in until just incorporated. Do not keep mixing – do not overmix.
- Add chocolate chips and stir with a wooden spoon, again no overmixing, just until incorporated.
- Chill dough if dough is warm.
- Using a small or large ice cream scoop or heaping tablespoon, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, 6 to 8 per pan, depending on size you are making.
- Bake the cookies, 1 sheet at a time, until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned and the tops feel firm when lightly touched,
- Small cookies bake 8-10 minutes
- Large cookies bake 10-13 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 15 – 30 cookies depending on size.