Diane's Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Did you know that May 15 is National Chocolate Chip Day? Yes, I know -- what isn't there a holiday for? But who can complain about a day set aside to celebrate chocolate chips? I probably could make it a holiday every day, with all of the delicious dishes I develop that include chocolate chips.

A few years back, I visited Tate's Bake Shop in Southampton, New York. I stumbled upon the greatest chocolate chip cookie I could remember. I returned home to my kitchen and began trying to duplicate the texture and flavor. I substituted some oatmeal for part of the flour, and I used lots of brown sugar and toffee bits to give these cookies a crisp, crunchy texture.

The chocolate chip cookie can be either chewy or crispy, depending upon the recipe and how you place them on the cookie sheet. Rounds of cookie dough will produce thicker and chewier cookies, while flattened rounds of dough will spread into think flat crisps of buttery dough studded with chocolate chips and toffee. If you prefer larger cookies, drop golf-ball sized cookies onto baking sheets and bake a few minutes longer.

One of the keys to making superior cookies is to make up the dough a day and a half ahead, cover and refrigerate. This gives the baked cookie a richer, fuller flavor with notes of toffee and caramel. So go ahead -- celebrate with a platter of these chocolate chip gems -- watch how fast they disappear.

Diane's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 5 dozen 2 1/2-inch cookies or 28 4-inch thin cookies

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup firmly packed golden brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, ( if you prefer less sweet use 60 percent bittersweet)

1/2 cup toffee bits

3/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a small bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture a little at a time and beat until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips, toffee and nuts.

3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. For cakier cookies: Using a teaspoon, drop cookies onto ungreased baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each cookie.

4. For crispier cookies: Using a 1-inch ice cream scoop, drop 4 scoops of cookie dough onto each baking sheet. Then press them into very thin rounds using the heel of your hand, leaving 2 inches between the cookies, until they are approximately 4 inches across.

5. Bake for 9-11 minutes, or until golden. If using 2 racks, swap the baking sheets halfway through baking (these may need a minute or 2 longer to brown). Cookies will cook faster if using a dark nonstick cooking pan. Remove baking sheets from oven and let cookies cool on sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Advance Preparation: Store in airtight containers for up to 1 week, or freeze for another time.

 

Diane Rossen Worthington is an authority on new American cooking. She is the author of 18 cookbooks (click here), including "Seriously Simple Holidays: Recipes and Ideas to Celebrate the Season," and also a James Beard award-winning radio show host.

Available at Amazon.com:

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(c) 2010 Diane Rossen Worthington Recipes