Interesting fact #1: Chocolate chip cookies were invented in Massachusetts.
I know. Mind=blown.
Growing up in Massachusetts, I never knew this fun little tidbit. I always loved Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookies, but had no idea that the actual “toll house” was located in the same county that I lived in. The story goes that, in 1936, Ruth Graves Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, was making a batch of cookies for some guests when she realized she didn't have any bakers chocolate. She substituted broken up pieces of Nestle chocolate bar hoping that they would melt and be absorbed in to the dough (um, really?) when obviously the chips just melted into gooey delicious morsels in the cookies. While her cookies did not turn out the way she was hoping- they were an even bigger hit than expected. She struck a deal with Nestle- they would print her recipe on every bar of chocolate (and they have kept their word) and she would get an endless supply of chocolate. Sounds like a good deal to me!
As a child, chocolate chip cookies always meant cozy afternoons in the kitchen with my sisters and my mom, talking about our day at school with a big glass of milk. My mom always had a candle lit and a homemade snack waiting for us when we got off the bus. Those days are dear to my heart and bring back great memories of a cherished childhood. Chocolate chip cookies hold a lot of sentiment for me, they bring me back to times of simplicity and innocence, a time where my biggest worry was weather my mom would let me watch Saved by the Bell before dinner, or if I would pass my times-tables quiz the next day (don't get me wrong- I would still be worried if I were to be quizzed on my times-tables). Chocolate chip cookies, baked lovingly by my mother, while she sang to my baby brother, and waited for her three older babies to get safely off the school bus, will always make me smile.
This particular recipe, while I don't use Nestle chocolate (shh, don't tell Ruth) is still based largely on the Toll House recipe. The biggest difference is that I use two different kinds of flour, both all purpose and bread flour, and two different kids of chocolate. I like to use half of a cup of dark chocolate, and a cup and a half of semi sweet chocolate. Both good quality (local if you can) chocolate bars, broken or chopped.
• Sea Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies •
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¾ cup brown sugar (I use dark muscavato)
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chopped into chunks
• ½ cup dark chocolate chopped fine
In a standard mixer fitted with the paddle attatchment, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla.
In a separate bowl combine the flours, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine. Add both chocolates to the flour, toss to coat. Slowly add the flour and chocolate mixture to the egg and butter mixture and blend until fully incorporated.
Note: the original recipe says to pour the flour and chocolate mixture into the egg and butter mixture and blend them in the mixer. When I do this, my mixer likes to freak out on me because it doesn't like the chocolate chunks getting in the way of the paddle. If your mixer isn't as finicky as mine, go right ahead and blend them in the mixer. Personally, I like to take my mixing bowl out of the kitchen aid and mix in the flour by hand with a wooden spoon
Once the dough is formed, place the bowl in the refridgerator for one hour.
Preheat oven to 350 F
Line a cookie tray with parchment paper.
Remove dough from the refridgerator and drop melon-baller sized dough onto the parchment paper, about 3 inches apart. I like to bake 9 at a time, just to be safe.
Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges, and slightly soft in the center.
Listening to: James Taylor- Smiling Face