Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Maybe this is cheating but I don't care. I have a cooking blog called Hold the Tomatoes that is mostly deserted but, still, it does exist. I started it because I love to cook. I love to bake. I love experimenting in the kitchen and making something yummy that other people love to eat. But as much as I really do cook in real life, I can't seem to keep up with the posting on this other blog.

Anyway, I made these chocolate chip cookies for the first time ages ago and absolutely fell in love. Brad and I swoon over these every time I make them and this has become my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I've been meaning to post them on my cooking blog but I've been a slacker. So I'm using NaBloPoMo to get my butt in gear. I posted them on my cooking blog and thought I'd share them over here too!

So here are some pics and the recipe. And, if you're interested, here's the full post.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(Recipe from Baking Illustrated, page 434)

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2-1 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside. Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste.

3. Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. (This batch should make about 18 large cookies.) Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

4. Bake until the cookies are light golden grown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a metal spatula.