commentchocolate chips cookies!
if you take a look at my post archive, you might notice that i’ve been going sweet-savory-sweet-savory to keep things interesting. and in planning out my baking schedule (yes, i keep a loose schedule), i realized that i had skipped one of my all time favorites. the first thing i ever learned how to bake.
is there any more comforting smell than chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven? of course, my mom’s chocolate chips cookies were the only ones i really enjoyed growing up. no refrigerated cookie dough in our house - only real butter and sugar. watching her bake seemed so effortless, but the end result was a transcendental experience. very rarely did the cookies make it off the cooling racks before being devoured by my sisters, brother and me.
when i started baking in college, i requested the recipe from my mom, and she mailed it on a 3×5″ index card as always. after baking the cookies for the first time, i called her to let her know that they came out great and that i was now an official accomplished baker. but i had to know where she got the recipe. i expected a story of the recipe being passed down from great grandmothers. instead, she asked me if had a bag of chocolate chips there handy. i did. “turn it over,” she said.
all these years, my mom had been making the nestlé toll house chocolate chip cookie recipe, a recipe that’s been on the back of every bag of semi-sweet morsels for about 70 years. i can still hardly believe it. but there’s something so indescribably perfect about the cookies she bakes, so i can’t bear to change a thing. to me, there is no better cookie.
i wanted to make something special this time, because these cookies are the last thing i will bake in my current kitchen. that’s right, i’m moving into a new place, leaving behind my 45 square food baking space that has served me so well for the past 2 years. the next time i post, it will be from a kitchen at least 3 times the size, so i’m ready to be spoiled by extra counter space and a full size oven with a working light.
i want to dedicate this post to my tiny efficiency apartment kitchen, because despite its limited size, i’ve never had any problem baking anything. it reinforces the idea that it doesn’t take anything fancy to produce delicious food that makes people happy. this is my old oven. modest, but never once let me down. thank you, old friend.
tollhouse chocolate chip cookies
lovingly copied from the toll house semisweet chocolate morsels bag
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
12 oz toll house semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1. combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
2. beat butter, both sugars and vanilla in a large bowl. add eggs, one at a time, beating well. gradually beat in flour mixture. stir in morsels.
3. spoon dough (about a Tbsp per cookie) onto an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 375 F for 9-11 minutes. i tend to go a little under 9 minutes so they come out just underdone. remove to cooling racks or eat immediately with a tall glass of cold milk.
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16 comments so far ↓
bakingblonde | Jun 8, 2008 at 11:56 am
I love chocolate chip cookies, especially warm out of the oven! Yours look great with a glass of milk.
Cakespy | Jun 8, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Ooh, I saw these on Tastespotting and had to click over! These look like the perfect cookies–they remind me of the ones my neighbor used to make when I was little. the milk and cookies picture makes my heart melt!
chiff0nade | Jun 8, 2008 at 2:53 pm
Well, the cookies may taste good, but they are the ugliest cookies I have ever seen.
Of course, I am a PROFESSIONAL PASTRY CHEF, so my standards are a little higher than the norm. I think that appearance of a pastry product is VERY important.
Keep trying.
HoneyB | Jun 8, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Great job! I haven’t made chocolate chip cookies in a long time. It is probably about time I made some again!
Heather | Jun 8, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Whoa… I have the SAME Barbie Doll-sized oven in my studio!! Makes life interesting
Cheers,
*Heather*
Rachel | Jun 8, 2008 at 9:50 pm
I still don’t believe that you use the unmodified Tollhouse recipe. Yours just come out better than all the times I’ve made them. I think they are one of the things I miss most about crew…
My Sweet & Saucy | Jun 9, 2008 at 2:40 am
Yummy! Wish I could steal one with a glass of milk!
Alienman | Jun 9, 2008 at 2:17 pm
contrary to the PROFESSIONAL PASTRY CHEF, i LOVE the way these look. just from looking at them, i feel like i can already taste them and that they’d end up my favorites, too.
katerine | Jun 10, 2008 at 5:08 pm
how did you get such flat and crispy cookies? i use the same recipe, but i dont get the same result. i do know melted the butter creates a thinner cookie (which i do) but never this thin. they look amazing!!!
petebakes | Jun 10, 2008 at 5:18 pm
@katerine - i know that using a bit less of the flour mixture can result in thinner and crispier cookies. i don’t measure my ingredients with a scale so i’m guessing that’s what happened. melting the butter also helps, as you pointed out. i’m also happy to report that the cookies have stayed soft and chewy even after a few days.
Things I Do. | Jul 28, 2008 at 3:20 pm
[...] 1. Chocolate Chip Cookies: [...]
sara angel | Sep 21, 2008 at 11:13 pm
i LOVE the tollhouse recipe. there is no shame…it’s the best cc cookie recipe ive ever used.
white chocolate macadamia nut pumpkin cookies recipe | pete bakes! | Oct 22, 2008 at 1:34 pm
[...] white chocolate macadamia nut pumpkin cookies adapted from the from the toll house chocolate chip cookie recipe. [...]
DameRuth | Nov 17, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Just got turned onto your blog, and am browsing the archives. I completely cracked up when I found this story about thinking the Nestle Toll House cookie recipe was some ancient family secret. Almost the exact same thing happened to me with my mom’s pumpkin pie recipe . . . which turned out to be the recipe on the back of the Libbey’s Pumpkin can. *facepalm* You are not alone . . .
jewish apple cake recipe | pete bakes! | Nov 25, 2008 at 1:07 pm
[...] i refused to blame it on the recipe and instead chalked it up to my wacky tiny oven (as seen in this post). undeterred, i took another crack at it and lo and behold: what came out of the oven was a thing [...]
Gifts from Shaw Girl’s Kitchen « Adventures in Shaw | Dec 22, 2008 at 7:46 pm
[...] think I want to know anyone who doesn’t like them. Pete over at Pete Bakes reminded me of the classic Tollhouse Chocolate Chip cookie recipe and the words “yields 3 dozen cookies” on the recipe solidified it for me: these [...]
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