Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

Yes, another chocolate holiday. Today is Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! How else to celebrate but with a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies. Either you bake 'em or buy 'em, but do it. And, falling on a Friday, you'll have the whole weekend to eat them. As if they'd last?

I thought I'd narrow the field and focus on Chocolate Chip Cookies. My old faithful recipe is the one for Toll House Cookies (for the history of Toll House Cookies, go HERE) on the back of the Nestle bag of chocolate chips. I used to make those when I was in school, and they were always a success.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened (we only had sweet butter at my house, so that's what I used to use)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

**
I also put out a call for recipes. The first person to respond told me she was going to make bacon chocolate chip cookies today. Cool, Sal. Continuing the salt/sweet bacon/chocolate theme of a few weeks ago. Traif? Yes. This isn't Sal's recipe, and I wouldn't do the Maple Cinnamon Glaze, but this recipe will help with proportions. Or just do equal pieces of bacon to chocolate chips.

Another response was from the blogger Evil Shenanigans who sent an awesome recipe for Chocolate Chip Overload Cookies. I saw this recipe at the beginning of the month, and I must say her suggestion of stackable cooling sheets is great. Too bad, you missed the contest. But back to the cookies. The reason these cookies are called overload is because they have three times the chocolate chips of most chocolate chip cookies. I say go for it. Following find the recipe, but you MUST go to Evil Shenanigans to see all of her fantastic photos of the cookies and the process. The photo in this Blog is from Evil Shenanigans. Thanks so much for sending.

Chocolate Chip Overload Cookies Yield 5 dozen

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, cold
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 - 12 oz bags semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350 F and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
In a bowl mix the flour, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
In the bowl of a mixer cream the butter and two sugars until mixed, but not fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Add the vanilla and stir to combine.

Chocolate Chip Overload Cookie - Dough
Pour in the flour mixture and stir until the flour is almost absorbed, then add the chocolate chips and mix until the chip are incorporated and no flour remains. (You may need to do this by hand)
Scoop the dough into 1″ balls onto the prepared sheet pans. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
Allow the cookies to cool for 3 minutes on the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an air tight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to one month.

My search didn't end there, though. ExtremeChocolate.com has 27 Tips for Creating the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie. Also some good general chocolate tips.

The actual recipes go on and on. Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

Because this is Chocolate Chip Day, and not just Chocolate Chip Cookies, I'll probably have some other recipes tomorrow.

And, don't forget, there are some wonderful artisan chocolate chips out there!!