It all started on a Saturday evening at the South Carolina state fair. My daughter and I were waiting in line in the ladies room…Yes, the ladies room. And there was a woman waiting to wash her hands, we struck up a conversation. Then, she told me how she’d just had this excellent chocolate chip cookie, and how it was ooey, gooey, and so yummy. The chocolate melted all over her hands, but it was well worth it. She then went on to say how she used to bake them all the time when her kids were small, and now she doesn’t since everyone has grown up and moved away.
After leaving the restroom, I began to look for the food truck where she found that cookie, but wasn’t very successful. I then went on to think about the possible price for one cookie at the fair, since most things are overpriced, and decided not to look any longer. This small conversation would begin my search for chocolate chip cookie perfection!
A few days later, I was still in search of an ooey gooey chocolate chip cookie. Then we bought a sandwich from Subway, and I asked my husband to bring a chocolate chip cookie home. The next morning, I placed the cookie in the microwave for a few seconds to make the chocolate a bit melty, as well as soften the cookie batter. Then took the first bite, and thought, this is alright but not a perfect chocolate chip cookie. So this was the beginning of my true quest!
The Quest
What is the perfect chocolate chip cookie? Is it crispy, crumbly, chewy, or soft? Does the chocolate melt in your mouth? These were all questions I began to ask myself. Personally, I love nuts, and I’ve always enjoyed a chewy cookie, and that’s what I set out to get. Chocolate chip cookie perfection!
My daughter prefers her cookie without nuts, so I wasn’t going to make two batches of batter, and just decided to make it without any. In the process, I found that they are just perfectly yummy without nuts!
Fast food restaurants with cookies
These days, almost all fast food joints have chocolate chip cookies on their menu. Let’s discuss the subway Chocolate chip cookie. It’s medium sized, and thin. Has a few chocolate chips throughout the cookie, but not perfect.
MC donald’s cookie is pretty small for the average cookie. It’s just a cookie with a few chocolate chips in it, nothing to crave.
Chick Fila…Now they have the best cookie in the fast food business. It’s only 1.19 in Columbia, and so yummy. It’s big, and full of chocolate, with a hint of oats. I like to heat it up in the microwave for a few seconds and enjoy the yummy melty chocolate. There’s chocolate in every bite, they are truly amazing.
Wendy’s have a pretty good chocolate chunk cookie. The diameter is large and it’s full of chocolate, but sort of thin. They’re really good, once you reheat them in the microwave, the chocolate is nice and melty.
Burger king can keep their cookies, hard like little rocks, not even worth the calories. I wouldn’t eat them if they were giving them out for free!
These are the few I tried because once I found the chick fila cookie, there truly was not a need to look any further.
Adding my own personal touch…
After all, the key point made during the conversation I had with the woman at the fair, was how she no longer bakes her own chocolate chip cookies. Then I thought, I should make my own cookie dough, and bake cookies for my daughter, so she can have freshly baked cookies after school. So, one day, while out food shopping, I saw the toll house pre-packaged chocolate chip cookie dough. At that moment, a very lazy thought sneaked in. I figured, oh this can be made even easier, and toll house has already made the dough. This was the furthest from the truth. After baking the ready-made dough, I realized why I wasn’t previously a fan of Chocolate chip cookies. It was because they hadn’t been personalized. Finally, I was ready to face my true challenge. Figuring out how to bake my own chocolate chip cookie perfection.
For some, this might seem silly, since they might have had a great recipe passed down from, mom, grandma, etc. But for me it was a true challenge. As I haven’t had anyone pass recipes down to me, for most of my cooking/baking quests.
It has been a fun adventure, but I think I’ve found my keeper cookie! Through trial and error, I’ve learned the best chocolate to use in my cookies.
Baking chocolate chip cookie perfection
The first batch of cookies was supposed to be a soft baked cookie, I first saw the recipe on tasty. I was excited to give it a try. I had a nestle milk chocolate baking bar and decided to use that along with semi-sweet toll house chocolate chips. After following the recipe, and baking the cookies, the chocolate wouldn’t melt how I wanted. My first thought was maybe I should bake them longer, and that was a bad decision. However, my husband and kids ate them anyway (as long as it’s sweet the kids will eat it up). They were also cakey. After doing a bit of research, I realized that I could’ve possibly over mixed the batter which activated the gluten in the flour and created the cakey texture. I also baked the cookies too long, which took away the melty characteristic of the chocolate.
So, I tried the recipe once again, with Ghirardelli chocolate chips, as well as their milk chocolate baking bar. The batter wasn’t over mixed this time, they were far from perfect chocolate chip cookies. Once again, they had a cake-like texture. The milk chocolate bar wouldn’t melt like I wanted in this batch either. I couldn’t find the issue and then began to wonder if I’d be able to bake a good cookie at home. I found a different recipe, and compared the two to see the differences. Then I realized, maybe the sugar was an issue. So I read a few more recipes with good reviews, comparing them to my first, and each other. I then made another test batch. This time personalizing it, to fit my idea.
Practice makes perfect
The changes made:
- I didn’t over mix my batter.
- More sugar was used than in my first and second batches.
- I subbed ½ cup partially ground oats for ½ cup of flour( my personal touch).
- Made sure to fold the chocolate into the batter.
- I added a bit of cinnamon, and espresso to the batter(my touch, since my daughter and I love cinnamon).
- Used Parchment paper to bake them.
- left the chocolate chip cookies slightly underbaked, and found pure perfection. Perfectly done on the edges and soft and chewy in the middle, with melty chocolate throughout.
It only got better, since My husband mistakenly bought the Ghirardelli Grands Chocolate
Hershey morsels were a mistake as well. I thought I purchased semi-sweet but found out they were milk chocolate after using them the first time, and perfect for baking.
Another discovery is baking on foil vs parchment paper. On Paper, the cookie is firmer on the edges, but not exactly crispy. On foil, they cook crispy around the edges and soft and chewy in the middle, so you can have the best of both worlds, without changing recipes.
Conclusion
You probably wonder how can I write an article like New Year, New You and then discuss something as indulgent as a Chocolate chip/chunk cookie. But my reasoning is simple, it isn’t meant to entice, instead if you exercise control, an indulgent treat is allowed every once in a while! And who says you have to eat 1/2 dozen, instead 1 or 2 depending on size will feel like the perfect amount.
As of today, I am happy to report, all the chocolate melts in my cookies, and they are amazing, so amazing I’m ready to bake and give them away just to share their goodness!!! Because everyone needs a Great chocolate chip cookie in their life, every once in a while. After searching for Chocolate chip cookie perfection, I found it. If a relative is reading this, you know what I’m bringing to the next gathering!
What’s your favorite cookie, have you found the perfect version of it? Comment about your experiences below!
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