Thursday, March 20, 2008

Chocolate Chip Cookies


2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 bar unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar
2/3 cup (115g) packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups (340g) store-bought chocolate chips
1 cup (100g) finely chopped pecans

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda.Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed for about 1 minute, until smooth. Add the sugars and beat for another 2 minutes or so, until well blended. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each egg goes in. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients in 3 portions, mixing only until each addition is incorporated. On low speed, or by hand with a rubber spatula, mix in the chocolate and nuts. The dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen. If you’d like, you can freeze rounded tablespoonfuls of dough, ready for baking. Freeze the mounds on a lined baking sheet, then bag them when they’re solid. There’s no need to defrost the dough before baking – just add another minute or two the baking time.Spoon the dough by slightly rounded tablespoonfuls* onto the baking sheets, leaving about 5cm (2in) between spoonfuls.Bake the cookies – one sheet at a time and rotating the sheets at the midway point – for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are brown at the edges and golden in the center; they may be still a little soft in the middle, and that’s just fine. Pull the sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to rest for 1 minute, then carefully using a wide metal spatula, transfer them to racks to cool to room temperature.Repeat with the remainder of the dough, cooling the baking sheets between batches.

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