What’s Megan Making?? A Perfect Cookie Guest Post!

Hello everyone!  I am finally, finallllly on a vacation!  While you are reading this, I am probably sitting in the sand, watching Seven splash in the waves. (Or, in truth, Seven is buck-wild, wreaking havoc on the Grand Strand, and I am missing half my hair because I’ve managed to pull it all out in the 16 hours we’ve been here.)  Either way, I didn’t want to leave you all with nothing to read, so I have some GREAT guests lined up to post for me in my short absence.

Up first…Megan, of What Megan’s Making, a very talented blogger, and a gal after my own heart…she’s making chocolate chip cookies!  Thanks, Megan!!

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Hi Doughmesstic readers! I’m Megan from What Megan’s Making, and I’m here to share
with you a delicious new recipe I tried recently. If you’re at all familiar with my blog,
you know that I seem to be constantly on the search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie.
You know the one. Well maybe you don’t, since chocolate chip cookies can be a very
subjective thing. Well, to set the record straight, the cookie I’m looking for is soft, with
just the slightest of crispy edges, but gooey and chewy on the inside. It should be thick,
but not too thick, and definitely not thin and crunchy! It should have a good amount of
chocolate chips, a distinctive buttery flavor, and should just melt in your mouth. And
these cookies I’m sharing with you today? They come pretty darn close.

The secret to these cookies is the browned butter. It gives such a distinct, almost caramel
flavor and is absolutely delicious. Seriously, these have the best flavor of any chocolate
chip cookie I’ve tried. The ratio of chocolate chips to cookie is generous, which I love.
And these cookies have a good (almost great) texture. I think I *slightly* overbaked
mine (it’s so hard to tell when to pull them out of the oven! Does anyone else have that
problem?), so they were a little less chewy than I would have liked. They were, however,
nice and thick, and I can promise that I’ll be trying them again with a slightly shorter
baking time, to try to produce that elusive perfect cookie texture. Give these cookies a
try, and let me know how they compare to your go-to recipe!

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

adapted from Cook’s Illustrated

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
14 tbsp unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks)
1/2 c white sugar
3/4 c packed brown sugar (recipe suggests dark brown, but light brown is also
acceptable)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 c chocolate chips
optional: 3/4 c chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat oven to 375 and line two large baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking
mats. Whisk the the flour and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.

Heat 10 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Allow the butter
to melt, about 2 minutes. Continue heating, swirling the pan constantly until the butter
is golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. If you listen for the crackling to
subside, the butter will brown quickly after that. Remove the skillet from the heat and
transfer the browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter
into hot butter until completely melted.

Add the sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt to the butter and whisk together. Add the
egg and egg yolk and whisk again until mixture is smooth, with no sugar lumps, about 30
seconds. Let the mixture rest for 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds more. Repeat this
process (rest, whisk) two more times; the end result should be thick and shiny.

Stir in the flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Gently stir in chocolate
chips and nuts, if using. The batter will be soft.

Use roughly 3 Tbsp of dough to form each cookie (or use a #24 cookie scoop). Place
cookies 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets and bake one tray at a time, 10 to 12
minutes, on the middle rack of your oven. Rotate baking sheet after 5 minutes and check
the cookies early; They should be golden brown and set around the edges, but puffy in
the middle. Take them out when they are slightly underdone – they will continue cooking
on the hot cookie sheet.

Allow to cool completely on the pan. Once cool transfer to a wire rack. Makes about 16
cookies