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What's the best chocolate chip cookie you've ever had?

For me, I really don't know. Cookies in any form reached perfection with my mom's Cereal Cookies. It's a scientific fact...

But a chocolate chip cookie... The most basic, universally revered of all cookies - What's the best one I've ever had? I can't honestly say.

See, I recently realized I haven't had a great earth-shaking Chocolate Chip Cookie. Bakemark makes a pretty good product, but they dry out way too fast after baking. English Bay has a reasonably consistent cookie dough, but they use dark chocolate and they are nauseatingly greasy.

So what goes into making a good chocolate chip cookie then? Well, I like mine to be chewy -not soft- with a clean feel to them. I shouldn't have to scrub the grease from my fingers in between each bite. I also don't want to bust my jaw trying to bite through a piece of plaster board. Also, I really don't like walnuts. BUT... I don't mind peanuts or macadamia nuts. Plus, if the nuts are salted - all the better.

This past week I spent a reasonable amount of time trying to find a good recipe for the elusive "perfect" chocolate chip cookie. I found one, slightly reminiscent of the Urban Legend Cookie, that had a few extra steps and needed a little extra attention.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 Cups Flour
1 1/2 t Baking Powder
1 1/2 t Baking Soda
3/4 t Kosher Salt
1 1/2 Cup Oats
1 3.5oz Milk Chocolate Bar

1 1/2 Cups Softened Butter
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar
3 Eggs
1 1/2 t Vanilla

2 Cups Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 Cup Chopped Salted Peanuts

Preheat Oven to 350F.

Begin by mixing Flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
Next, place oats in a food processor and grind into a fine powder. Add to Flour mix.
Using a microplane or box grater, finely grate milk chocolate bar into flour/oat mixture. Set Aside.

In a Large Bowl, mix Butter, and Sugars together using a hand mixer.
Add Eggs, one at a time until thoroughly combined. Add Vanilla.

Add Flour Mixture to Egg Mixture, and stir until dough comes together.
Add Chocolate Chips and Peanuts and mix into dough.

Portion cookies on to sheet tray and Bake for 17 minutes.
(They may be soft when you pull them from the oven, but they WILL set up.)

Note: I used a 2oz ice cream scoop to portion the dough onto the sheet trays.







In the end, I got 52 two-ounce cookies out of this recipe. Were they the perfect chocolate chip cookie? No... But there was something oddly gratifying out making my own and they were damned yummy. Kerrie and I sat around with our glasses of milk, nibbling away contentedly enjoying the abundant pile of cookies which, while not perfect, were very satisfying.