The San Francisco treat (ding ding!)

Surprise!...I don't just make cupcakes, I make other stuff too!  Only sometimes though, and for special reasons.  This time it's because I feel like I've been neglecting a certain someone who has already admitted he can't bake any of my recipes and is 3000 miles too far to get any cupcakes.  Unfortunately for him, cupcakes are just not easily shippable.  I'm still working on a way to fix that, but for now he'll have to be happy with what he gets.

What's in store for the lucky recipient?  Chocolate chip cookies (!), which, by the way, are his favorite...NBD.  I've been meaning to test out a recipe from Not Without Salt who claims it'll be the last recipe I even look at.  Those are some big statements!  But I'm a huge fan of hers and she has yet to lead me astray.  So, are they delicious?  Well, honestly, who doesn't love a chocolate chip cookie, but in all seriousness, yes!  They have a bit of crunch to them on the outside, but inside is all chewiness.  I really encourage the last sprinkling of salt pre-bake.  It balances out the sweetness very well and enhances the cookie-ness.  I'll let the San Franciscan make the final decision though.  (Note to receiver:  Don't be rude and share with your friends who read the blog...they know where you live.  Hell, use the cookies to bribe your friends to read the blog.  Miss you!)

Let's talk about parchment paper.  Parchment paper is magical...especially if you're baking cookies.  I will, without a doubt, make an extra trip to the grocery store if I need to, which I did today when I forgot it on my list (oops!).  It keeps cookies from sticking and keeps the tray clean - double win!  AND you can use it over and over again until all your batter has been baked.  I also use it to pack cookies in tupperware for storage or shipping.  Pretty nifty, eh?  I would suggest not substituting wax paper if you don't have any parchment on hand since it has the potential to melt and smoke - no bueno.

Chocolate Chip Cookie
Yield: ~80 tablespoon-sized cookies

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup white sugar

¼ cup Turbinado sugar

1 ¾ cups light brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 pound good quality chocolate (I use 72% dark chocolate)

½ teaspoon good quality salt, for sprinkling on top before baking

Preheat the oven to 360° and line trays with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In another bowl or in the bowl of a standup mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and all three sugars until light and fluffy.  Scrape the bowl down with a spatula, then add eggs in, one at a time, allowing each egg to incorporate before adding the next.  Add the vanilla and mix well.  Scrape down the bowl again, then add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients.  Allow everything to just come together.  

Using a serrated knife, cut the chocolate into ½-inch chunks.  Fold the chocolate into the batter using a spatula.  

Drop rounded tablespoon-sized chunks of batter onto the cookie tray, leaving about 4 inches in between the cookies.  Sprinkle a bit of the salt on top of each cookie.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, taking the cookies out when the edges start to brown.  Remove the cookies from the tray and onto a cooling rack as quickly as possible.

I packed these puppies into tupperware containers and surrounded them with crunched up paper bags to act as cushioning.  Hopefully they make the cross country trip intact!  Happy travels!

Tiffany