Chewy & Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies

I woke up this morning with a list of a million things to do and I couldn't get started on one.

Not one.

I could barely muster up the energy to even brush my hair. So, I didn't. In my defense it looks kinda cool - like that shaggy sexy look and I'm ok with that.

Instead I sat down with a glass of milk and a pile of Chocolate Chip Cookies.

It helped.

Sometimes that just happens. Sometimes I wake up with a fire under my butt. I'm ready to go and nobody can stop me!

Other times I wish I could just bury my head in a bucket of caramel sauce all day and only come up for air and maybe a glass of bourbon.

Sometimes I feel like I've done so much, yet I still have so much more to do. Does that ever happen to you? Yes? Then you need to make a pile of chocolate chip cookies. Really. Make sure you have milk.

Maybe it's the dunking action or maybe it's the powerful dark chocolate. Maybe it's the fact that they taste so damn good that nothing else matters. Whatever it is it works and it always makes me feel better.

Chocolate Chip Cookies put things in perspective.

I like a chewy cookies to say the least. One that is moist and almost gooey in the middle with crisp edges. And it needs to stay chewy and soft for a few days. None of this dried out nonsense. I'm not into freezing baked goods, and there's no way I can wait another 10 minutes preheating time plus 10 minutes baking time for a ball of dough to bake in the oven. If I've already taken the time to make the dough, then all I want to do is eat chocolate chip cookies!

These are so good. Like, so so so so so good. Sooooooooo good. I'll stop. I usually like a nice thick cookie, but these are not entirely that. They spread quite a bit, but still stay chewy in the middle! Ridiculous.

I admit that I use a secret ingredient. It's corn syrup.

Liquid sugars are called "humectants" because they have the ability to retain water. This keeps the cookies moist, soft and chewy. Beauty!

Have you heard of the importance of refrigerating your dough before baking? Hear it! It's real. It works.

I rest majority of cookie doughs in the fridge for at least 1 hour before baking. This does several important things, like firms up the butter and hydrates the flour to prevent the dough from spreading too flat. It also improves the flavour. BUT, don't chill for more than 24 hours. I've seen some recipes that keep the dough for 36 hours before baking and I think it's gross to be frank.

I go into major scientific discussion of the chocolate chip cookie in my cookbook Scientifically Sweet!

Maybe it's because I'm a Food Scientist and I have very trained, very sensitive senses....but after 24 hours the dough starts to develop a "funk" (if you know what I mean) and I actually find that the butterscotch flavours begin to diminish.

If you're all mixed up like me today - feeling fresh but messy, organized but confused, ready but apprehensive and hopeful but nervous - then you should probably make chocolate chip cookies.

I feel way better.

Maybe we're friends now because you listened.

xo
Christina.