Baking Your First Batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies
A reliable cookie depends on the ratio of fat to sugar and the temperature of your dough. Once you master the mechanics of creaming butter and sugar, you can adjust the texture of any batch you bake.
Control the temperature of your ingredients.
Softened butter should still hold its shape when pressed; if it is greasy or melting, the cookies will spread into thin puddles on the sheet.
- stand mixer or hand mixer
- rubber spatula
- baking sheet
- parchment paper
- wire cooling rack
What goes in.
- 1 cupunsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cupgranulated white sugar
- 3/4 cuppacked light brown sugar
- 2large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cupsall-purpose flour
- 1 tspbaking soda
- 1/2 tspsalt
- 2 cupssemisweet chocolate chips
Aerating the butter and sugar
Beat the butter and sugars together until the texture is pale and fluffy. This creates the structure that gives your cookies a lift.
The method.
Preheat the oven
Set your oven to 375°F. Place a rack in the center position.
Cream fats and sugars
Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed for three minutes. Stop to scrape the bowl once.
Add liquids
Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Scrape the bowl again to ensure even mixing.
Combine dry ingredients
Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add this to the wet mix in two batches, stirring only until no white streaks remain.
Fold in chips
Use a rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate chips by hand.
Scoop and bake
Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto a lined sheet, spaced two inches apart. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes until the edges are firm and golden.
Cooling
Let the cookies sit on the hot sheet for five minutes before moving them to a rack to finish cooling.
Other turns to take.
Nutty Texture
Fold in one cup of toasted, chopped walnuts or pecans along with the chocolate chips.
Sea Salt Finish
Sprinkle a pinch of flaky sea salt over the tops of the cookies immediately after removing them from the oven.
When it doesn't go to plan.
Use a dedicated kitchen scale if you have one; measuring flour by weight is more consistent than using cups.
Do not overmix the flour; stop the mixer as soon as the last of the flour disappears to keep the cookies tender.
If the dough feels greasy, chill it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before scooping.
The ones that keep coming up.
Why did my cookies spread flat?
The butter was likely too warm or the oven temperature was too low.
Can I bake the dough right away?
You can, but chilling the dough for an hour improves the flavor and results in a chewier center.
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