CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Aaaahhh, cookies!!! This word nearly sounds like poetry to my ears! The quintessence of American bakery. An endIess quest for the ultimate taste Nirvana. A little piece of heaven...

It is no secret if cookies are very popular as their versatility is what makes them so interesting and attaching. It is for that reason that there are SO many different recipes and different ways of appreciating them. Some cookie lovers will claim that their recipe is the best, but although there's an immense choice of great recipes in circulation, everybody will have his/her own favorite cookie and his/her own vision of what the ultimate cookie should be like. But, what is THE perfect cookie? A chewy one? A crunchy one? A white chocolate one? With pecan nuts or walnuts? That's a difficult question to answer, because the search of the perfect cookie is a very personal one and is quite a task to undertake....

With this recipe, I will not try to assert that it is the one and only around, but I can at least say that it is indeed a very good one which I recommend you to test! Let me explain...

Their center is nice and chewy, on the outside, they are slightly crunchy. Their taste is absolutely awsome (buttery, chocolatty, nutty with hints of vanilla), even if very classical, at the end. Those cookies are simply gorgeous and it is one of the recipes to which I cling!...

The following recipe was taken from the wonderful little cute book "Afternoon Delights - Coffeehouse Favorites: Cookies & Coffee Cakes, Brownies & Bars, Scones & More" by James McNair and Andrew Moore.

Makes about 12 large cookies

Ingredients:
188g (1 1/4 Cups) Plain white flour
1/2 Baking soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
120g (1/2 Cup) Unsalted butter, at room temperature
110g (1/2 Cup) Castor sugar
110g Light brown sugar
1 Egg (~50g), at room temperature
2 Tsp Pure vanilla extract
160g (1 Cup) Semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 Cup Walnuts, lightly toasted and coarsly chopped
1/2 Cup Peanuts, lightly toasted

Method:
1. In a bowl, combine sifted flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In another bowl, combine the sugars and the butter and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Blend well.
4. Add the flour mixture and incorporate it gently.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips and the toasted nuts.

6. Put the dough in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for an hour (not in the book, but an important step if you want them to be perfect).
7. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).
8. Using an ice-cream scoop (1/4 cup), scoop up level portions of the dough and place them about 7cm (3 inches) apart on the lined baking sheet until it is full.
9. Cover the remaining dough tightly with plastic wrap to prevent from drying. Set aside until forming the next batch of cookies.
10. Place the rack in the middle of the oven and bake until the cookies are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
11. Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack to cool for a few minutes, then using a spatula, transfer the cookies directly to the rack to cool completely.
12. Repeat the forming process until the dough is used up.

Remarks:
You can also use white chocolate and any other nut of your choice (macadamia, pecans, brasil nuts, etc...) as long as they are toasted.
I used salted and toasted peanuts for this recipe.
Originally, this recipe called for 1 cup pecans or walnuts.
Instead of using an ice-cream scoop, shape the balls with the palm of your hands.
The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 6 days.

Serving suggestions:
Do I really have to tell you how to eat those cookies?!? Come on, sincerely, you don't think that we all know you'll be tempted to finnish the whole box within the next half an hour!!!!...

(Cookie Pot - Pic by www.giftsense.com)