Secrets to Making the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

When you hear the words "chocolate chip cookies," what is the first thing that comes into your head? Moist, chewy, and delicious? Fresh out of the oven with a glass of cold milk? Everyone loves chocolate chip cookies. The people who perfected the best known recipe in the country, Nestle, have generously printed their recipe on the back of chocolate chips bags for decades. If you want to find out how to bake world-class Toll House Cookies, read on.

The Toll House Recipe from Nestle is the best recipe to follow, you can find it online at several different websites. After you've had a chance to peruse the ingredient list and methods, discover some tested tricks that will allow you to get the best results.

Cookie Bake

Tricks and Tips

· Use non-stick cookie sheets. These are Teflon-coated and will ensure that your cookies don't stick. You can also use a SilPat silicone mat (found at kitchen stores) that will allow to slide off any cookie sheet.

· All ovens are different. Don't rely on 9-11 minutes before you check on your cookies. When cookies have spread out in the oven and start to puff up, it's time to take them out. If you wait until you see a hard, crusted surface, you've baked them too long. Take your cookies out a few minutes sooner than you think you should. This will allow for the fact that chocolate chip cookies harden as they cool.

· Don't use melted butter in place of softened butter that the recipe calls for. Melted butter will prevent your cookies from solidifying properly. Then you'll be tempted to cook them longer and they'll become rock hard. You really should leave your butter out on the counter for at least an hour so it will soften on its own.

· Use the best vanilla you can find. Most vanilla extracts are largely alcohol with a little flavoring. Spend a little more to get an extract that contains a high percentage of vanilla bean and flavor as opposed to alcohol. The gourmet stores all carry excellent vanilla that will make a real difference in the taste of your gourmet cookies.

· Use fresh nuts and chips. Using stale nuts that expired last year will make for stale cookies. And that stale taste will permeate the entire batter. There's no excuse for using anything but the freshest ingredients.

· Don't substitute wheat flour for white that's called for. Wheat just doesn't make for the same type of chocolate chip cookie that this recipe aims for. There's nothing wrong with making whole wheat cookies. Just look for a recipe that allows you to accommodate for wheat flour.

Secrets to Making the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Image courtesy of Scubadive67 on Flickr's Creative Commons.

Betty Ann Sherman is a mother and a baker of tasty treats. She has a special passion for baking cookies, pies, cakes, and everything wonderful. Check back for updates from Betty on her delicious treat adventures.

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