cookies

No matter how unproductive and blob-like I have been throughout the day, I always feel productive when I cook. In fact, cooking and baking are some of the things that never make me feel guilty or like I have wasted time. As far as I am concerned, time in the kitchen is almost always time well spent.

The other day I had the pleasure of making chocolate chip cookies. It is unusual for me to go more than a week or two without baking cooking because Barrett loves them. My recipe for chocolate chip cookies is a very special one because it comes from my mom. She would whip these cookies up on command whenever we had friends over as kids. She can mix the dough in 6 minutes flat--pretty impressive. When I made these cookies in college, my roommates would mock their gooey-ness for being undercooked, but years later, they all want to come over for warm cookies and ice cream. I also have made these cookies for my kids for our monthly book club treats, and they quickly became BIG fans (as pictured above). On several occasions, they even offered me money and/or other bribes for some cookies. And now I will share the recipe with all of you:

2 sticks of butter
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cup flour
about 1 cup chocolate chips.

Cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Sift in dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips. Now here is the secret: Bake at 385 for exactly 6 minutes and no longer. They will not look done and you will want to give them another minute, but do not succumb to this temptation. Take the cookies out, and let them cool on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes. Then take them off, and I always like to set them on brown paper bags to cool a little more.


A note about chocolate chips: There is a long standing debate in my family between whether to use semi-sweet or milk chocolate in our cookies. My mom and sisters will fight to the death for milk chocolate, but my husband will stand by semi-sweet til the end. So frankly, I am very divided on the subject and would tell you to go with you gut on that point.

For Serving: These cookies are to-die-for served right out of the oven over vanilla ice cream. It is classic and the best! This is Barrett's favorite desert. I always freeze the cookies we don't eat right away. They are excellent frozen--a wonder chewy, little, sweet snack. I know it sounds strange, but trust me and try it. (I used to eat frozen cookies after waking up from a nap on Sunday afternoons when I was little.) But we also like to reheat the cookies for a few minutes in the oven for that gooey ice cream concoction we love so much.

Enjoy some well-spent time in the kitchen and the very productive feeling afterward!