Welcome to November...

Linda and I have decided to team up and make November all about the food here on quirk. Instead of just being quirky, we're being...

quirkalicious!

Every day we'll be bringing you a fusion of photographs and food, so that by the end of the month, you should have 30 recipes we think you ought to try. Some of them will be borrowed from other sources, some will probably be modified from cookbooks, and there may be a few that we just throw together on our own...who knows?

When we discussed how we were going to do this, Linda wondered if we should do things in order, like a cookbook?

I said, "of course!"

So we're starting with cookies.

Chocolate chip cookies.

Specifically...Martha Stewart's Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Now people, I have to say - I've always been a back-of-the-toll-house-semi-sweet-chocolate-chip-bag recipe person. Dr. SmartyPants likes the stuff in a tub that you just plop out onto a cookie sheet. But lately, neither (especially the stuff in the tub...ewww) has been cutting it for me. So I began searching for a better recipe.

This one is fabulous.

Before you start - make sure you have the good stuff, okay? No imitation vanilla, no margarine, no Splenda, for heaven's sake. Pure vanilla, honest-to-goodness butter and straight up sugar are going to make these cookies heavenly...



Here's what you need:

Makes about 3 dozen

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (about 12 ounces) semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips

Mix it all up until it looks something like this:

 

 

Oh, and you should probably do it in this order:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

And honestly - in my opinion, we could just stop right here, grab spoons and go to town. Who needs to cook this lovely bit of yumminess? Salmonella-shalmonella. *
 

Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

 

 

I strongly recommend serving these with a side of milk, and permission to dunk.

 

Enjoy!

 

*Please don't eat raw eggs. Don't be like me.