We are still baking for Teacher Appreciation Week here in the Love From The Oven household. Today’s treat is a delicious bakery style chocolate chip cookie. I made a double batch of these to go to school today – not just for teachers but for the support staff.
I’m going to step up on a soap box for a moment here… One thing I think is very important is to remember the non-teachers at our schools. I’m sorry but is there anyone who works harder than a school janitor? I can barely clean up after one kid, much less a full school of them! And nurses and duty aides and office staff and and specials teachers and the cafeteria workers… without them our schools wouldn’t be the same. So if you’ve never brought in a little something to say thank you to the support staff, please consider doing so. We have done this since my daughter was in kindergarten and I do not think I’ve ever seen bigger smiles over something as little as a cookie or a pretzel. Not only do I think it’s important to show these people how much we appreciate them, I also want my daughters to grow up knowing that everyone makes a difference and should be recognized. Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox and put my apron back on now and make some cookies.
And these are some GOOD cookies.
Chocolate chip cookies are a funny things, the recipes are all so similar yet somehow produce different results. I keep reading about these great Jacques Torres’s chocolate chip cookies, how they are the BEST ever. The number one chocolate chip cookie recipe – famous and amazing. Well they might be, but after hitting two stores and not finding bread or pastry flour (but 398 brands of all purpose, grrrr) and the fact that the dough needs to chill for 24-72 hours, they were just NOT happening. Between one kid with school and activities and the other with a slew of special needs therapies, tracking down ingredients is a challenge and planning ahead 24-72 hours… yeah, never happens. Keepin it real.
So I did some digging and came across this recipe for the Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie and figured I’d go with it. It’s a winner. Reader Melody pointed out that this recipe can also be found at America’s Test Kitchen. This is absolutely a recipe that will stay in my chocolate chip rotation.
The ingredients are straight forward (I doubled the recipe, which is why you see a larger amount of ingredients in my photo). Do take note that you MELT THE BUTTER and I brought my eggs to room temp (my quickie way is to put them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes). Also take note that you use an egg and a yolk.
I used a combo of semi sweet chocolate chips and the Pound Plus Dark Chocolate Bar from Trader Joe’s (which is my personal chocolate nirvana).
Yum yum yum.
The dough was delightful. One has to test.
I made mine pretty large – about six fit on a cookie sheet, where I’d normally have about 12.
Oh how I love cookie dough.
Simple and straight forward with no extended dough chilling necessary.
Now to package these babies up. I found the cutest idea over at Intimate Weddings.
Not only does she share this cute ideas, but she also has a super sweet free printable for the labels. I ordered some full sheet labels from Amazon as well as some CD Sleeves. I packaged my cookies in plastic wrap first, with the amount of butter in these I was worried about the sleeves getting a wee bit greasy.
I made up my own version of the labels, as I wanted to use my daughter’s school colors. Here are five different colors that you can download and use.
It took a bit of time but we had a whole batch of these ready to head to school this morning…
Hopefully the staff will enjoy these today.
Don’t forget you can find the recipe here!
Chaos Mommy says
May 10, 2012 at 9:46 amI also think it’s extremely interesting how all these chocolate chip recipes are similar, yet different. In baking class we discussed the chemistry behind it and how just a pinch more of one thing, or a pinch less of something else changes the whole finished product.
I’ve found Brown Eyed Baker’s Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies and haven’t looked back since.
Love the packaging!! I’m sending in thank you treats next week, as this is finals week for me and nothing but studying is getting done in my house!
Aimee @ ShugarySweets says
May 10, 2012 at 10:12 amThese are awesome! I saw the same link on Pinterest and bookmarked it for future use! LOVE your labels girl!
Melody says
May 10, 2012 at 10:37 amThis recipe is straight from America’s Test Kitchen for Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip cookies- and I agree – they are fabulous! Just made a batch last night myself. We love them.
http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/recipes/thick-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies/
Just had to give them credit since the recipe that posted the recipe didn’t do so.
Christi says
May 10, 2012 at 10:59 amMelody – nope didn’t see anything about that on All Recipes – usually they catch that kind of stuff. 🙂
Lisa McGriff says
May 10, 2012 at 10:39 amThis is the recipe I use! I use baking m&m’s in mine! Yummy
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
May 10, 2012 at 11:06 amThese look lovely, and those packages are so cute! Love it!
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says
May 10, 2012 at 11:07 amI saw this pin too!! Love how cute the cookies are with your tags on them!
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
May 10, 2012 at 11:15 amThey look great! When I recently made Compost Cookies from the Momofuku MilkBar cookbook, I realized the reason why everyone loves a bakery cookie is because…they’re huge! That recipe called for 1/3 cup dough, per cookie! Holy moly 🙂
Christi says
May 10, 2012 at 11:35 amWowza, a third cup!!! I think some of the magic in those larger sizes is that crunchy on the edges and a bit of delicious tiny bit under baked remaining in the center. And the other plus to the great big cookies, you can get done quite a bit quicker – a few sheets and you are good!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
May 12, 2012 at 6:57 pmI totally agree! I was in charge of teacher appreciation last week and every single staff member, including the janitor, got goodies! I think it’s so important to include them all. Love these cookies and bags!
Cannella Vita says
May 13, 2012 at 5:49 pmWOW! I love that packaging! I am in high school, and we are ALWAYS having fundraisers and bake sales — this would be the perfect way to make sure that my cookies don’t get smooshed (and look super cute as well!).
Jessi says
May 16, 2012 at 1:31 ami have been making these cookies for a while now. They are probably the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had….just sayin…haha.
Ericka says
May 17, 2012 at 10:01 pmI love your idea of packing those cookies. That is a great idea. I love chocolate chip cookies. Please check out my blog and tell me what you think.
Hilary @ The Cupcake Avenger says
May 22, 2012 at 4:01 amI am desperate to improve my chocolate chip cookie recipe and this might just be the one! And, seriously, who can wait 72 hours for dough to chill?? Can’t wait to try, thanks for sharing!
Dena says
July 20, 2012 at 8:16 pmOk, I tried this tonight to make for our guests. They turned out very flat and as big as my hand. I used a 1/4 measuring scoop and made exactly as written. I chilled the mix while the firs batch was cooking and upped the temp to 350 hoping it would cause the cookies to set before they spread too much, but it didn’t make a difference. What am I doing wrong??
Christi says
July 21, 2012 at 8:51 amDena, cookies are a fickle thing with so many factors that change the results. This is a good post to check out for info on why cookies can come out flat… http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?t=78921 I’m not sure I would up the heat to try and counteract spreading but I probably would add some more flour. I prefer my dough much thicker than most people do and am never opposed to adding in an extra spoonful or two of flour.
Teresa says
September 26, 2012 at 11:18 amAmerica’s Test Kitchen uses this same recipe only they add 2 extra tablespoons of flour. Perfect every time!