That time we did a chocolate chip cookie contest
It’s a question as old as time (well, almost): What makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie?Some people like them chewy, some like them crispy, some load ‘em up with nuts – and some like to add random ingredients (what?). So in the spirit of science, we held an entire-office chocolate chip cookie bakeoff, complete with cold, palate-cleansing glasses of milk.Our finest bakers went forth, baked their favorite chocolate chip cookies and brought them in to share. To make sure each baker had a fair shot, the batches of cookies were each assigned a number and displayed anonymously.
Then came the taste testing! Everyone loaded up their plates, sampled the goods and voted for their top three cookies.In between bites, we all participated in a simple poll (science!) to see our overall chocolate chip cookie preferences. Turns out, it doesn’t matter if the cookies are thick or thin, as long as they are big and chewy. And the people have spoken: NO NUTS.As for the final results of the bakeoff…here’s the winning recipe (#9!) submitted by Steph Ward:Note: Works best with an automatic mixer so mixer can mix while you pour in ingredients.Ingredients:- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 sticks butter
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 egg
- Vanilla to taste (1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon dependent on your like)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 bag Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Directions:- Heat oven to 375º F.
- In bowl, combine milk, eggs and vanilla (wet ingredients).
- In another bowl, combine baking soda, flour and salt (dry ingredients).
- Melt butter and pour into mixing bowl.
- Add both brown and white sugars to mixing bowl.
- Turn on mixer and start mixing in wet and dry ingredients alternating between both. (Works best by taking half a cup of wet ingredients, half a cup of dry, wet, dry, etc).
- On ungreased cookie sheet, put cookie dough on sheet in small quarter size.
- Bake until edges are cooked but center looks wet.