Humble Chocolate Chip Cookies

Before I start telling you how I had my neighbour, Father U, V and Sammy swoon over my Chocolate chip cookie I have to admit that I have been a delinquent blogger.  The initial effort of sitting down andthinking of a blog name, configuring the font, color, setting up a profile, writing the About you part is the most challenging part; apart from a  hundred and twenty four other things that one needs to do So I decided I’d take a two day off and return with renewed enthusiasm with the subject for my new blog, the every so scrumptious, ever so lovely chocolate chip cookies. To bake a batch of these gorgeous cookies is any newbie bakers’ first step to the world of flour, butter and sugar
So when darling Sam got me a generous pack of Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate chips, I pondered and pondered as to where I can use these dainty morsels. I scampered through some food blogs, only to find the original Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate chip recipe on the back of the pack.I guess it was the mood that seized me and I felt I simply couldn’t go wrong (only to be proved that I was being a fool).  I then gathered all that I needed to embark on this new labour of love. I whipped the butter and sugar until it became wonderfully creamy and fluffy. Then came the turn of the eggs to be dropped one by one and whipped till the flavours fused.  In went a dash of not so pure vanilla (wishful thinking that somebody from Madagascar reading my blog shows his/her appreciation by sending me a bunch of vanilla pods). I nimbly mixed some flour and in it went a cupful of dusky choco chip beauties, resulting in a delicious, buttery, sugary dough which tastes delicious even without cooking. I resisted the temptation to clean it up as it has uncooked eggs. The oven glistened while I scooped out the dough and placed them on the tray and watched patiently as the mounds melted and cracked revealing their gooey inside. While baking always smells good this smell was  extraordinary.They came out aided by my cute mittens to be shifted on a cooling rack to harden, but alas they didn’t harden like they should ,only to be told by my over indulging neighbour who already  gobbled up  two "I love the CAKE you made"

Below is the recipe which I halved to make 12 cookies
WHAT YOU NEED

•       2 1/4 cup all purpose flour (Maida)
•       1 tsp baking soda

•       1 tsp salt
•       1 cup or 2 sticks butter
•       3/4 cup granulated sugar
•       3/4 cup packed brown sugar
•       1 tsp vanilla extract
•       2 large eggs
•       2 cups choc chips
•       1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
WHAT TO DO

•       Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius
•       Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl
•       In a large bowl beat the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar until creamy
•       Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, also add the vanilla extract, whip till mixed well
•       Gradually beat in the flour mixture
•       Stir in the choc morsels and nuts
•       Drop off rounded tablespoon or ice-cream scoop onto a ungreased baking sheets
•       Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or golden brown

For a perfect cookie these are a few tips to follow
• First measure all the dry ingredients, the flour followed by the sugars. Avoid using the same cups which has traces of butter in it
• Get the eggs to room temperature (unless the recipe asks for eggs from the refrigerator) to prevent curdling. Even if the mixture does curdle it can be salvaged by adding a spoonful of flour. Eggs could be

dipped into warm water to bring it down to room temperature

• Beat the butter first to soften it and then add the sugars and whip it on high speed. While adding the eggs bring down the speed to low and increase it to high later
•When folding in the flour use the kneading attachment of the hand held mixer (available on my Murphy Richards mixer). I just lovveee loveeee it. Be careful not to over-whip  the mixture but just enough till it is well incorporated
• Only grease/line the baking tray if the recipe asks for it. I  recently learnt that darker baking tray means more heat so keep a watch on the beauties to make sure not to over bake them
• Place the cookies at least 2 inches away even if it means you turn out 6 cookies in one batch , to help them spread and not become one giant blob (I wish I followed this strictly)
• Something I love to do is open the oven halfway to turn the sheet the other way around so that the cookies bake evenly, and I spot the cookie with more choc chips
•Never reduce the temperature from what is prescribed. You can either increase or decrease the cooking time and check if the cookies turned the desirable golden brown you need at the minimum cooking time. In this recipe it was 9 minutes
•When you bring the sheet out of the oven, leave them to cool on the same sheet for 2 minutes and then transfer it to a cooling rack. This will bring out  the steam trapped inside the cookies and harden them
while they cool
•And of course, the most important thing now that you’ve made a positively rich cookie is to ensure that you enjoy it without any distractions. Pick yourself one warm cookie and start with your favourite spot. With each bite, feel the texture, the taste and the opulence
Coming soon … Blueberry cheese cake!!