Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Step 1: Creaming the Wet Ingredients
Making a great chewy chocolate chip cookie all starts with getting the creaming technique right. First, you need your butter to be softened to room temperature, just enough to where if you poke it, it leaves a dent. Take your softened butter and mix it with both the white and brown sugars in a big bowl. Now, beat this really well on medium speed for about three to five minutes until the whole mixture looks light, fluffy, and a pale yellow color. This is the creaming step we talked about, which is key to the end result because it traps the air that gives the cookies their perfect light texture. After that, put in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla extract. Then mix just until they disappear into the batter. Don't overdo it here, or it can toughen the texture of the cookies. In nearly every cookie recipe they will tell you to mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, but a tip I have learned over the years is that you can add the dry ingredients on top of the wet, just be sure the wet ingredients are fully combined and that you use flour as a support for the other ingredients.
Step 2: Combining, Scooping, and Baking
With your wet and dry parts ready, the final step is mixing them carefully before they hit the oven. If going with the standard wet and dry bowl method, slowly add the flour mixture to the butter and sugar, mixing on low speed. Stop mixing when you can still see a few streaks of flour; this is important! If you keep mixing after that, you'll overwork the flour's gluten and end up with a hard, dense cookie instead of a chewy one. Grab your spatula and gently fold in the rest of the flour and all your chocolate chips. Once that's done, you can preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Scoop the dough onto your baking sheet, leaving about two inches between them so they have room to spread. To have crisp edges with a chewy center, you only want to bake them for 9 to 12 minutes. The goal is to have the edges look golden brown, but the very center of the cookie should still look a tiny bit soft and under-baked. Leave them on the tray for five minutes after they come out; this helps them set up perfectly before you move them to a rack to cool down the rest of the way. Enjoy!