Eliminate your chocolate chip trauma with these soft and lightly sweetened cookies

By: Lauren Alford

News Editor

Chocolate chip cookies. Millions of Americans enjoy these little bites of joy each year.

  As a child, cookies were almost never in my family pantry. On the rare occasions they were present, they were always store bought chocolate chip cookies. 

Stale, processed and packed with sugar, my childhood version of chocolate chip cookies was an absolute nightmare. Even the homemade cookies from my friends’ parents were crunchy, flat and much too sweet.

I just wanted a fresh and soft cookie that wouldn’t send me crying to the dentist. To my younger self, that cookie simply didn’t exist.

It’s easy to understand how I developed a strong dislike for them. 

For years I rejected the chocolate chip cookie. Even as I created my own recipes, chocolate chip cookies were repeatedly overlooked for shortbread and snickerdoodles.

“Could you make something simple with this?” my mother asked. “They were on sale and I know you like baking.”

She plopped a bag of semi-sweet chocolate morsels onto the counter. I mentally went through a list of baked goods requiring chocolate chips. 

Brownies? Not enough eggs. Chocolate cake? No oil, and definitely not enough eggs. My family disliked virtually every other chocolate dessert. There was only one unfortunate option. I could try chocolate chip cookies.

I held back a gag as the childhood memories flooded my brain. Wait, no. There were a variety of baked goods that I disliked before trying to make them myself. Perhaps chocolate chip cookies were the same?

I looked at my soft baked sugar cookie recipe and fiddled with the flour to sugar ratios. I added in baking soda to react with the brown sugar. I added more salt. Finally, I tested my recipe to make sure everything was just right.

The results were fascinating. Fresh, soft at room temperature and just the right amount of sweetness. My whole family was in cookie heaven. Now you can bake this recipe too!

Ingredients:

½ cup or one stick of unsalted butter, very softened(it should be on the verge of melting)

¼ cup of white sugar

¼ cup of light brown sugar, packed

¾ cup and ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, separated

1 egg

½ teaspoon of baking soda

¾ teaspoon of salt(Don’t think about it, just trust me)

1 ½-2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour (you might need to add more)

ATTENTION: I’m going to say this before you even start. Please do not eat raw cookie dough. Raw eggs can have salmonella and raw flour often has E. coli, so for the sake of your health don’t do this (I learned it the hard way).

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a sheet pan with parchment.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
3. In a large bowl, mix cream butter and sugars until fluffy.
4. Add in egg and whisk until just combined. Just don’t whisk too much, or else the cookies will be more tough!
5. Add dry ingredients and stir until it resembles crumbly streusel topping(If you squeeze it together, it should remind you of kinetic sand). It should also be able to hold its shape after being rolled into a ball, as well as I have ripples like ice cream. If it’s too wet, add a tablespoon of flour until it reaches this consistency.
6. Add the larger portion of chocolate chips and use your hands to mix them into the dough.
7. Shape the cookie dough into balls, about a tablespoon and a half for each. Press four to five of the extra chocolate chips into each ball.
8. Place the dough balls onto the baking sheet, making sure they have about an inch or so between them to accommodate spreading.
9. Bake them for about 8-11 minutes until they’re spread, a bit puffy and slightly less pale. They should honestly look underbaked. EXCEPT THEY AREN’T. The cookies will continue cooking from their steam (created by the eggs and butter), as well as the residual heat from the baking sheet.
10. Let them cool 15 minutes and enjoy!