Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's not 'the most wonderful time of the year,' but it is 'that time of the year.' I hope most of you tax payers out there know that I am referring to tax season. If you're not a tax payer, I won't hold it against you if you're clueless, but one day you will be ever-so-cognizant of that looming day. This is only the second year that I have really had to pay taxes, so it's still pretty simple to crunch my numbers.

Last year, my parents took my folder of papers along with their box of necessary information, and our faithful accountant was nice enough to throw my taxes in free of charge. I made a batch of peanut butter cookies with chocolate and peanut butter chips as a thank-you-for-doing-my-taxes gift. This year, my monies were no more complicated than they were the year before, so he said he would file for me again...as long as I made a batch of chewy chocolate chip cookies. DONE.

I remembered seeing an episode of Alton Brown's "Good Eats" all about cookies. If you've never seen Alton before, he's a foodie and science nerd, and somehow he marries the two fairly well. On this particular episode he acknowledged personal preferences for cookies and gave the ideal recipes for the chewiest chewy cookie, the crunchiest thin cookie, and the poofiest puffy cookie. I like a good crunchy cookie, because for some reason, I feel less guilty about those than the ones that closely resemble dough. That does not stop me from eating doughy cookies--those are my absolute favorites. But a puffy cookie sounds dry to me.

I made the chewy cookie, because if it's scientifically proven, it's got to be good. I followed the recipe as Alton made it, but I did not have any bread flour. So I made it with regular flour, and they were still chewy and delicious! My tax man was pretty happy and said they were the best he has ever had...so it's not just science, it's scientifically proven!

2 sticks butter
2 1/4 flour
1 t kosher salt
1 t baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 T milk
1 1/2 t vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips (I put just a bit less)

Preheat over to 375. Melt the butter in a microwaveable-safe bowl. Sift the flour, salt, and soda together.

I sifted them onto a sheet of parchment paper so that I could easily pour the last of it in the bowl at the end.

Add sugars to the melted butter, and mix on medium speed for two minutes. Add the egg, yolk, milk, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Slowly incorporate the flour, adding 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup at a time.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Chill the dough for at least an hour. Scoop onto the cookie sheet, but ensure that there is plenty of space for them to spread out. They always get bigger than I expect them to, so they go in as separate cookies, and I have to end up cutting each cookie free from the massive cookie that exits the oven.

Bake for about 12 minutes. I always take the cookies out when they look raw, because they continue to cook on the sheet once they are removed. Once they take a minute to cool, they are the perfect done-ness. Enjoy with a smear of peanut butter, alone, a la mode, with milk, or however you prefer your chocolate chip cookie.

Or give them to your tax man...whether or not he makes you pay.