Even more chocolate chip cookies! Plus a giveaway!

The other day, I decided to try and find the perfect chocolate chip cookies. I know I just posted some last month, but I figured I could find a recipe better than my favorite. I started out ambitiously, printing out 5 recipes to try. The first recipe was a Martha Stewart one, which I just didn’t care for at all. It was just sort of bland, I didn’t even take pictures of them!



The second was a recipe from Alice of Savory Sweet Life. I’m sort of in love with it. They grow on you, getting better as they cool. They are crisp, and the perfect mix of salty and sweet, I absolutely loved the sea salt in them. The first batch I made I used my small cookie scoop, the second I used my big 3 tablespoon scoop, and they were even better, more textured, crisp on the edges and softer in the center. So make them big!



The third was from Ashley of Not Without Salt. They are your quintessential chocolate chip cookies. The texture is exactly what you expect, but with an added crunch from the turbinado sugar, and they are delicious. It’s an excellent cookie. I wish I could have used chocolate chunks, like Ashley recommends, but sadly I only had chips. I bet they would have been even better!

After that one, my quest for perfection was waning a bit, so the last 2 recipes will have to wait a while. Both of these recipes are so, so good, and it’s really hard to pick a favorite. You should really make both, as they are quite different, but equally good, and much better than my former favorite. I’m making them again tomorrow to send off in the mail, I hope the recipient enjoys!


To encourage you to make some for yourself, today I’m giving away the Oxo 3T Cookie Scoop. It makes big, uniform sized balls of dough so all of your cookies cook perfectly and at the same speed. I love it!



What to do to enter:
Enter once by leaving a comment on this post telling me what your favorite kind of cookie is and a way to contact you if you don't have a blog.

Enter a second time by twittering about the giveaway to @honeyandjam AND leaving a ANOTHER comment on this post.

Enter another time by posting about this giveaway on your blog AND leaving ANOTHER comment on this post.

No entries after 10 pm EST this Thursday, December 10th.

I’ll select one winner through random.org Friday.





Alice’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes approx. 45-48 cookies using a sm-med 2tbl. cookie scoop
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups (12 oz) all-purpose flour *If at all possible, please weigh the flour
1 tsp. smallish-medium coarse sea salt *please do not use table salt, the sea salt gives the cookies a nice flavor and hints of texture. If you must use table salt, use 1/2 tsp.
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups/16 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 360 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar until it is nice and fluffy (approx. 5 minutes on medium speed on a K-5). Add both eggs and vanilla and beat for an additional 2 minutes. Add baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour until cookie batter is fully incorporated. Finally add chocolate chips until well distributed. The cookie batter should be somewhat thick. Drop about 2 tablespoons of dough or use a medium cookie scoop and plop the batter onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-14 minutes until the edges are nice and golden brown. Remove from heat and allow the cookies to stay on the cookie sheet for an additional 2 minutes. Pick up the parchment paper with the cookies still on top and transfer to a cool non-porous surface. Allow the cookies to cool on the paper for at least 3 minutes before serving. Enjoy!


Ashley’s Chocolate Chip Cookie
8 oz. 2 sticks butter
2 oz 1/4 cup white sugar
2 oz 1/4 cup Turbinado sugar
12 oz 1 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1/4 oz 2 tsp vanilla
1 lb. 3 1/2 cup All Purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 lb. chocolate (use the best quality chocolate you can afford. With a serrated knife cut chocolate chunks roughly 1/2 inch)
Cream the butter and the sugars until light. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Continue mixing while adding the eggs one at time. Make sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next. Add the vanilla. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Combine the flour, soda and salt in another bowl. With a whisk, stir to combine. With the machine on low, slowly add the flour. Mix until just combined, taking care not to over mix. With a spatula fold in the chocolate.
If you so choose, and I do recommend that you do, sprinkle a very fine dusting of good quality sea salt. Fleur de Sel or Murray River Pink Salt are my recommendations.
Bake at 360* for 12 minutes. They should be lightly golden on the outside but still look gooey on the inside.