Reason and cookies.

The purpose of Kitchen of Joy is simple. Share some of my favorite recipes, whether it's baking or cooking. Sometimes I may just post a favorite recipe, other times a post followed by tips/suggestions. Also, please share some of your favorite recipes.
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Let's start with the chocolate chip cookie. I have made Tollhouse cookies so many times, I know the recipe by heart.

2.5 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
.75 cups light brown sugar
.75 white sugar
2 sticks butter (never, EVER use margarine)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups or one regular sized bag of Tollhouse chocolate chips

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl (or a Kitchenaid mixer bowl...for those lucky enough to have a KA Mixer :) ) Combine brown sugar, white sugar, butter and vanilla. Beat until creamy. One at a time, add eggs. Beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture one cup at a time. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon unto a ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9-11 at 375*F. Let cool a few minutes on sheet before transferring to a wire rack.

NOTES:

I ALWAYS use unbleached flour (UB). Why? No chems. If you really want to use bleached flour...go ahead. Makes no difference.

Chocolate makes the cookies. No joke.

Butter. Something I feel strongly about.
I take my butter out of the fridge first thing. Once everything has been assembled and I get to adding the butter...it's soft-ish. Or by the time everything is assembled and ready to be made into cookie shapes...and the dough is hard (because the butter is hard)...I rounded the tablespoon balls by hand. The heat of my hand melts and softens the butter a bit. That's your solution to too hard of dough. Then we've got too soft of dough. So you make a butch of cookies and they spread out waay too much. Your butter is too soft. Just put the dough in the fridge for a bit.

Vanilla. Use only real vanilla. Vanilla extract tastes too fake. Or omit the vanilla if real is to expansive.
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