Chocolate Chip Cookies That Make a Great Second Impression

So here’s a secret:

When I want to make chocolate chip cookies, do you know what recipe I use? I use the one on the back of Tollhouse chocolate chips. It is a solid recipe that has never steered me wrong in all my life.

But for some reason, when I saw this recipe from the New York Times, labeled “Thick-and-Gooey Chocolate-Chip Cookies,” I was overcome by the urge to try it.

The dough (yes, I eat raw cookie dough, salmonella be damned) was delicious, so I had high hopes when I pulled the first tray from the oven. But when I tasted one, I found it bland. Not bad, exactly; just average.

I was all prepared to go back to the good old Tollhouse recipe, but then the next morning…something happened. I ate another cookie, and it was incredible. It was the best second-day cookie I’d ever eaten. It was wonderfully soft, and the flavor was significantly better than it had been the night before. I can’t explain it, I can only say that those cookies were damn good.

Here’s my final verdict on the subject of chocolate chip cookies: if I were making cookies for a lot of people, and knew they were al going to get eaten the very first day, I would use the classic Tollhouse recipe. But if I knew these cookies were going to be sitting around for a couple days, this is the recipe I would use.

The recipe:
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. kosher salt
8 oz (two sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 c. packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3 c. chopped bittersweet chocolate (chunks and shavings)
2 c. chopped walnuts (optional; I of course chose to forgo the nuts)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat (we were out of parchment, so I did without. It didn’t seem to create any problems). Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy, 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Add the flour mixture all at once and blend until a dough forms. Fold in the chocolate and walnuts. Chill the dough.

Roll 1/4 -cup lumps of dough into balls (I prefer smaller cookies. Mine were a generous tablespoon, and I cooked them for about 11 minutes), then place on the baking sheet and flatten to 1/2 -inch-thick disks spaced 2 inches apart. Chill the dough between batches. Bake until the edges turn golden, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheet, then transfer to a baking rack.

 Oh, and here's a friendly tip: if you take two of these and put some ice cream in the middle, you've got yourself a killer ice cream sandwich.

Enjoy!