Talk about an American classic… I’ve seen so many recipes for chocolate chip cookies, and one of the major issues is… do you like nuts in your cookies?    Purists want the flavor of  chocolate, and little else.  Others enjoy the scrumptious crunchiness of walnuts or pecans, and without them, something is missing.  My beloved falls in the second category, and he’s set in his preference.  I don’t care that much,  as long as the cookies are chewy.    Please, no dunking in milk, as my stepson loves to do,  it grosses me out, and he dunks them right in front of me!  🙂  In fact, the first thing he said after my naturalization was:   “now that you’re an American, you’ve got to start dunking some cookies in a tall glass of milk“….

Whether you are a purist or not, or a “dunker” or not, I’ll bet you’ll enjoy these cookies.  I’ve made them several times since I first saw the recipe at Smitten Kitchen.   In this batch my only adjustment was to chop some of the nut pieces slightly larger.   These cookies will still please the purists, though…

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
(as posted in  Smitten Kitchen, original recipe from The Great Book of Chocolate)

(receita em portugues na segunda pagina)

100g  (1/2 cup)  granulated sugar
120g (1/2 cup) dark brown sugar
8 Tbs unsalted butter (1 stick), cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
175 g (1  + 1/4 cup)  all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
200 g  (1 + 1/2 cup) good quality semisweet chocolate chips
130 g (1 cup) walnuts toasted and chopped

Heat the oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet  with parchment paper, or use a Silpat lining.

Beat the sugars and butters together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda.  Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Scoop the cookie dough into 2T balls  and place them on a baking sheet separated by 3 inches.   Bake for 18 minutes, until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Makes 24 cookies.

to print the recipe, click here.

Comments:   You’ll notice that these cookies bake at a lower temperature than most recipes call for.  If you are like me, and enjoy chewy cookies, this is the best way to bake them.  I like to make the dough and rest it in the fridge for a couple of hours.  By doing so, the dough spreads less during baking, which also favors a chewy texture.

Toasting the nuts is an important preliminary step, but watch them carefully, because the difference between toasted and burned is just a few seconds!

Match made in heaven:  a chocolate chip cookie with a mini-capuccino, served in a cup from one of our favorite cafes in Paris!

CANTINHO BRASILEIRO

COOKIES DE CHOCOLATE, estilo americano

100g (1 / 2 xícara) de açúcar granulado
120g (1 / 2 xícara) de açúcar mascavo
8 colheres de sopa de manteiga sem sal, cortada em pedacinhos
1 ovo grande
1 colher de chá de extrato de baunilha
1 / 2 colher de chá de bicarbonato de sódio
175 g (1 + 1 / 4 xícara) de farinha de trigo
1 / 4 colher de chá de sal
200 g (1 + 1 / 2 xícara) de pedacos de chocolate meio-amargo (chocolate chips)
130 g (1 xícara) de nozes levemente torradas e picadas

Aqueça o forno a 150 C. Forre uma assadeira com papel manteiga.

Bata o açúcar e a manteiga ate’ que a mistura fique cremosa. Adicione o ovo, baunilha e bicarbonato de sódio, batendo ate’ que incorpore a massa. Em uma tigela separada, misture bem a farinha com o sal, em seguida coloque na massa preparada.   Finalmente, incorpore o chocolate e as nozes picadas.

A massa pode ser colocada na geladeira por varias horas.  Para assar os biscoitos, forme bolinhas com cerca de 2 colheres de sopa da massa e transfira para a assadeira, deixando um espaco de 5 cm entre elas.  Asse por 18 minutos, retire do forno e deixe esfriar sobre uma gradinha.

Rendimento: 24 biscoitos.