"The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie" says The Dessert Bible

While browsing through the newest addition to my cookbook library, The Amish Cook's Baking Book ($17.50 w/ free shipping... gotta love Amazon.com), I received a random text from my mom asking for chocolate chip cookies. I'll accept any excuse to bake, but when someone makes a specific request, it really gets me going! To my surprise, there wasn't a CCC recipe in my new book. I turned to a book I've had for a while but never used, The Dessert Bible by Chris Kimball(which I stole for $8.32 from Amazon.com). While I do believe the folks of Cook's Illustrated are sometimes snooty about their recipes, they usually produce really good results.

This recipe is a bit iffy for me. When I baked the cookies exactly as the recipe states, I got mound-shaped cookies with light brown tops and dark bottoms. Before I put my second pan in, I reduced the oven temp to 350, I moved an oven rack to the upper-middle position (to correct the uneven browning issue), and I slightly flattened my scoops of cookie dough with the palm of my hand. This batch took about 3 minutes longer to bake, but the shape and browning both improved. The only other slight change I made was to double the salt because I'm a firm believer that a pinch of salt in a cookie recipe will never suffice!

After making the changes, I am very pleased with how these cookies turned out. I loved biting into a big hunk of chocolate here and there. They still could've used more salt, but that's my preference. They are crisp on the outside, moist and chewy on the inside, and most importantly, Mom was happy! Two thumbs up for The Dessert Bible's "Best Chocolate Chip Cookie."

*Taste best when made while listening to Delta Blues tag radio on Last.fm, guaranteed! ;D

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie (from The Dessert Bible by Christopher Kimball)
Makes 20 large cookies (I got 2 dozen cookies using a #30 scoop)

1/4 cup Crisco
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened but still firm
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (Anyone else surprised by the measurement being given in cups instead of weight? So unlike Mr. Kimball!)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
10 oz. chocolate chunks (I used three different kinds of semi-sweet/dark chocolate. Next time I'll use a mix of milk and semi-sweet chocolate.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees*. In a medium bowl beat the Crisco and butter until fairly smooth. It’s okay if there are some bigger chunks. Add the sugars and stir until well blended. Add the egg, egg white, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix together until smooth. Add the chocolate and mix until just combined.

For large cookies, place heaping tablespoons of dough on the paper with 1 1/2 inches between the outer edges of the balls of dough. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned. Rotate pan front to back halfway through baking; do not overcook. Repeat until all the dough has been baked.
*My recommendation is to preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position. (If you only have 3 positions in your oven, use the middle rack.) When I baked my first pan on the middle rack, the bottoms browned much faster than the tops. I also suggest slightly flattening the scoops of dough before they go into the oven. At 350 degrees, these cookies will bake in 14-15 minutes.