Big City, Little Kitchen

This New York Times recipe makes the perfect chocolate chip cookie.  The downside:  it’s pretty fussy.  The amount of cookie dough it yields is quite large, and not easily divisible; it uses two types of flours (bread and pastry), neither necessarily a pantry staple; and must rest at least 24 hours, 72 to produce the best results.    I rejiggered a recipe for White Chocolate-Butterscotch Cookies, from the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook, into fast, easy chocolate chip cookies.  These may lack the caramelized and more complex flavor of the NYT recipe, but they are plenty buttery, soft-with-crispy-edges, and delicious.  And easier.

Fast and Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Scrape down sides of mixer and beat in egg until well-combined.  Reduce mixer speed to low and mix in dry ingredients just until combined; mix in chocolate chips. 

Drop rounded tablespoon-fuls of dough 2 inches apart on cookie sheets; bake just until edges turn golden brown, and the middles are slightly underdone (about 9 minutes).  Cool for 5 minutes on sheets, then remove to a cooling rack.