But they really ARE the best chocolate chip cookies.

I know that everyone has a favorite chocolate chip cookie. Or at least, FAVORS chocolate chip cookies. In fact, every time I ask my husband for suggestions on what to bake (one has to keep one's cake dome occupied, after all) he generally defaults to this beloved specimen. Of course, he prefers for his to be in the frozen, uncooked form. I swear, he is happiest just gnawing on frozen chunks of dough straight from the freezer. Easy enough.

But I like the dough warmed up...as in, theoretically baked and fresh from the oven, but still really gooey and delicious. Yah, you know what I mean. Just-shy-of-salmonella-ville, that's me. Now, I am pretty happy with the standard back-of-the-yellow-bag recipe. Always works fine by me and quick to mix up, especially since I usually have the ingredients lying around the house (if I haven't eaten all of the chocolate chips straight out of the bag). In fact, this is the recipe I 'passed on' to my younger sister when she wanted to know how to make my "famous" chocolate chip cookies...she wasn't ever actually going to bake anyway.

However, I have found a new recipe. One that involves a few pros and a few cons, to be sure. On the con side, it involves browning butter - a delicious smelling process that results in extra dirty dishes. It also involves the separating of a yolk from a white, and a series of 30 second stirs, followed by 3 minute 'rests' as you let the sugar really integrate with the butter and eggs. On the pro side, it only makes about 16 cookies, but they are REALLY big cookies (you have to make them big to get that proper ration of chewy center and crispy edges). The ther pro is that it makes the most deliciously, caramel-y, butter-y chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. They are great the next day, but they are positively RELIGIOUS just straight out of the oven. Even for my husband, the frozen dough lover. Though he seems to prefer his flavored with Bromide, since he decided the let his rest for a moment on the hot tub chemical container...

So, the next time you want to try a ew cookie, but want the familiarity of an old favorite...give this a try. You probably won;t make the complete conversion to this slightly more labor intensive cookie, but isn't it worth mixing it up every now and then?

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
(straight from Cook's Illustrated - my FAVORITE food magazine, by the way)

Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 to 1 ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Line two large (18- by 12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

Whisk flour and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

Heat 10 tablespoons of the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 tablespoons butter into hot butter until completely melted.

Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, and vanilla to the bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, and then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process of resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips, giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.

Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 tablespoons (or use a #24 cookie scoop). Arrange 8 balls, two inches apart on prepared baking sheets. (Smaller baking sheets can be used, but will require 3 batches.)

Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer the baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.