Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

• • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar

  • 1/3 cup dark brown sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon corn starch

  • 1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt, divided

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee (optional)

  • 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips, divided

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar for about 3-4 minutes, until well combined and slightly lightened in color. Scrape down the bowl and gently mix in the vanilla extract and the egg; the mixture will be lumpy.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, 3/4 teaspoon salt, baking soda, cinnamon and espresso powder. Add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture, mixing on low, and switching to a wooden spoon when the dough gets too thick. Add 1 cup of the chocolate chips, and use some muscle to mix those in along with all the remaining bits of flour.

Use a cookie scoop to portion out small cookies or a cupcake scoop to portion out large cookies. Space the dough two inches apart on the baking sheet. Top the cookies with the remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips. (Note that placing extra chocolate chips on top is just for looks, but they have to be stored in a single layer until the chocolate sets up again, if you don't want to mess up the pretty chips on top while the chocolate is still soft. Alternatively, you can just mix all of the chocolate chips into the dough.)

These can be baked immediately, or for a more pillowy cookie that spreads less, freeze the dough balls for 5-10 minutes before baking. Bake small cookies for 7 1/2 - 8 minutes and large cookies for about 12-14 minutes, until the edges are browned but the centers still look slightly underdone. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt. Cool on the pan for several minutes, then carefully transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Yields 2 dozen small cookies and about 1 dozen large cookies

Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen