Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies

If any of you know my back ground I was not that child who spent time in the kitchen.  When I made food projects to enter into the county fair for 4-H I just made things and didn't care or think about what each product did to make the recipe what it was.  Well, when I found this recipe, I learned what I SHOULD have learned way back when (yes, it's been over 30 years since I was in 4-H).  I guess I learned a little bit about why these cookies are so good.  For instance, the cornstarch in this recipe gives the cookies that ultra soft-baked consistency we all know and love.  Plus, it makes the cookies super thick.  The melted butter increases the chewy factor.  But melted butter can make a baked cookie greasy so you can add flour to avoid that from happening.  Extra brown sugar increases the moist-factor, softness, and chewiness in the final cookie.  The white sugar induces slight spreading so your cookies don’t remain balls of dough in the oven.  These cookies remain nice and thick in the oven because of the cornstarch, flour, and baking soda.  Another way to ensure these cookies are extra chewy is to add an extra egg yolk.  The extra egg yolk adds richness, soft tenderness, and binds the dough.  So, now I feel really educated about these cookies!  Hope you did too.  But...maybe you knew this all.  :0)

 

2 1/4 c. all purpose flour, measured correctly
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. cornstarch
1/2 t. salt
3/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
3/4 c. light brown sugar, loosely packed
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk*
2 t. vanilla extract
1 c. chocolate chunks

Toss together the flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl.  Set aside. 

In a medium size bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and white sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain.  Whisk in the egg, then the egg yolk.  Finally, whisk in the vanilla.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula.  The dough will be very soft, yet thick.  Fold in the chocolate chunks.  They may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to have them evenly dispersed among the dough.  Cover the dough and chill for 2 hours, or up to 3 days.  Chilling is mandatory. 

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and allow to slightly soften at room temperature for 10 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 325*.  Spray the cookie sheets with non-stick spray.  Set aside.

Roll the dough into balls, about 3 T. of dough each.  The dough will be crumbly, but the warmth of your hands will allow the balls to stay intact.  Roll the cookie dough balls to be taller rather than wide, to ensure the cookies will bake up to be thick.  Press a few more chocolate chunks on top of the dough balls for looks, if desired.  Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes.  The cookies will look very soft and underbaked.  They will continue to bake on cookie sheet.  Allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.  

Cookies stay soft and fresh for 7 whole days at room temperature.  Cookies may be frozen up to 3 months.  Rolled cookie dough may be frozen up to three months and baked in their frozen state for 12 minutes. 

*Room temperature egg + egg yolk are preferred for even disbursement.  Typically, if a recipe calls for room temperature or melted butter, it's a good idea to use room temperature eggs as well.  To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, simply place the whole eggs into a glass of warm water for 5 minutes.