Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

I admit,  I am not really a baker. I don't  mind spending the whole day in the kitchen, stirring vigorously the contents of my pans or watch in silent vigil, at a pot full of animal carcass, cooking gently in its own juice. I rarely follow a recipe and measuring ingredients was never been a habit,  so If a dish doesn't turn out as it should be, a little bit of tweaking and seasoning really helps. A tad of butter, a splash of cream , more salt and a bit pepper could always save a dish, well, almost always.

 Baking, however,  is a completely different story. Every gram of flour or sugar, every drop of liquid, the kneading, the beating, the  temperature, the length of baking, is crucial.  Once out of the oven, there's no salvaging  a burnt muffin , a stone hard bread  or a saggy scone. The trash bin has been fed  more often than I want to admit,  with my failed experiments. Along  with it are the frustrated wails and unladylike curses that made me grateful, I no longer live with my mother. If there's something that could make me lose my cool, than it's probably a baked cake that's stuck in the  pan . I try  not play with my happy disposition , so I tend to bake less and cook more. One of the many secrets of hubby's harmonious weekends.

Now, Chocolate chip cookie is my all time favorite cookie, and I have tried and tried baking it, hoping the it would turn out like I want it. Soft, thick and chewy. Recipes look easy enough, but my numerous attempts always end up a failure. My oven yields annoyingly flat, dry and almost crumbly cookies!  After few failed attempts, I simply gave up on it. It has been three years since I've tried baking it and today I somehow felt...lucky. Maybe it's the Glücksbringer ( lucky charm) plant I got for Christmas . With it on the kitchen counter, anything seems possible. Like reaching my nose with the tip of left big toe, win the lottery or have a soft and chewy home-made chocolate cookie. Well, It goes without saying,  that  I was not able to lift my foot past my navel,  forgot to play this week's Lotto, so  I could at least give cookie baking a go. Luck was  beaming at me today, since I've made the thickest, chewiest Cookie ever! Hep...Hep...Hurray! 

 It might take a while and few more yoga sessions before I could twist my limbs and touch  any part of my anatomy with my toe, and it would probably take eternity before I could win anything in the lottery. So in the meantime, let me share this wonderful recipe with you, while waiting for the first two to happen. Eating it certainly makes the wait, a worth while.

Ingredients:

• 360 g all purpose Flour
• 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 230 g Butter, softened
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 200 g Brown Sugar
• 1 tbsp. Vanilla
• 2 Large Eggs
• 255 g Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

1.Sift and whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

2.In another bowl, cream together butter and sugar using an electric mixer until no lumps remain.

3.Whisk in the eggs and the vanilla until everything is well incorporated.

 4.Add in the flour mixture and mix everything together using a rubber spatula, wooden spoon or if using an electric mixer, its dough hooks.

5. Fold in chocolate chips. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.


6.When ready to bake, preheat oven to 190 °C . Line baking tray with parchment paper.
Scoop about 1-2 tbsp of dough ( depending on how big you want your cookie to be), roll into into a ball, place it on the lined tray, leaving about 2 iches space between cookies as they spread once baked. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown.

 Enjoy it warm and with a tall glas of milk!