Are we all managing WFH and quarantining still? Tomorrow will begin week four for me, and I think I'm starting to lose it slightly. Last night I BREEZED through half a season of Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce, and when Netflix asked me if I was still watching I didn't realize I was already on episode four of the fourth season!! Life comes at you fast... Adam worked at the station last night, so I had the house (and bed!!) to myself. Safe to say I was out before midnight. After he got home this morning, we went to Kroger to stock up on groceries for the week. The majority of shoppers, including us, were wearing face masks. I've been pretty creeped out about this pandemic since it started, but seeing people finally start taking precautions makes me more nervous. That sort of brings my fears to life if that makes sense. Kroger also has this Coronavirus infomercial they play, and I swear it made me feel like I was grocery shopping in Gilead. Blessed be the fruit. When we got home, I sanitized our fridge and all the groceries. Then I decided today would be the day when I finally share my secret chocolate chip cookie recipe. Here are the ingredients you need for this cookie recipe. Nothing more, nothing less. The recipe calls for only ten items. Feel free to add a glass of Pinot Grigio or Rosé for your own entertainment. Tip #1Blue Bonnet butter is the ONLY butter I will use to make these cookies. And you have to buy the sticks of butter. Don't use Kroger brand, don't use vegan, and don't use the sticks that say margarine. Truthfully, I couldn't tell you the difference between Blue Bonnet and margarine, but I can say your cookies will not come out how they should. This bottle of vanilla flavor was only $1.19 at Kroger. You don't need the fancy, expensive stuff. This little doo-dad will do. As for salt- I started using Kosher salt when I was gifted Chrissy Teigen's first cookbook for Christmas a few years ago. Kosher salt can be a little more potent, so use cautiously. Luckily this recipe only calls for 1/2 TSP of salt, so you're Gucci. Tip #2Any semi-sweet chocolate will suffice for this recipe. But if you really wanna do somethin' then you need to try the Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chips. I randomly found these chips at Target one day, and I was easily taken to the gates of heaven after using them for my cookie recipe. Most grocery stores carry them but again, any brand will work. Got the goods? Now you can bake!Once you have all your ingredients and tools, you're ready to start baking. If you're worried about not being the best baker in the world, don't fret. My mom used to roast me when I was a teenager, and say I couldn't cook lol. Like everything else, it takes practice. This recipe is so easy to follow, even a caveman could do it. Mix the dry ingredients together first.In a large mixing bowl of your choice, mix together the flour, baking soda, brown sugar, cornstarch, granulated sugar, and salt. Give all of those ingredients a good stir to blend everything together. Your brown sugar may clump, but just mix everything as best as you can. Everything will be blended more when you mix in the cold ingredients (butter, egg, etc). Melt the butter.I'm no professional baker, so this is how I soften my butter. 3/4 a cup of butter is actually 12 TBSP, so measure that out, and put the butter in a bowl. Microwave the butter for 15 seconds. Add the butter to the mixing bowl, along with the vanilla extract, chocolate chips, and egg. Now you can mix the cookie dough! In the words of Ariana Grande, "Mix it, and mix it, and mix it, and mix it."But don't mix it too much! I always use my hand mixer until there's just a little teeny bit of flour left over at the bottom. Once I get to that point, I will continue mixing the dough by hand so that it isn't over-blended. The dough shouldn't be extremely sticky when you're finished mixing. You should be able to touch the dough without it sticking to your fingers. If the dough is still sticky, add a little bit of dough at a time. Don't add a bunch at once because you can always add more, but you can never take it back. Or whatever that saying is. Your dough should look something like the picture below. Once your dough is at its peak perfection, you're ready for the next step! Tip #3If you want nice, fluffy, thicc chocolate cookies, please, pretty please, do NOT use one of those cookie ice scream scooper things. Yes, they are convenient, and your hands won't get dirty. But doing the dirty work will result in the fluffiest, most miraculous cookies 11-13 minutes later. I promise you. Whenever people try my cookies, they always ask, "How do you get them to be so round!?" Here is my trick: use a tablespoon as your measuring tool, and roll the dough into balls. Make sure you're not using more than a tablespoon though. They may come out too thin. Use the tablespoon. Don't use the cookie scooper. My gold measuring cups and spoons are from Target, and they are so dainty and cute. They don't have the exact ones I purchased years back, but they have similar ones from Chrissy Teigen's cookware line! Pop 'em in the oven!Every stove is different, as you've probably gathered by now in 2020. It may take a few tries to get the degree and timing right, so don't forget to write down those details once you've perfected them! Personally, I always set my stove to 350 degrees, and bake my cookies for 11 minutes. After 11 minutes pass, I will let them sit out for a minutes to see if they harden at all. If so, great! If not, I pop them back in the oven for 1-2 minutes tops. Let them sit out a little longer before putting them back in. I like my cookies to be crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle, so 11-12 minutes is perfect for me. "Get these cookies, baby!" - Miss Vanessa Vanjie MateoAfter the cookies have sat out for a long, periodically time, they are now ready to be consumed! You've put in the hard work, and you deserve one, or two. Who's really watching their figure during this quarantine? I hope my lack of professional culinary experience was helpful for you, and I'm sure your baking was exquisite! If you end up using this recipe, be sure to post a picture and tag me in it! I am so bored and could use a smile.
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