The Chewy (Chocolate Chip Cookie)

My housemate said the other week that she wanted chocolate chip cookies. It's her birthday this week. Surprise!
And they are 'European' sized cookies...I usually get made fun of for making 'American' sized cookies...i.e. REALLY BIG cookies

I was going to make just Nestle Chocolate Chip Cookies but with all the hate that Alton Brown has been getting on Twitter, I thought it best to show him some support and make his cookies (which I had been meaning to get to anyway since I ALWAYS make the Nestle ones).

Recipe taken from here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/the-chewy-recipe/index.html

Conversions done here: http://www.jsward.com/cooking/conversion.shtml

Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 2.8 cups bread flour (I used all purpose because Ireland makes bread flour difficult to find)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup (and a bit more) granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cup (and a bit more) light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 tbsp whole milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1) Melt the butter in a 2-quart saucepan over low heat. Set aside to cool slightly.

2) Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda onto a paper plate. I don't have paper plates (or even a proper sifter) so I use used a bowl and pasta strainer.






 3) Pour the butter into your stand mixer's work bowl. Add the sugar and brown sugar and beat with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 2 minutes. I don't have a stand mixer so I just used the pot the butter melted in in






4) Meanwhile, whisk together the whole egg, the egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract in a measuring cup. My measuring cups are not big enough so I used a regular bowl. The picture makes me want to make French Toast...






5) Reduce the mixer speed and slowly add the egg mixture. Mix until thoroughly combined, about 30 seconds.

6) Using the paper plate as a slide, gradually integrate the dry ingredients, stopping a couple of times to scrape down the sides of the bowl.







 7) Once the flour is worked in, drop the speed to "stir" and add the chocolate chips.
8) Chill the dough for 1 hour.
9) Preheat the oven to 375F/190C and place racks in the top third and bottom third of the oven. I just put the rack in the middle.

10) Scoop the dough into 1 1/2-ounce portions onto parchment-lined half sheet pans, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake 2 sheets at a time for 15 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through.






11) Remove from the oven, slide the parchment with the cookies onto a cooling rack and wait at least 5 minutes before devouring. Devouring did happen....before the 5 minutes were up.