Chocolate Chip Cookies = Fail

I am beginning to hate chocolate chip cookies! The first thing I ever baked was a batch of chocolate chip cookies since they are my dad's favorite, easy, and taste better than any other cookie when fresh out of the oven. As a kid, I usually alternated between baking chocolate chip cookies and boxed mix brownies; most nine to twelve year old kids aren't interested in getting too elaborate with their baking, and I was no exception to the rule. You'd think that with all that experience I would have honed in on the perfect recipe. While the classic Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe is really not that bad, I have recently been trying to branch out and see if the world has anything better to offer. Over the past month, I tried two new chocolate chip recipes only to be disappointed, once again.

I probably shouldn't admit this, but this leftover dough from a few weeks ago is still sitting in my fridge... talk about a letdown.

The disappointment caused by the first attempt was primarily my own fault for being so unobservant. I found the presumably "new" recipe on the back of an organic chocolate chip bag (which I usually do not use). The recipe seemed similar to the Toll House one, but I went with it anyway, only to discover (after I had baked the cookies, of course) that the recipe was actually exactly the same except for the addition of the word "organic." Considering the fact that I already use mostly organic ingredients and didn't really have to go out of my way to make organic cookies, I was pretty disappointed when I realized my error. Here I was thinking I was embarking on some new chocolate chip cookie adventure only to discover my old go-to in disguise. These cookies turned out acceptable, as usual, but still not amazing.

I stake no claim in professional photography, but at least I have cool looking plates, right?!

After my stupid mistake, I decided that it was time to turn to the almighty internet for some assistance. I had come across a new chocolate chip recipe while searching for a pumpkin cookie recipe, which I bookmarked for the inevitable moment when I would need to continue my search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. With a name like "Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies" I was prepared for excellence. Unfortunately, these turned out to be what are in my opinion some of the worst chocolate chip cookies ever created (luckily Tom claims to like them and keeps eating them so they wont go to waste). I have chosen not to share any of the horrific photographic images because it could severely impact my integrity as a baker (if my addition of Photo Booth pictures in my last post hadn't already done so). If you really want to, you can use your imagination and picture a cookie that is crunchy and gross on the edges and super soft in the middle with a funny aftertaste. Not appetizing or visually appealing.

Lesson learned! I'm going to stick with the old Toll House recipe but focus on tweaking it ever so slightly to meet my needs (and don't worry, I'll update you all once I've nailed it). After all, I've been baking and enjoying these cookies for over a decade so they can't be that bad. All of my toil over chocolate chip cookies hasn't been without benefits though; here are a few things I've learned from experimenting with so many chocolate chip recipes:

• always use more vanilla than called for
• adding a little bit of milk is a good idea
• shortening (even if it's of the non-hydrogenated organic variety) is not okay
• a convection oven is ideal (even though some of us rent, which means no access to any appliance made before 1930... but I can dream!)