Happy Friday!  I’m taking the day off and my 10-year-old daughter, Molly, is guest blogging today.  Enjoy!

I am Katie’s daughter Molly and I picked to guest blog on my moms website because i love baking sweets and i make the best chocolate chip cookies in my family :).  This recipe is very easy and i have made it with many of my friends.

However while living in the UK it has been hard to find decent chocolate chips at the shops – they come in really tiny packages and are expensive.  So it is the reason for many emergency Costco trips because they have nice, large packages that make lots of cookies!

My mom and I have experimented with different types of flour: First, we tried all-purpose (plain, white) flour which turned into slightly hard cookies. Then, we tried the recipe below that uses bread flour and makes yummy, chewy, soft cookies. If you want to use plain flour you can but i like using bread flour better.

If you live in London then you would probably say chocolate chip biscuits, but because this is an American recipe, we call it chocolate chip cookies.  But whatever you call them, they’re the best!

1 year ago:  Maple Pecan Scones, Perfect Green Salad Vinaigrette

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes 2 dozen cookies)

Note:  The combination of bread flour and more brown sugar than granulated sugar, plus refrigerating the dough, are the keys to perfectly crisp yet chewy chocolate chips cookies.  Bread flour makes the cookies less cakey and more dense and chewy; brown sugar makes it chewier.  Refrigerating the dough ensures the cookies stay a bit thick rather than flattening out, and getting to thin and crisp.

2 1/4 cups (340 grams) bread (strong) flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 sticks (225 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (though still liquid – do not let it harden)

1/4 cup (60 grams) granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups (225 grams) light brown sugar

12 ounces (340 grams) semisweet chocolate chips

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Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla.

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter and sugars on medium speed for 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add the egg mix.  Mix thoroughly until combined, about 30 seconds.  Slowly add the flour mix, stopping a few times to scrape down sides of bowl. Once flour is incorporated decrease the speed and add the chocolate chips. Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour (or up to 24 hours).

Preheat the oven to 375ºF (190º C).  Using an ice cream scoop, scoop 1 1/2 ounces (40g) portions – about the size of a golf ball – onto a cookie sheet lined with baking (parchment) paper, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake 2 sheets at a time for 15 minutes, rotating halfway.  If dough is refrigerated for longer than an hour, it may need to sit at room temperature for a few minutes until it’s soft enough to scoop (but make sure it’s still chilled – don’t want it to return to room temperature).

Adapted from Alton Brown