Chocolate Chip Cookies

My first attempt at Chocolate Chip Cookies from scratch turned out great. Up until this point I was strictly a ready-made cookie dough kind of girl. But, with my recent baking successes, I was eager to try my hand at this classic cookie. I chose this recipe because it seemed to yield a smaller amount (if I make four dozen cookies, I'll eat four dozen cookies...). The flavors also sounded perfect for this occasion; John had requested a cookie with nuts and I love dark chocolate.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Sweet Amandine

1/2 c granulated sugar
1/2 c firmly packed light brown sugar
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg
1 t vanilla
1/2 t baking soda
1 1/4 c flour
1/4 t salt
1 1/2 c dark chocolate chips (I used Whole Foods Dark Chocolate Discs.)

Optional
1 c toasted, finely chopped nuts (I used pecans.)

Adjust the oven rack to the top third of the oven and preheat to 300F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the sugars and the butter together until smooth. Mix in the egg, vanilla, and baking soda.

Stir together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Mix in the chocolate chips (and nuts).

Scoop the cookie dough into rounded tablespoon balls, and space them at least an inch apart on the baking sheets.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until pale golden brown. The cookies will be pretty soft when you remove them from the oven, but will cool to a firmer, chewy consistency.

These cookies were delicious. However, it made me realize that I prefer semi-sweet chocolate chips in my cookies. I missed their traditional sweetness. I thought it was interesting that the cookies were baked at a slightly lower temperature. Maybe that's why the the texture turned out a little more cakey than the cookies I'm used to. I really liked that texture, though, so I'll definitely be making these again.