Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

My husband and I share a passion for pretty much anything mint chocolate. Early in our dating we discovered that Mint Chocolate Chip was our mutual favorite ice cream and that discovery only made us fall more madly in love (you know...the important issues of life). Over the years the brands have changed several times but Mint Chocolate Chip still reigns supreme in this house...currently Blue Bell holds the title. We also love Junior Mints, Andes Mints, Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies, and our most recent discovery Haviland Dark Chocolate Covered Thin Mints (OH MY WORD!). You get the picture. So when I saw these at the store on clearance after Christmas, they were just screaming to be baked into cookies.

I loooove cookies but I don't at all like crunchy cookies. A while back I set out to find THE PERFECT chocolate chip cookie recipe, never having had much luck in the past. Along the way I think I discovered that much of the success of the cookie lies in the way you bake and handle it and not necessarily the recipe itself. Having said that, I have found 2 recipes that I like best. One is for a more cake-like cookie and the one I share with you today is of the ooey gooey chewy variety (yes that's a technical term). This cookie is my absolute favorite!

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

One of my favorite things about this cookie is the amazing crispy crackle it gets.

Now, here are my tips on how to make it come out juuust right!

• Confession...I always use salted butter (even in my buttercream frosting). I know everyone says not to. I use it because: A. I always have it on hand, B. I like the way it tastes (granted I've never actually tried it with unsalted), C. I'm stubborn. If the recipe calls for salt I don't omit it but cut it, usually by half. If someone gives me a convincing argument one day on why I should use unsalted, I'll try it. So far that hasn't happened.
• Confession #2...I don't stir the chips in "by hand using a wooden spoon". I use my Kitchenaid mixer from start to finish.
• I use a baking pan, not a cookie sheet. I'm sure this varies widely by brand but I find that the bottoms of my cookies come out too well done on the cookie sheet I have...so I opt for the baking pan.
• I don't use any sort of cooking sprays but I do line my pan with parchment paper.
• I don't measure out my dough but instead use an ice cream scoop. Not a big rounded scoop, but not leveled off either. I was able to fit 8 cookies on the pan (rows of 3, 2, and 3) and 2 batches just about used up all my dough...leaving just a little to nibble on. ;)
• Don't bake your cookie until you think it looks or feels done. THIS is the most important of the tips and also the hardest one to learn. If your cookie looks, or especially feels done...then it is overcooked. Your cookies will look very lightly browned, don't look for any drastic color changes here. Do not stick your finger on a cookie to see what it feels like...it will go right to the bottom of the pan. You can maybe tap the edge with a fingernail and feel it just starting to get a little firmness to it. This is when you pull it out. I know it doesn't look ready AT ALL. I know it goes against every gut feeling you have. But if you stick it in for another two minutes...you will regret it. Haha! This takes a lot of fine tuning. You can't throw out a recipe after one failed attempt. It's not the recipe...it's you. ;) In my oven I have found that right about 16 minutes is perfect.
• Once they are pulled from the oven I set a timer for 2 minutes. At that time I very carefully move the cookies from the sheet pan to a cooling rack, using a spatula, to finish cooling. You can then spoon your second batch onto the same piece of parchment and put those into the oven. Make sure when the second batch is pulled from the oven to move those to cooling racks to cool also. If you leave them on the pan to cool, the bottom will get overdone. You will be amazed how the cookies firm up after 15 minutes or so of cooling. The inside should be soft and chewy and the outside will have the perfect crispy crunch.

I'm not sure how much of this is specific to my oven or the tools I have, but I really hope these tips help you. I had to bake a whole lot of cookies and burn through a ton of recipes before finally figuring out these things that seem to work for me. Don't give up! The perfect cookie can be achieved! :D