Chocolate Chip Cookies With Whiskey Food

CHOCOLATE CHIPS COOKIES WITH TENNESSEE WHISKEY

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Sift flour, baking soda, and salt together into a bowl.
• Beat butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat the first egg into the butter until completely blended; beat in the second egg. Add whiskey and vanilla extract; beat until smooth.
• Mix flour mixture into creamed butter mixture until just incorporated; fold in chocolate chips. Form dough into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet, 1 to 2 inches apart.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are lightly browned, 9 to 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

CLASSIC CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Steps:

• Position oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven, and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Beat the butter and both sugars with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a second large bowl until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs to the butter mixture, one at time, beating after each addition to incorporate; beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to medium, add the flour mixture, and beat until just incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Scoop 12 heaping tablespoons of dough onto each prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Roll each into a ball with slightly wet hands. Bake until the cookies are golden but still soft in the center, 12 to 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
• When the baking sheets have cooled completely, scoop the remaining dough onto 1 sheet and bake. Store the cookies in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
• Variations:
• For cakey cookies: Replace the light brown sugar and granulated sugar with 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar. Bake at 375 degrees F until golden and tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
• For crispy-cakey cookies: Bake the cookies at 425 degrees F until golden and crunchy on the outside, 8 to 10 minutes.
• For chewy cookies: Use 1 cup light brown sugar and 1/4 cup corn syrup and omit the granulated sugar. Bake at 375 degrees F until golden and crunchy on the outside, and chewy on the inside, 10 to 12 minutes.
• For super-chewy cookies: Substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour. Bake at 375 degrees F until golden with caramelized edges, 12 to 15 minutes.
• For extra-crispy cookies: Bake the cookies at 300 degrees F until flat and crunchy, 24 to 28 minutes.

BACON CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Steps:

• Lay the bacon flat in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, preferable one with handles, and transfer to a cold oven. Set the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and bake the bacon until crisp, 40 to 45 minutes. Remove from the oven.
• While the bacon cooks, whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
• Place the butter in a large heatproof bowl. Line a plate with paper towels and set a fine-mesh sieve over a heatproof liquid measuring cup.
• Once the bacon is crisp, immediately transfer it to the prepared plate. Carefully tilt the baking dish and scoop or pour the hot bacon fat through the strainer into the measuring cup.
• Pour 1/4 cup of the hot fat over the butter; save any additional fat for another use and discard the solids in the strainer. (If you don't have enough bacon fat to yield 1/4 cup then make up the difference with melted butter.) Let the fat and butter sit for 1 minute, to slightly melt the cubed butter.
• Cream the bacon fat and butter together with a handheld electric mixer on medium speed until slightly aerated (the mixture should still be quite loose and resemble the consistency of mayonnaise), about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar, granulated sugar and molasses. Mix on medium speed until lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla, mixing on low speed until incorporated, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until the dough is about three-quarters of the way mixed, about 1 minute. The dough will still be chunky with streaks of flour.
• Roughly chop 6 slices of the bacon to yield 1/2 cup. Add the chopped bacon and chocolate chips to the dough. Fold in with a rubber spatula, incorporating the streaks of flour and evenly distributing the bacon and chocolate chips. Refrigerate the dough 30 minutes to 4 hours.
• While the dough chills, chop the remaining 3 slices of bacon into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces.
• When ready to bake the cookies, position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• Scoop half of the dough into scant 2-tablespoon balls and place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake on the upper and lower oven racks for 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and press 1 piece of the remaining bacon into the top of each cookie. Rotate the baking sheets and bake until the cookies are light golden and just set around the edges, 5 to 7 minutes more.
• Let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack. You can let them cool completely but I recommend eating them warm!
• Repeat the scooping, baking and cooling with the remaining cookie dough after the baking sheets have cooled completely. Or freeze the scooped dough to bake later (see Cook's Note).

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Steps:

• Evenly position 2 racks in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. (on convection setting if you have it.) Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone sheets. (If you only have 1 baking sheet, let it cool completely between batches.)
• Put the butter in a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on medium power until melted. (Alternatively melt in a small saucepan.) Cool slightly. Whisk the sugars, eggs, butter and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.
• Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in another bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon; take care not to over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips or chunks.
• Scoop heaping tablespoons of the dough onto the prepared pans. Wet hands slightly and roll the dough into balls. Space the cookies about 2-inches apart on the pans. Bake, until golden, but still soft in the center, 12 to 16 minutes, depending on how chewy or crunchy you like your cookies. Transfer hot cookies with a spatula to a rack to cool. Serve.
• Store cookies in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days.
• For a Rocky Road Bar:
• Lightly butter a 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Make the batter as per cookie recipe and fold in 1 cup chopped walnuts along with the chocolate chips. Spread batter in prepared pan. Bake until the edges are light brown and the batter sets, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly and cover surface with 4 cups marshmallows and 1 cup chocolate chips. Broil at least 8 inches from the heat until marshmallows turn golden brown, about 2 minutes. (Keep an eye on the marshmallows, and turn the pan frequently--they go from golden to char in a wink.) Cool, cut and serve.

CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix the butter and sugar together using an electric whisk or hand whisk until very light and fluffy, then beat in the egg and vanilla. Fold in the flour, baking powder, chocolate and ¼ tsp salt as quickly as you can. Don't overwork the dough as this will toughen the cookies.
• For the best flavour, leave the mixture overnight: either cover the bowl and chill, or roll the mixture into balls and chill.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line two baking sheets with parchment. Divide the mixture into balls, the craggier the balls, the rougher the cookies will look. If you want to give the dough more texture, tear the balls in half and squidge them lightly back together. Space out evenly on the baking sheets, leaving enough space between each to allow for spreading.
• Bake the fresh cookies for 8-10 mins and the chilled ones for 10-12 mins, or until browned and a little crisp at the edges but still very soft in the middle - they will harden a little as they cool. Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes before eating warm, or transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Will keep for three days in an airtight container.

BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans.
• Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.