Chocholate Chip Cookies with a Chewy Center

Years ago I attempted to find the best chocolate chip recipe, scouring dozens of cookbook, websites, and going through numerous batches of dough hoping that I would proclaim one as "the one!"

Unfortunately I've since given up.

Not there there's not many excellent recipes out there, but because well, my idea of what makes a good chocolate chip recipe "the one" seems to change depending on my mood, the weather, who I'm eating it with, and whether I'm eating it by itself or with a cool glass of milk. Obviously the changing criteria made my quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie impossible.

Instead I have a collection of recipes that I go to, labeled under categories such as : chewy, crunchy, fat, flat, gooey, cake-like, crispy, etc. Unfortunately I can't have it all but at least I know which ones to make to satisfy whatever type of cookie perfection I'm craving that moment.

Today was a chewy chocolate chip cookie, which I got from Allrecipes, labeled under Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie I refrigerated the dough overnight and baked it the next morning, since I read from Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies that letting the dough sit overnight improves the flavor (can't wait to try her recipes by the way....will hopefully post soon). I've made this cookie without refrigerating them and I have to agree that there's a slightly more complex flavor and chewier texture after refrigeration. Of course, everything tastes better first thing in the morning so maybe my judgement was biased. Either way, if chewy chocolate chip cookies are what you're craving, then here you go:

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from Allrecipes

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

*note: I set the oven to 340 F just because my cookies were slightly smaller*