Finding Mr. Right – A Search for the ‘Perfect’ Chocolate Chip Cookie

I’ve always been a fan of the chocolate chip cookie (CCC) as, I imagine, are many of you. While it’s no secret that I found my own Mr. Right, Curt, a lot later in life than I would have preferred, my quest for the ultimate CCC took even longer.
In high school, I’m ashamed to admit the whole class shared (hello salmonella!) a tube of pillsbury cookie dough in Ms. Festa’s advanced algebra class. Through college and beyond, I tried the nestle’s original tollhouse recipe, a recipe that one of my college roommates swore was stolen from Mrs. Field’s, and various recipes from friends at church. One, Arnold J.’s famous oatmeal CCC’s were pretty darn good, but not ‘the one.’ I would have loved to found a great enough cookie to impress the guys. Perhaps that’s WHY it took so long to find Curt…
Sometime during the newlywed years, I ran across this recipe. I regret I didn’t write down the source at the time, but it was probably Good Housekeeping or Ladies Home Journal or Better Homes and Gardens. (You can definitely assume I was reading the magazines from the Family Services waiting room on my lunch hour. I was at the peak of being in love with all things domestic, a common ailment of the new wife.) Its title caught my attention right away: The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Apparently, I wasn’t convinced, as you can see I’ve adjusted the butter, eliminated shortening, and about doubled the chocolate chips. (And I find them the best if I use unsalted butter, pure vanilla and fancier chocolate chips, like Ghirardelli. Amanda, in a high elevation area, finds they need a little more flour, too.)
My longer than desired quest proved to me that there is a ‘Mr. Right.’ You might have to change your criteria, make adjustments, decide some qualities are more important than the ones you valued in your youth. But you’re older, wiser and better able to recognize all the best ingredients. And you don’t worry if others say they found ‘the perfect’ recipe, because yours is perfect for you. Just relax and enjoy!

Both Mr. Rights

Lisa’s ‘Perfect’ Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 c brown sugar

1/2 c white sugar

1 c butter, softened

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 c choc. chips

Cream sugars and butter in mixer until creamy, add egg and vanilla and mix well. In separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly blend in mixer with butter mixture. Fold in chocolate chips.

Chill dough for at least 1 hour. (DON’T skip this step.)

Bake in preheated 375 oven for 8 minutes, until browned on edges. Makes 5 dozen small cookies.

Note: In the following photos you can see the scoops I use. The small I used for these cookies, they make smaller cookies. The medium make larger, the large scoop makes jumbo size. Baking time needs to be adjusted for bigger cookies. They are poofy when they first get out of the oven, but they deflate and brown a bit more while cooling in the pan.