Neighborly

This weekend, new neighbors are moving in to the house next door. JG and I didn’t really get to know the family who is moving away very well, so we hope that we have opportunities to talk with the new couple this time around and I’m a little bit nervous but mostly excited at the prospect of meeting them. I hear that they’re a young, engaged couple and the girl is a teacher, so that all sounds good. It’s kind of like the first day of school; I just want them to like us (and Ted).

I decided to earn some points in neighborly welcome by baking a batch of cookies, but not just ordinary cookies. I made the Big and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies from the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook. The end product ends up exactly as the recipe promises and the cookies always get rave reviews. They’re like cookie hamburgers — as big as my hand, soft and chewy, at least half an inch thick with craggy, cracked tops, and they have the exact right ratio of cookie to chips. I bagged up a dozen of these bad boys and gussied them up into a cute welcome package that’s now lying in wait for the sight of a moving truck. At the end of a long day of carrying stuff, I’m hard-pressed to think of something I’d appreciate more than a dozen giant cookies. Am I right?

Of course, it would not be completely honest to give the impression that I did all of this just for the new arrivals, who were more of a handy excuse. What can I say — the recipe makes 20 cookies, but who can eat that many? We kept the, um, ugly ones.

(Recipe after the jump)

Big and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
America’s Test Kitchen

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes plus cooling time
Makes about 20 large cookies

Ingredients

• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 12-oz bag semisweet chocolate chips, about 2 cups

Directions

1. Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until combined, 1-2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed.
3. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in the chocolate chips until incorporated.
4. Working with 1/4 cup of dough at a time, roll the dough into balls* and lay on two parchment-lined** baking sheets, spaced about 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake until the edges are golden but the centers are still soft and puffy, 17-20 minutes, rotating and switching*** the baking sheets halfway through baking.
5. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

To Make Ahead

• The dough can be made through step 3 and either covered tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days.
• Or, portion out and the dough and freeze for 2-3 hours, or until firm, on a parchment- or wax-paper-lined plate; then, transfer the dough balls into a zipper-lock bag and freeze for up to 1 month.
• When ready to bake, reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and increase the baking time to 25-30 minutes.

Notes from RA

* I tried to roll the dough into balls with my hands one time but it ended up being a ginormous mess. I ended up taking two big soup spoons, estimating the 1/4-cup portion size, and dropping them like regular cookies.
** My nonstick pans worked just fine here. I baked 4 cookies per sheet.
*** I didn’t do any of this shenanigans. But maybe it helps.