National Chocolate Chip Cookie Week: Classic CCCs

So, according to my King Arthur Flour Baker's Catalog, National Chocolate Chip Cookie Week is a thing. 

I find it entirely fitting that foods like grilled cheese sandwiches, fried chicken, oatmeal, guacamole, and roast-suckling-pig-I-am-not-making-this-up get their own national days (April 12, July 6, October 29, November 14, and December 18, respectively), but the chocolate chip cookie gets an entire week.*

Chocolate chip cookies (CCCs)) are treated with reverence and respect in our home.

For one thing, my family overlooks a great deal of moodiness and general irritability on my part simply because I am able and willing to produce CCCs on a regular basis.

My husband would happily eat chocolate chip cookies every night for dessert for the rest of his life.

And when I know my daughters are having a rough day in the world of school, friend drama, and estrogen-overload, I administer CCC therapy when they get home. It helps, every time.

You need to know that I like my CCCs crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside, and generally plump and chewy all over. I do not like flat, cakey chocolate chip cookies. This is not a moral stand, just a personal preference. 

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies {print}
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips (your choice of size, shape, and cacao percentage)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat the butter for a minute or so by hand or (even better) with an electric mixer. Dump in both sugars and beat another minute or so until light and fluffy. Beat in the oil, vanilla, corn syrup (which will slide right out of the tablespoon if you measured the oil first), and egg. Beat just until incorporated. Whisk together the dry ingredients (flour-salt) and dump on top of flour mixture. Beat in just until incorporated. You're not making yeast bread here, so don't overbeat. Gently fold in the chocolate chips. 

Drop by globs (I use a 2-tablespoon scooper) onto your prepared cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for about 6-7 minutes. I like mine just starting to crack at the edges. Remove from oven and cool on the sheet for 2 minutes. Remove cookies to a wire rack to cool completely if you're storing them. Or don't cool them at all (other than that first 2 minutes) and eat them straight away with a big glass of milk. If you are storing them, make sure your container is airtight and that it didn't last house spaghetti sauce. Because marinara-infused CCCs are not going to become anybody's Next Big Food Thing.

If you don't want to bake any or all of your dough right away, you can chill it for a few hours or overnight and then bake as directed. You just might have to add a minute or two to the baking time. You can also make these cookies bigger or smaller or flatter (just smoosh the dough balls with the palm of your hand before you bake them); again, adjust the baking time accordingly. You can even make them "burned" if that's your thing. I mean, I can't imagine, but as Ma Ingalls always said, "It take all kinds of people to make a world."

If all this is just a bit much for you, take heart: National Fresh Celery Month is also a thing, as it turns out.** If that's more your style, please know that my portion of the world's fresh celery supply is all yours. 

*March 14-20 in 2016.
**The month of March in 2016.

This post may have been shared at these bloggy bashes.

Other posts that have something to do with this one:
White Chocolate Pretzel Cookies
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
Gluten-Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Confetti Cake Batter Bar Cookies