TWD- Cookies (late!)

Since I'm fresh out of wheat germ, I present last week's Tuesdays with Dorie treat- Dorie's best chocolate chip cookies. I first made these about 1 1/2 years ago and they were a big (flat) flop. Someone even said the looked like cow patties, even if they tasted yummy! I thought that the results would be different this time- more recipes tried, more cookies made (how many in that time? Probably over a thousand- good thing I share!). So- I busted out my best, unsalted name brand butter that my husband says I won't let him use, which is kind of true. For half the batch I chopped up a Ghiradelli Luxe Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts bar and for the other batch I put in Craisins, Walnuts, Oats, and White Chocolate. I chilled them and they still came out flat! I did take out the craisin-y batch early in hopes of saving it and they were better. I guess what I learned this week is stick with what works. It's great to try a new recipe but really, I've made hundreds of batches (at least) of chocolate chip cookies in my life. If I weren't a slacker I could show you pictures of me doing that since I was 10 or so. Making chocolate chip cookies with my mom is what sparked my love of cooking and baking and so I'm going to keep making them her way!

So... no recipe to post this week (you can find the original here or better yet buy the book already). But here are a few of my tips for the best chocolate chip cookies-

~Don't use too soft butter. Make sure it's soft enough to cream well but not on the verge of melting (which is a real possibility while baking in a hot, AZ kitchen!)
~Use plenty of good vanilla- I buy the bottle at Costco with the pour spout and dump it in
~Try new mixins- nuts, dried fruits, different chocolates, to get new flavors from the same basic dough
~Chill the dough for better looking cookies (I like to scoop then chill- it's faster and easier to shape)
~Scoop your dough with an ice cream scoop for even, pretty cookies
~Buy a few Silpat silicone baking sheets on ebay so you don't have to grease and clean up is a snap
~Wrap up your cooled, evenly sized cookies in a cellophane bag (they always have cute holiday ones at the Target Dollar Spot), tie with a ribbon, and people with think you're Martha Stewart. Really!