Chocolate Chip Cookie Secrets!

I learned a trick today.  Ever wonder why the cookies at bakeries look so much tastier?  Weeeell, now I know.  I, along with several bakers out there, have been in search of the perfect chocolate chip cookie.  I have found a really great recipe, the one I used today is very similar to the previous one I have always used, but that recipe is very testy.  It doesn't always come out how I want or has previously.  The secret to a moist and chewy chocolate chip cookie is using more brown sugar then white, adding extra egg yolk, and melted butter.  I have heard that using bread flour makes a chewier cookie because of the high gluten content, but with as much baking supplies I have on hand I never seem to have any of this. 

And the secret to achieving that bakery looking cookie:  Instead of rolling your dough into smooth balls, you want a textured jagged ball.  To make this first roll you dough into smooth balls then break them in half, take the two halves that came apart from each other face them upwards to be the new top of your dough ball and squish the bottoms back together.  Does that make sense?

So instead of this...

Do this....

And you'll get this....

Yum!  I would post a pic of the cooked smooth ball dough to show you the difference but of course the damm thing decided to rebel against me a cook into the most perfect circular cookie I have ever made.  Ha ha, but still I love the textured look of these cookies.  Here is the recipe:

2 cups plus 2 tbl all purpose flour
1/2 tea baking powder
1/2 tea salt
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted then cooled until just warm
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 tea vanilla
1 - 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Whisk together (this is a lazy way of sifting I use often):
flour, baking soda, salt
Set aside

Mix together by hand or with whisk in mixer:
sugars, melted butter
beat in egg and yolk, & vanilla

Add dry just until incorporated

Add chips

Do fancy secretive dough balls

Bake 325 JUST until edges set and middle still doughy.  Leave on cookie sheet when you take out of oven, they will continue to cook and set up to that perfect chewiness.  They have to cool completely to be at their best, I know SO hard to do but worth the wait.

Wha la!