Award-winning chocolate chip cookies the perfect mix of sweet and chewy

I come from a big family of people who like to create things in the kitchen.

My extended family lives all over the country, so we keep in touch through Facebook, where my cousin Nina Jensen recently shared a post about her daughter Kaitlyn’s award-winning culinary adventures. (Kaitlyn lives in Batavia, Iowa, and is my first cousin’s granddaughter, making her my first cousin twice removed, or to me, my cousin.)

This summer Kaitlyn, 13 and in ninth grade, entered her favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe in the Wapello County 4-H Expo Chocolate Chip Challenge, bringing home the blue ribbon and the prestigious Judges Choice award!

Kaitlyn had never entered a cooking contest before, but has been baking as long as she can remember. She says she loves baking desserts, but her first cooking memory is making dinner with her favorite person to be in the kitchen with — her mom, Nina. Her current specialties include brownies, cinnamon rolls and even funnel cakes. But it was her favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe that won the prize.

Kaitlyn had been trying different chocolate chip cookie recipes for several years before finding this one from OwlBBaking.com on Pinterest. Once she tried these, she said she knew no other recipe could beat them. She hasn’t changed anything in the original recipe, but she does like different combinations of milk chocolate, semi-sweet and mini chocolate chips.

What makes these cookies special?

“The cookies are the perfect combination of sweet, chewy, and just the right amount of chocolate,” Kaitlyn said.

With such high praise, and Kaitlyn’s willingness to share the recipe, I set out to make these cookies myself. First, let me say they are very easy and do not require a mixer — just a bowl, wooden spoon and something to measure the dough.

The recipe starts with melted butter, followed by ingredients that will be familiar to all chocolate chip cookie makers — a combo of brown and white sugar, eggs, all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and a generous portion of vanilla and chocolate chips — with an optional sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top before baking.

There is no need to chill this recipe, making it a top candidate for anyone having an urgent chocolate chip cookie craving.

I know what you are wondering: If the ingredients are the same as my favorite recipe, how can these cookies be different? Drum roll, please …

It is the proportions of ingredients that set this cookie apart, especially the amounts of brown sugar and all-purpose flour, adding to the unique texture of this cookie. Extra vanilla and chocolate chips have never hurt a cookie’s flavor either.

Research tells me the extra molasses in the increased amount of brown sugar creates softer, thicker and chewier cookies because the added moisture helps to keep the center of the cookie from drying out. In addition, the acid in the molasses reacts with the baking soda, giving the dough a bit more lift and resulting in a thick and puffy cookie. White granulated sugar, on the other hand, allows dough to spread wide and form crisp edges.

The recipe suggests using a 3 tablespoon scoop when portioning these cookies, resulting in big 5-inch cookies. The baking time listed is perfect for this amount of cookie dough, but be sure to adjust the time if you prefer a smaller cookie to avoid overbaking.

A sprinkle of flaky sea salt is listed as an option. I made half of my cookies with the salt and half without, then brought them to a gathering of friends for a verdict. To start, everyone loved the cookies, but the batch with sea salt won the day.

Kaitlyn did have some advice for anyone trying the recipe: “If you want your cookies to look and taste better, be sure to remember to sprinkle some extra chocolate chips on top before you bake them, as directed in the recipe.”

Congratulations to Kaitlyn for this first-prize win. She has set the bar high and is now known among family and friends as the baker of the best cookies around.

Thanks to Kaitlyn and her mom, Nina, for their help in putting together this column.

• Penny Kazmier, a wife and mother of four from South Barrington, won the 2011 Daily Herald Cook of the Week Challenge. Contact Penny at DhCulinaryAdventures@gmail.com.

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Kaitlyn’s Award-Winning Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 24, 5-inch cookies

1 cup butter, melted (either salted or unsalted, if using salted you may want to omit ¼ teaspoon of the added salt later on)

1½ cups light brown sugar (lightly packed)

½ cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups chocolate chips for the dough, plus ½ cup reserved (dark or semi-sweet work best)

Flaky sea salt to sprinkle on the top (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and sugars using a spoon or spatula. Mix thoroughly until all the sugar is incorporated.

3. Add the vanilla and eggs, mix well until fully incorporated.

4. Next, add the flour into the bowl; do not mix yet. On top of the flour, stir in the baking soda and salt. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture until all of the flour is absorbed. Do not overmix.

5. Gently toss in the chocolate chips until well mixed.

6. Scoop out cookie dough onto the lined tray using a 3 tablespoon-size scoop. Leave plenty of room, as these will spread a bit. (I keep it to 6 cookies per tray.)

7. Flatten the tops slightly using the tips of your fingers. Top with some of the reserved chocolate chips and sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt, if you desire.

8. Bake for about 9-11 minutes. Cookies should be a medium-dark golden brown.

9. Allow to cool on the tray.

— From OwlBBaking.com