Serendipity Rulez: Or How I Learned to Love the Cookie

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'm not a big dessert fan, so my skillz as a pastry chef are perhaps the weakest in my cooking arsenal. As an imperfection, it's one I can live with, and yet -- well, it's an imperfection, and I hate not being perfect like a fat kid hates gym class.

So I try. I strive. I yearn. I read, and attempt, and experiment. Usually, I succeed with at least mediocrity, and everyone knows that dessert is like sex: even when it's uninspired, it's still the best thing going.

Today, however, I succeeded in creating what I believe just might be the best chocolate chip cookie I've ever tasted. You might disagree, for no two people make chocolate chip cookies the same way, so I have to conclude that no two people agree on what constitutes the perfect chocolate chip cookie. For me, however, this was the apex... the epitome of chocolate chip cookiedom. This was the Ur-Cookie.

It began with an entry in the Carnival of the Recipes (#74), which purported to be Mrs. Field's chocolate chip cookie recipe. Not the urban legend recipe, mind you, but the honest-to-gods, original recipe from none other than Debbie Fields herself. Since I had a bag of chocolate chips left over from the cookies I neglected to make for Christmas, I thought I'd give it a try.

So, hunted down the necessary implements, and began to gather my ingredients, only to find that I'd used most of the flour in my pursuit of Tourtiere. Undaunted, I decided to press on, partially for the fun of experimenting, but mostly because I already had two (now rather gooey) sticks of softened butter sitting in my mixing bowl. I had some oatmeal, and I had some almonds, and with a bit of manipulation, they filled in for the flour admirably.

The resulting cookies, while a bit sticky, firmed up nicely in the refrigerator, and baked up exactly the way I like -- crisp on the bottom and around the edges, and almost fluffy in the center. If I had to change anything at all, I'd use bittersweet chocolate chips next time instead of semisweet, but that's a very small bone to pick, and I'm probably the minority opinion.

So, without further ado, I give you:

Serendipity Cookies

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
12 oz. semisweet (or bittersweet, or milk) chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300F.

2. Cream butter, sugar, and salt. Add eggs and vanilla and beat on high until fluffy.

3. Beat in oat flour and almonds.

4. Sift in the flour and baking soda a bit at a time. When the mixture becomes too thick to easily work with the beaters, incorporate the remaining flour with a spatula to avoid overmixing.

5. Fold in chocolate chips.

6. Depending on how soft the butter was when you started, this dough may be a little sticky. No worries, just stick it in the freezer for 5 mins. By the time your oven has come fully up to temp, it'll be firm enough.

7. Roll hefty tablespoonfulls into balls and place on a cookie tray lined with wax paper. These cookies will spread, so I recommend 6 per tray, rather than 12. Alternatively, you could make crispier mini cookies by using a teaspoon instead, and make a whole dozen at a time.

8. Bake on the center rack of the oven for approx. 20 mins.

9. Remove, let cool slightly, and enjoy with a tall glass of milk!