Can’t-Go-Wrong Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

There are all kinds of great chocolate chip cookie recipes out there. Some make thin cookies, others may thick ones. Some make crispy cookies, while others skew towards cakey. This recipe for Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies produces consistently chewy cookies that actually stay that way for a couple of days after baking. They don’t get hard and crunchy (unless they get stale, and they’ll be gone long before then) and they don’t turn overly soft. They’re just right – and well worth adding to your cookie repertoire.

The secret to these cookies is that they use both butter and oil. Butter gives the cookies that rich, warm flavor that we all love to have in a cookie. Oil not only helps to tenderize the cookie dough (as does the butter), it also helps the cookie to retain moisture. The same feature of oil is what makes light, fluffy chiffon cakes keep so well, though we’re going for a completely different texture in these cookies than you would find in that cake! Apart from the oil, the cookie recipe is very similar to other chocolate chip cookie recipes, using white sugar, brown sugar and vanilla, as well as plenty of chocolate chips.

The cookies bake up to be crisp around the edges and chewy in the center, with melting chocolate in every bite. After the cookies have cooled completely, they should be stored in an airtight container, where they will become slightly chewier and will remain that way for a least a couple of days – or until you’ve eaten all of them. The cookies are slightly paler than some other chocolate chip cookies I’ve seen, as a butter and oil cookie doesn’t brown in quite the same way as a butter only cookie, but they’ll still have a warm hint of gold to them when they come out of the oven.

If you like your chocolate chip cookies with nuts, feel free to toss in a handful along with the chocolate chips. If you want a lot of nuts, it is best to cut back slightly on the chips to avoid making the cookies too chunky to spread well in the oven.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cups brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and brown sugar until light. Beat in eggs, followed by vegetable oil and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, or working by hand, gradually blend in the flour mixture until no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop 1-inch balls of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between cookies to allow for spread.
Bake for 11-13 minutes, until cookies are set and very lightly browned around the edges.
Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.