Award Winning Chocolate Chip Cookies
In 1986 the Good Eating section of the Chicago Tribune debuted what would become an annual holiday cookie contest. Thousands of entries pour in every year and in fact, the one-year the paper decided not to run the contest, they heard an outcry from their readers! These chocolate chip cookies, which won in 2010, along with the Snowflake Sugar Cookies are from the new book Holiday Cookies: Prize-Winning Family Recipes from the Chicago Tribune for Cookies, Bars, Brownies and More, which contains more than 100 recipes from over the years from Grand Prize winners through honorable mentions along with images of the contestants. Editor Carol Mighton Haddix has some tips for would-be cookie contest applicants: “We have learned many other cookie-making tips from our expert judges through the years. Follow the recipe exactly. Be patient when shaping and cutting cookies. Be sure not to over-bake cookies. And sometimes, simpler is better.” You might think this is just another chocolate chip cookie recipe – but it is a good one. Simple was the winner in this instance.
Excerpted with permission from Holiday Cookies: Prize-Winning Family Recipes from the Chicago Tribune for Cookies, Bars, Brownies and More
“These cookies are a massive chewy delight of chocolate and nuts,” said Dr. Lynn Levy, 2010 first-place winner. She’s not kidding. “One recipe contains 3 cups of semisweet chocolate chips and a pound of nuts. Each coveted cookie weighs almost a quarter pound. Nobody eats an entire cookie for dessert.” But you can try.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 15 minutes per batch
- 2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ½ cups unsifted flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 cups chopped walnuts
- 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- Heat oven to 375°F. Beat sugar, butter and vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs until lighter. Add flour, salt and baking powder; beat just until mixed. Stir in walnuts and chocolate chips.
- Drop cookie mixture by ½ cup measure onto greased or parchment-lined baking sheets, leaving plenty of space between. Flatten each cookie slightly with back of fork. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on sheet 2 minutes; transfer to a wire rack. Cool completely.
This is definitely the best chocolate chip cookie I have ever had.. Granted, I do not make the giant one but, make cookie into normal tbs size. If I ate the 1/2 cup measure cookie I would have to go into gastric bypass soon. The ground walnuts make it..