Martha Stewart's Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Well who doesn't love those now-ubiquitous Famous Amos cookies? That was what I thought when I decided to brave using my rather small, single-tier oven to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Now, while with a normal built in oven one could maybe bake those in two or three batches, but with my beloved microwave convection unit I probably needed around six or seven rounds to complete the batch. You know - make the cookie dough (straightforward, and with Martha guiding how you go wrong?), dollop onto the first tray, pop into oven, wait for first batch to bake while working on the second. Repeat a few too many times.

Was it worth it? I'll say. Better than Amos, thanks to better quality chocolate (I used Lindt 70%), real butter and vanilla extract. AK ate so many of these the day I baked them that I actually feared he was going to give himself a sore throat.

Since a single batch made more than I dared keep in the house unsupervised, I decided to pack them into a pretty glass jar - they made a perfect buah tangan when we visited our old neighbour's place over Hari Raya.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Adapted slightly from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (I used light brown sugar and didn't pack it as instructed, I found the cookies sufficiently sweet like this)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg, plus 1 egg white
12 oz semisweet chocolate chunks (about 2 cups)

Preheat oven to 375 deg C. Line 2 baking sheets with baking parchment, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt, set aside. In a bowl either standalone or of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (I used my handheld mixer), beat the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides as needed. I took about ten minutes to do this, Martha says it'll be done in three.

Add the vanilla, whole egg and white. Beat on low speed until combined, scraping down the sides, about one minute. Add flour mixture in two batches, mix until just combined. Mix in chocolate.

Drop the dough in tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are golden brown, about 18 minutes. Transfer cookies onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Store in airtight containers.