When my daughter, Cashley, was little, we discovered Sesame Street together, watching rapturously as the Count Counted, Oscar Grouched and her favorite character became a vibrant part of her life – Monster Cookie!  I thought her reversal of his name was so cute that I never corrected her. Today, Cashley is the mother of two delicious boys and whenever they’re at grandma’s, I make sure sweet snacks are waiting for them.

I’ve never been a great cookie maker. Mine always turned out flat, dry and hard. But after watching some videos, television programs and reading recipes, I think I’ve cracked it. And it all boils down to READING. I’m going to walk you through the recipe for Original Nestlé Toll House Cookies and pull out the important parts. Before you know it, you, too, will be producing Monster Cookies!

When you know you’re making cookies, take the butter out of the refrigerator as soon as the idea hits you. It’s got to get soft.  Really soft. Not melting, but SOFT! The same with the eggs – room temperature is best. So, when your butter’s ready and the eggs are in a bowl on the counter, get started!

Mis en Place:

What You Need:
Sweetex or butter
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, SOFTENED
¾ cup fine sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, separated and
 room temperature
2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate
chips

Utensils and Tools:
Parchment paper
2 Baking trays
Paper towel or brush
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Medium bowl
Stand mixer fitted with
paddle
Rubber spatula
Ice Cream Scoop
Metal Spatula
Cooling racks

Preheat the oven to 375F

METHOD:
Sweetex or Butter.
Smear some sweetex on the bottom of the baking trays with a piece of paper towel or a baking brush. Lay the parchment paper over. The fat holds the paper in place.

Flour. Baking Soda. Salt.
Combine the above in the medium bowl.

Butter. Fine Sugar. Brown Sugar. Vanilla.
In the bowl of the stand mixer, beat the butter, sugars and vanilla UNTIL CREAMY. This is the key – the soft butter makes it creamy. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the mixing bowl so that everything in the bowl is thoroughly mixed.

Eggs.
Add eggs – ONE AT A TIME. Beat well after each is added and blended.

Flour Mixture.
Turn the speed down to low and gradually add flour mix to bowl. When it’s all in, turn the speed to medium and blend. Stop and scrape, making sure the mix at the bottom is fully blended with the rest. Totally blending is the key to consistent cookies — you won’t end up with some cookies puffy and others flat.

Chocolate Chips.
Gradually add the chocolate chips and mix a few seconds more.

Scrape the beater and remove.

Ice Cream Scoop.
Using the scoop, the kind with the lever that pushes the ice cream into the bowl, scoop the mixture and plop each dough ball onto the parchment. The balls will be big and you may only get eight on each baking tray, but that’s the key to Monster Cookies.

When the balls are in place, take the heel of your hand and push down on the dough a bit.

Bake for about 20 minutes, checking through the oven window after about 15 minutes. Be sure the edges are crispy and the middles puffy and fully baked.

Remove and let rest for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks.

Welcome to the world of Monster Cookies!