Highbrow Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am not a boxed cookie girl.  Okay, except for Girl Guide cookies, but I can't get those here.  Boxed cookies for the most part suck.  They're dry, too sweet, and have way too many ingredients for something that should be so simple.

That being said, Trader Joe's is always the exception.  For some reason I bought their Highbrow Chocolate Chip Cookies.  I'm usually not particularly into crispy cookies, but these looked and sounded delightful.  And they were.  Crunchy, buttery, rich, and the chocolate chips were clearly not of the Hershey's variety (in case you didn't know I loathe Hershey's).  They were positively delightful.

So tonight when I decided to try out a new chocolate chip cookie recipe I thought I might like to try and replicate the TJ's Highbrow.  What I found (via http://www.amateurgourmet.com) was Martha Stewart's Chocolate Chunk Cookies.  They are everything the TJ's highbrow cookie is and then some.  Crispy around the edges, and chewy on the inside.  Perfection.  I literally swooned when I bit into one of these lovely cookies, and Mike agreed, commenting "they make TJs highbrows taste like dirt".  Okay, I wouldn't go that far but these are some damn good cookies.

I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, but instead of semisweet chocolate chunks I used Guittard milk chocolate chips.  If you're making chocolate chip cookies, don't cheap out and use crappy chips, a couple extra dollars spent of good quality chips will make your cookies extraordinary.  I actually think a good quality dark chocolate bar cut up into chunks would be better in this recipe, but Mike isn't a huge dark chocolate fan so milk it is (this time).  I also skipped the whole parchment bit.  I have yet to bake with parchment, and since this recipe was chosen on a whim I didnt' have any around.  I just lightly greased my baking sheet, left them on for a few minutes to harden before transferring to a wire rack and all as well.  

Martha Stewart's Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Makes About 3 Dozen
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 large whole egg, plus 1 large egg white
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chunks (about 2 cups)
Preheat the oven to 375F, with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the vanilla, whole egg, and egg white. Beat on low speed until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture in two batches; mix until just combined. Mix in chocolate.
Shape 2 heaping tablespoons of dough at a time into balls and place about 1 1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are golden brown, about 18 minutes. Transfer parchment and cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.