Mrs. Field's Blue-Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies

So I gave out all the "Famous Amos" chocolate chip cookies that I made the other day, but suddenly had another craving for chocolate chip cookies. This time, another recipe caught my eye when I went searching online... Blue-Ribbon Chocolate Chip Cookies from Mrs. Field's blog! It's been a number of years since I've eaten cookies from the Mrs. Fields stores... though I'm a big fan of the chocolate chip muffins. Mmm...

On a side note, I was curious what "blue-ribbon" meant and it turns out that blue ribbon recipes are award-winning recipes from America's country fairs. So they're the best of the best! With respect to this Mrs. Field's recipe, I can definitely say it is true... OMG... this recipe turned out the yummiest chocolate chip cookies ever!! I could not stop eating these cookies... I popped 5 pieces in my mouth, one after another... crispy on the outside, soft on the inside... the chocolate was still warm and oozing... =)~~

Anyway I'm sure you're all curious about the recipe, so I've posted it below with some tips that Mrs. Fields recommends to make the ideal cookie. Some key things to note is that she suggests that the egg should be left out to room temperature and the butter should be kept cold until used. Also, not to overmix the batter and to bake the cookies at a low temperature.

I cut the ingredients in half as I intended to make mini sized cookies. I also used regular/light brown sugar instead of dark and I only had unsalted butter so I sprinkled a bit more salt in to compensate. Oh... and I ran out of semi-sweet chocolate chips and so added in some dark chocolate chips. As well, I did not reduce the amount of the sugars or chocolate chips used, but when measuring both, I did not measure to the top of the line. With all my substitutions, the cookies turned out fine... And the good news is that the cookie batter can stay frozen until used.

Ingredients (makes 40 mini cookies):
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup caster sugar
113g salted butter, cold
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:

1. In a medium bowl combine flour, soda, and salt. Mix well with wire whisk. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend sugars at medium speed.
3. Add butter and mix to form a grainy paste, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
4. Add egg and vanilla extract, and mix at medium speed until just blended. Do not overmix.
5. Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips, and blend at low speed until just mixed. (Again, do not overmix.)
6. Roll into small balls of no more than 1 inch in diameter.
7. Place in the freezer for at least an hour.
8. Preheat oven to 300F/150C.
9. Drop the frozen small balls of dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet, 1 inch apart.
10. Bake low and slow for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.
11. Transfer cookies immediately to a baking rack or cool surface.