In the LAist Kitchen: Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

It can be tough for a citizen of LA to get into the holiday swing. Since the welcomed downturn in temperatures this past week we've been happy to wrap ourselves in scarves and sweaters, and despite that odd post-Thanksgiving disconnect, we've even gotten a ton of holiday gift shopping under our belts. Heck, we've even been using the heat in our apartment! But nothing says warm and fuzzy--no matter that the palm trees are a-swayin' outside--like homemade cookies.

We had the opportunity last week to get in the kitchen and to whip up a batch of cookies worth sharing with a hungry horde. We're toying with the idea of throwing some baked goods into our holiday gift-giving scheme, although we personally avoid sweets we don't mind sharing the love with those who aren't so strict with themselves. So to get warm us up and to stretch our cookie-baking muscles we thought perhaps it would be best to ease in with an old standard before attempting anything new. Which is what brought us to making Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies, courtesy of our friend Martha Stewart; we've made her regular chocolate chip cookies before with great results, so we decided to stick with her for this variation on a theme. The finished product: Beautiful! The hungry hordes: Utterly delighted. The photo series tutorial: Here, on Flickr. The recipe: After the jump.

CAKEY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
From MarthaStewart.com

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Makes about 3 dozen
(LAist's note: We don't like to say Martha is a liar, but...closer to 2 1/2 dozen)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips (about 12 ounces) [We used dark chocolate chips]

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

2. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

3. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges and set in the center, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

For us there was an important pre-step: We like to cook/bake while listening to KCRW, ideally their music programming. Our cookies were created to the sounds of Morning Becomes Eclectic. Rock on, and enjoy.