Chocolate Chip Cookie Expert

I like to joke that I am a chocolate chip cookie (CCC) expert.

But secretly, on the inside, I'm not joking at all. Not only can I bake what most people say is the best cookie they've ever had, I'm a darn fine judge of others' CCCs.

I like my CCC to be soft and chewy, but not cakey. And I can't bear dry, crispy, crunchy or crumbly ones. Less egg, more sugar is the key. And LOTS of chocolate chips is a must. I use about one and a half bags of chips for one recipe of cookies. The cookie is basically a carrier for the chocolate.

My mom says that in relation to cooking, I'm like my grandmother. I don't hold to a written recipe. I start there, but then I improvise. So whenever someone wants my recipes, I tell them things like, "about a few tablespoons? of tahini, I guess" or "enough flour so that it's the right consistency". My GranNina was notorious for handing out impossible recipes.

I tell my mom, who often wants my recipes, to watch me in the kitchen and take notes. I'm only a little arrogant. But my mom loves me no matter what.

Ocassionally my CCCs don't turn out they way I want. That's the downside of baking from memory and not from a recipe. But when I get it right - MAN! There ain't nothin' better than a warm CCC with a glass of milk.

I should find a contest and enter it. Can I do that if my original jumping off point was the Toll House CCC recipe? Hmm......