When life gives you lemons (or maybe butter), make the Gaines family's favorite chocolate chip cookies.
Chip and Joanna Gaines, with their five kids, ages 1 to 15, have found some fun ways to stay sane and savor the extra — albeit mandated — family bonding during this unprecedented time.
Stationed in her home kitchen, Joanna Gaines whipped up a batch of chocolate chip cookies from her first cookbook, "Magnolia Table," catered to the preferences of her little ones.
"With life looking quite a bit different than we’re all used to, our @magnolia family is looking for ways to focus on how we can make the most of our time spent at home, because honestly there's no better place to be right now — and in the midst of all that's going on, we believe that there is room for connection, creativity, laughter, and inspiration," Gaines wrote on her Instagram.
In the cooking demo, filmed by the Gaines' eldest son, Drake, 15, Gaines dished up some secrets to getting the cookies just right — that is, equal parts chewy and fluffy.
And it's all about the butter.
"Typically butter makes for a flatter cookie. I use real butter and I don't soften it completely, like overnight," she explained. "I like it to be a little bit chilled still — even though it's soft and it kind of gets clumpy. Those clumps of butter actually work really well in this recipe. It makes them fluffy and chewy, which I think the kids really like."
Get The Recipe
Joanna Gaines' Strawberry Shortcake
Joanna Gaines
Gaines uses brown sugar because it contains molasses, which makes the cookies more moist and chewy, whereas white sugar caramelizes and makes cookies more brown and crisp.
While we're champing at the bit to whip up a batch of these cookies (hey, we may even start now), this delicious dessert isn't the only fun fans can have with the Gaineses this week.
"So here’s what we’re gonna do: for the next few days, we’re going to share a new challenge and/or activity that we can all get in on together and share," the cookbook author posted.
They also want to see what their followers are cooking while staying at home. Gaines asked folks at the end of the video to post their own videos on Instagram as posts or stories with the tag @magnolia and #webelieveinhome.
Joanna Gaines' Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 stick softened butter (left at room temperature about an hour, still a little chilled)
- 2 eggs
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla
- 2½ cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 heaping teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 bag chocolate chips
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the brown sugar and butter to a stand mixer and beat on low spread until well combined but still chunky. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue to mix.
- Next add the flour, salt and baking soda. Start on low speed, increase to medium and then to high speed and allow to mix until ingredients are well combined
- Add the chocolate chips and mix for a few seconds on medium to high speed.
- Spoon or place cookies about one inch apart (about 12 dollops) on baking sheet lined with wax paper and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
Optional: For a heartier dessert, spread an even layer of the cookie dough into one or two mini-cast iron pans, bake and top with your favorite vanilla ice cream.
Erica Chayes Wida
Erica Chayes Wida is an award-winning journalist, food writer and recipe editor who helmed a local newspaper before joining TODAY's freelance team. A mother of two, she loves singing, collecting old vinyl and, of course, cooking. Erica is forever on a worldwide quest to find the best ham and cheese croissant and brainstorms best over a sauce pot of bubbling pasta sauce. Her work has been featured on BBC Travel, Saveur, Martha Stewart Living and PopSugar. Follow along onInstagram.
FAQs
Bake until lightly browned on top, 10 to 11 minutes. Cool on the pan on a rack for 1 minute, then transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.
What's the short story behind the first chocolate chip cookies where and when were they made? ›
Toll House cookie
The most notable chocolate chip cookie recipe was invented by American chef Ruth Graves Wakefield in 1938. She invented the recipe during the period when she owned the Toll House Inn, in Whitman, Massachusetts.
What is in cowboy cookies? ›
Saddle up, partner–we're making Cowboy Cookies! Full of flavor and texture, this recipe combines coconut, pecans, oats, and chocolate to make one unique cookie, no horse or lasso required.
Do you bake chocolate chip cookies at 350 or 375? ›
Bake at 375 degrees F until golden and tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
Are chocolate chip cookies better at 325 or 350? ›
350° is the standard temp for a cookie, and it's a great one. Your cookies will bake evenly and the outside will be done at the same time as the inside. Baking at 325° also results in an evenly baked cookie, but the slower cooking will help yield a chewier cookie. The outsides will be a little softer, too.
What cookie was invented in 1938 by accident? ›
Circa 1938, Ruth Graves Wakefield added chopped up bits from a Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate bar into a cookie. The chocolate chip cookie was invented by American chefs Ruth Graves Wakefield and Sue Brides in 1938. She invented the recipe during the period when she owned the Toll House Inn, in Whitman, Massachusetts.
Which cookies was invented as an accident? ›
The chocolate chip cookie was created by accident.
In the 1930s, Ruth Wakefield, owner of the Toll House Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, added broken chocolate bar pieces into her cookie batter thinking that they would melt. Instead, the classic dessert was born.
What are Snoop Dogg cookies? ›
Snoop Dogg's peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe - His original cookie features creamy peanut butter and semisweet chocolate morsels, making it the perfect indulgence this holiday season. #
What is Texas favorite cookie? ›
I am still 100% down with the State Cookie Of Texas! It is, of course, the "Cowboy Cookie". Now if you're new here, you might not know that Cowboy cookies feature rolled oats, chocolate chips, pecans, and coconut (full recipe here).
What does baking soda do to gray hair? ›
Regarding using baking soda for gray hair, experts endorse its potential benefits such as controlling pigmentation loss, lightening the strands, and providing texture. It can be used on coarse grey locks to make them smoother too by eliminating product buildup from oils or soaps.
baking soda allows the ingredients to rise and become airy. Without baking soda, your cookies will be very dense, perhaps not chewy, and not as tasty. You get flat cookies like a puddle. Unless you made a meringue type cookie then it uses cream of tartar, and whipped egg whites.
How do you know when chocolate chip cookies are done in the oven? ›
for a cookie with a crispy edge and a still soft center. And finally, when the entire outside turns a dark golden brown. and the edge doesn't move when gently pushed, the cookie will be crunchy without being burnt.
Why do you bake cookies at 350? ›
350° is the standard temp for a cookie, and it's a great one. Your cookies will bake evenly and the outside will be done at the same time as the inside. Baking at 325° also results in an evenly baked cookie, but the slower cooking will help yield a chewier cookie. The outsides will be a little softer, too.
How do you know when chocolate chip cookies are done baking? ›
Golden brown edges - A fully cooked chocolate chip cookie will have light, golden-brown edges. If the edges are dark brown or black, you've overcooked them. On the other hand, if they're pale without a honey-brown tinge, they're not ready yet.
What temperature should a chocolate chip cookie be? ›
Once you reach a temp where those things are accomplished, your cookie is done! Chocolate chip cookies are done between 175 and 185°F (79 and 85°C).
