Secret Ingredient Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies

Secret Ingredient Bakery-Style Chocolate Chip Cookies - made dough December 12, 2015 from Chelsea's Messy Apron

These cookies almost look the same as the ones I just posted but that's mostly because I used the red and green M&M baking bits again to make them seasonally representative. But they're a different chocolate chip cookie - they're made bigger, spread a bit more (but still stay reasonably thick) and have a bit more crunch at the edges to them.

I'm always intrigued by trying out new variations in chocolate chip cookies to see what would really make a difference. This one called for beating the egg white separately with the cream of tartar and, similar to other recipes I've tried, includes cornstarch to help make the cookies chewy.

I've known about and used the cornstarch trick before but not the egg white-cream of tartar thing. I'm not sure if it added anything different to the cookie, maybe a bit more crispness? But I couldn't tell you why,

Still this was a good cookie and so easy to make. I'd had these in my freezer for the next time I needed cookies, figuring I could bake them off for gifts but then my cousin let me know about a bake sale at her son's school with the proceeds going to help the flood victims of Chennai and I thought that was a better purpose for them. They turned out pretty well. One baking tip: to make them festive, reserve some of the baking bits for pressing on the outside of the cookie dough balls before you bake them. Otherwise, if you mix them all into the dough, not that many baking bits will appear and you want them flaunting their holiday glory after they're baked.

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 large egg white
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons oat flour (grind oats finely in a blender then measure out 2 tablespoons)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
1/2 cup M&Ms

1. In a large bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Beat the egg yolks into the sugar-butter mixture. 
3. In a separate bowl, beat 1 egg white with the cream of tartar for several minutes.
4. Beat the vanilla extract and then the egg white mixture into the butter-sugar mixture.
5. In another bowl, mix together the salt, baking soda, flour and oat flour. Stir until combined.
6. Combine the dry and wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips and M&Ms. 
7. Portion into golf-ball-size dough balls, cover and chill or freeze for several hours or overnight until firm.
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Evenly space frozen dough balls on baking sheets.
9. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the middles no longer look raw. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheets for several minutes before transferring cookies to wire racks and cool completely.