White House Cookie Recipe

Well, if you've read my blog a few times, you probably know that I'm a little obsessed with cookies. Chocolate chip in particular. I am always on the lookout for good recipe's and this afternoon I tried a new one. My mother-in-law gave me this book called Dessert University by Roland Mesnier, who was the White House pastry chef for many years. I'm loving reading some of his tips and checking out his recipes! I was SO delighted to find a chocolate chip cookie recipe in there and according to him, he baked these on an almost daily basis at the white house. His secret ingredient is molasses, he says they help keep the cookies chewy for longer than a day. If you like that more intense brown sugar molasses flavor, than you'll love these. I think they are a great upgrade from your average cookie. Here is his recipe:

3 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups (1 12 oz bag) chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Combine the flour, soda, and salt and set aside
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted w/ the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until thoroughly combined. Beat in the eggs, molasses, and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Then stir in Chocolate chips and walnuts. Place the bowl in the refrigerator and allow to chill for 1 hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat pads.
4. Drop heaping tablespoons of #40 ice cream scoops of the dough 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets, flattening them slightly by hand. (balls of doug may be placed next to each other on parchment-lined baking sheets, frozen, transferred to sipper-lock plastic freezer bags, and stored in the freezer for up to 1 month. Place frozen cookies on prepared sheets as above, and defrost on the counter for 30 minutes before baking)
5. Bake until just light golden, 8-10 minutes. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets before using a metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Will keep in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days.
*Don't overbake these, or they will overbrown on the outside and dry out on the inside.


*Alli's Tips:
-Butter can take a couple hours (or more) to soften if you leave it in it's packaging. If you need soft butter in a pinch, just cut it into tablespoons and set it out on a plate or cutting board. It will only take 10-20 minutes for the butter to be soft enough to mix. (don't microwave!) Once soft, I always mix the butter by itself first before I add the sugar to make sure there are not clumps.
-don't skip out on the nuts, It adds a lot to this cookie and I'm not sure the molasses would make as much sense without them.

Enjoy!