the battle of the cookies: the choc chip edition

since i have moved home i started baking regularly again. naturally, the season being autumn also helps a lot: autumn and winter days always get me in the mood for baking, especially at weekends. on long, lazy saturday afternoons i tend to get this sudden craving to find a not-yet-tried-out recipe, get up from the computer, rush into the kitchen, and bake something truly mouthwatering.
but you know there are so many great and untried recipes out there on the interwebs that it's really hard to resist trying out more than one in one go. so i came up with the idea of 'the battle of the cookies' -  trying out two different variations/recipes of the same pastry. however, since i did not want to end up with 6 dozens cookies, i decided to make only half of each batch. the first instalment is the 101 of the american desserts, the ultimate comfort food: the chocolate chip cookies. 

the contestants are: 

in the left corner: outrageous chocolate chip cookies via allrecipes.com

in the right corner: janelle's famous, best-in-new-york-city chocolate chip cookies via natthefatrat.com

the recipes:

outrageous chocolate chip cookies 

(ingredients and instructions are copied entirely from allrecipes.com)

ingredients for 3 dozen:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup chocolate chips

directions:
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. in a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well blended. combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter just until moistened. mix in the oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. drop by tablespoonfuls on to lightly greased cookie sheets.
3. bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges start to brown. cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

janelle's famous best-in-new-york-city chocolate chip cookies

(ingredients and instructions are copied entirely from natthefatrat.com)

ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter 
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup 
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 scant teaspoon salt
• lots of chocolate chips (upwards of two cups! do it!)
• flaky sea salt

directions:
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. cream together butter, shortening, sugars, vanilla and egg until fluffy.
3. add sifted dry ingredients (minus sea salt) and mix till combined.
4. fold in chocolate chips and drop by spoon onto greased cookie sheet. sprinkle with sea salt before baking.
5. bake at 350 for 6-10 minutes.

some additional info about my adaptation of the recipes:

• since i wanted only half a batch, i halfed each ingredient listed, except the egg. 
• instead of butter and shortening, i used simple baking margarine. 
• i did not have any brown sugar at home, so i only used simple white sugar. i usually find american cookies too sweet, i used a bit less sugar than listed. about 1/3 cup for both the first and the second one (for a half batch).
• i had peanut butter at home so i could add it to the outrageous choc chip cookies. but the recipe works without it too, or you can substitute it with either walnuts or hazelnuts.
• you do have to go kind of crazy with the amount of choc chips in the case of janelle's cookie. i thought that one cup choc chip to such small amount of batter would be way too much. in fact, it looked like there was more choc chip in the mix than batter. but it did work out well in the end.

*drumroll*

and the winner is:

janelle's chocolate chip cookies!

although the outrageous cookies turned out well with a great peanut flavour and crispy texture, it was a bit too dry for me, much like biscuits. i like my cookies crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. well, janelle's cookies were exactly like that, and even better! i reckon it's not only the best cookies in new york city, but in the whole round world, as well. this recipe, my friend, is a definite keeper and the ultimate chocolate chip cookie for me from now on. and all that much chocolate chips? that's not too much at all. that's one of the reasons i liked this cookie so much. after all, chocolate chip cookies are ought to be filled with chocolate chips, aren't they?