Reply to Dumb questions about the basic ingredients for choc. chip cookies

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I've failed miserably at making CCs. I think it may be my ingredients.

So, when the recipe calls for butter - what type? Lucerne Sweet Cream, unsalted, Blue Bonnet, Emperial, vegetable oil-based?
And do I leave the butter on the counter to bring to room temperature? Or can I microwave it to get it soft?
And for salt - ionized or sea salt?
And for brown sugar - dark or light brown? Does it matter?
And for eggs - the super big jumbo ones or just regular size? And do I need to leave them on the counter for an hour to take the chill off?
And for mixing - I read in a previous thread that a hand mixer introduces air into the batter. Is that a good thing? Should I use that to mix the ingredients or just mix with spoon?

Sorry for asking such "duh" questions, but there seems to be so many variables and I keep getting flat CCs with no curb appeal and it's frustrating to waste so much time and ingredients.
[/quote]

Always use real butter.  Anything else is just gross.  Use the best quality that you can find, but make sure that it is unsalted.  You want to be able to control the amount of salt.

Best if the butter is left on the counter, but you can microwave if necessary.  To do so, you will need to use a low power setting and check frequently.  If it melts, grab another stick and try again.

Recipes typically mean iodized salt. I use a coarse sea salt, and a bit more than is called for in the recipe, as it brings out the complexity of flavors better.

Do you like molassas?  If so, use dark brown sugar.  If not, use light brown. I like it some, but not an overwhelming amount, so I generally use light brown.

Large eggs will give you the best match, but you are okay no matter what.  Best if they are room temperature, but if you didn't get a chance to leave them out, just use them cold.  Unlike with the butter, cold will not kill the cookies.

I use my kitchenaid, but use whatever you want.

Despite all this, I agree with pp, don't worry too much - almost all cookies are good.  One of my favorite childhood memories was of when my mother, who is a terrible cook in general, attempted to make chocolate chip cookies one night right after I went to bed.  It is the only time in my entire life that I remember her baking.  I have no idea what she did, but they ended up being just a thin crust completely stuck to the pan all the way across.  She started scraping it off and finally she just got me out of bed (I must have been about 5) and we went at it together, scraping off each tiny bit and shoving the crumbs in our mouths.  It took a while, but got it all off.  It was excellent![/quote]

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