White Chocolate Chip Cookies

About this recipe

• Easy and quick: these are simple white chocolate chip cookies with a dough that uses everyday ingredients and comes together quickly. It's very straightforward and can be done with an electric mixer or a stand mixer.
• No chilling time: you can bake these cookies directly after you mix the dough. But, though it's not a requirement, you can chill it if you have leftovers or because you like the texture better after a stay in the refrigerator.
• Large batch: you can easily double or triple this recipe, something very understandable towards the end of the year.
• Make ahead: you can freeze scoops of unbaked cookie dough ready to be baked. This will save time if you're planning to make lots of cookies for the holidays. There's a Freezer Baking guide posted in this blog that you might find useful.

Ingredients

Simple, everyday staples that you probably have at home right now.

• White chocolate: use white chocolate chips or chunks. Sometimes I like to use Valrhona caramelized chocolate Dulcey, Callebaut white chocolate chunks, or a white chocolate baking bar, coarsely chopped.
• Unsalted butter.
• Sugar: a mix of white and brown sugar is used for that unique sweet flavor these types of cookies have. I favor light brown sugar (not dark) so the cookies are lighter in color. But either can be used.
• Egg: fresh, large.
• Flour: all-purpose flour is the first choice, but cake flour will also work if that's all you have.
• Baking soda and baking powder: make sure they're not expired.
• Salt: I like to use kosher salt when baking. But regular table salt works just fine.
• Vanilla: I use pure vanilla extract or pure vanilla paste when available, but a good vanilla essence (artificially flavored) also works and is infinitely cheaper.
• Almond extract: I always add it and highly recommend it, but since it's not a common ingredient to have at home, know that with just vanilla, the cookies will also be amazing.

How to make white chip cookies

This is a traditional, easy, one-bowl cookie recipe that can be made with an electric beater or a stand mixer. I alternate between both, depending on how much I want to wash my stand mixer afterward.

Mixing the dough

• Creaming: the soft (but not melted) butter is well beaten with the sugars (image 1). This creates a fluffy mixture and incorporates some air into the batter.
• Wet ingredients: they include egg and vanilla and are added before the flour (image 2). Incorporate everything well, with no spots of egg whites left behind.
• Dry ingredients: they include flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder (image 3). At this point, mix to incorporate, don't overbeat the dough.
• Chocolate chips: the white chips are added at the end and I like to mix them with a spatula and not the mixer (image 4).

Baking the cookies

• How to prepare the pan: I tried several ways of doing this and for me what works best is simply buttering the pan. But you can use parchment paper. I find that the cookies spread too much with paper, so I omit it.
• Chocolate chips: there are two ways you can incorporate the chips in this recipe and that is mixing all of them into the dough or adding some of them on top after you scooped the portions (image below). This way you will have a nicer-looking cookie which is always a good idea. The amount of chocolate in both cases is the same.
• To chill or not to chill the dough: as mentioned before, both work. The difference is in texture since the chilled dough will be firmer and the sugar will have dissolved more. I recommend trying both and seeing which one is more up your alley.

Kitchen notes

• Organization: always read the recipe first and make sure you have all the ingredients, at the right temperatures, and also the rest of the equipment and space to make it. This will make the process so much easier!
• Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer(like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust. 
• Same-sized cookies: the easiest way to get uniform cookies is to use a cookie scoop (or a small ice cream scoop) to portion the dough.
• Make ahead and freeze: this is great to get ahead with your end-of-year baking. Make the cookie dough and scoop portions on a baking sheet. You don't need to leave space between them; make sure they're not touching. Freeze them until they're rock solid, and then transfer them to an airtight container or plastic bag so you can recover the cookie sheet and use less space in the freezer. Bake the frozen scoops directly in a preheated oven; no need to thaw them.
• Variations: with the same dough, you can slightly vary the flavor. White chocolate goes well with orange zest, ground cinnamon, and a liqueur such as Amaretto (almond) or Frangelico (hazelnut).