Seeking ultimate chocolate chip cookies

[Tati]

I was wondering if anyone has an "ultimate" chocolate chip cookie recipe. I've got cookbooks and I've got the web, but I'm after something that I know will be yummy, and I thought it would be best just to ask y'all!

A chewy texture is ideal, and coconut in the recipe would be a plus as well. (I'm trying to recreate these fab cookies I had as a kid, and they had coconut in them!) But any recipes that you know are delicious would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[moocow]

I like the Nestle toll house recipe, but it's because it makes the best tasting dough, IMO

I REALLY like the Gihardelli 60% cocoa content bits in them. I love dark chocolate and it makes it taste even yummier to me.

[Tati]

^^ I bought those yesterday.

[tofucheesecake]

Well, min has no coconut, but it ALWAYS makes chewy cookies that don't flatten and burn on the edges. The only thing I don't like is that sometimes I wish the main dough was a little cakier and a little less sweet. I make them with all chocolate and no nuts. The secret is in the high moisture content of the brown sugar and the higher melting point of shortening. Here goes (unfortunatly, the measurements are not weighted, so I don't know how it would work translating to that way of measuring).
1 c = 8 oz
T=tablespoon
t=teaspoon
1 T = 3 t = 45 mL (I think?)
*there is a nifty measurement converter on recipezaar.com. Just scroll down and look on the right side.

3/4 c. shortening
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
2 T. milk
1 T. vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 c flour
1 t. salt
3/4 t. baking soda
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips (I use semisweet or bittersweet)
1 c. nuts (or omit nuts and use and extra 1 c. chocolate chips, or just use 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips)

Cream shortening and sugar, add milk, vanilla, and egg. In a separate bowl, sift flour, salt, and baking soda. Add flour mix to shortening mix until just combined (i.e. all flour particles are absorbed; the more you overmix, the flatter and less tender your cookies are). Fold in chocolate chips and/or nuts. Place by tablespoon-full 2-ish inches apart on a cookie sheet (silpat lined or greased) and bake in centre rack of a 375 F oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the centers are no longer shiny. They should look a bit underdone, but after they cool 2 minutes and are transferred to a wire rack to cool completely they will firm up and be nice and chewy Good luck!

[tofucheesecake]

This is my "cakier" recipe (again, no coconut...I've actually never had one with coconut in it before...) I think it has also been voted "best" by a number of different magazines. The key is the order in which ingredients are added and the manner in which they are added.

2 1/4 c. flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 c. butter at room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/3 c. water
2 eggs
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into a mixing bowl. In another browl, mix butter & sugars together. Add vanilla extract, water, and eggs and mix well. Add the flour mixture to the other mixture; stir well to form dough. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop dough by teaspoonfulls onto greased cookie sheets, 1 in. apart. Bake 10 min. or until brown on the edges, one sheet at a time.

[Algernon]

I personally like the "Neiman Marcus $250.00 Recipe" myself. It's chewy and rich and delish. I don't put the nuts in, just my preference.

http://cooking.erp-volga.com/data/Co...ie.Recipe.html

[pacific breeze]

Usually chocolate chip cookies don't include coconut. Are you perhaps thinking of chocolate coconut macaroons? I have a killer recipe for those, but I don't have time to post it right now. I will later.

[tofucheesecake]

Maybe white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies? I have a recipe for those that has coconut.

[Tati]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! The ones I'm thinking of definitely had coconut, but were otherwise just basic choc chip cookies. So I made a batch of Toll Houses tonight, substituting coconut for the nuts (I only used about 1/2 C of coconut compared to 1 C of nuts). Worked pretty perfectly, so I'm happified.

[Algernon]

^^Well now I have to try that! I love coconut anyway, and I know I've never had it in chocolate chips cookies. Yum Yum!

[bigbrowneyes]

Alton Brown has a recipe for chocolate chip cookies called "The Chewy". These are awesome, and I've made them many times. Hopefully the link works, but if not go to the Food Network site, and look around. Here's the link: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci..._13617,00.html