Every now and then, I have the urge to explore my past. Usually, this just entails looking at old photo albums for the millionth time, reminiscing about when I was a baby or when my parents were babies. But I was bored with this, seeing as I have been doing it since I was, in fact, a baby. According to my mom, the reason our photo albums are a mess today is because I used to pull out all of the photographs and leave them in shambles, spread out on my Bubbe’s red oriental rugs in the living room.

I wanted more than just photographs: I wanted some history. I was expecting something like personal journals or newspapers, but what I found were cookbooks – the 1952 edition of Irma Rombauer’s The Joy of Cooking, to be exact.

I was overjoyed to have found this gem: one, we didn’t even have a modern copy of the renowned cookbook; and two, because I could tell that the book had been used and that it was truly something passed down from generations.

I could envision my grandfather reading the recipes and saying what was wrong with them and then just doing whatever he wanted. As a baker and connoisseur of Jewish cooking, he knew what was what, but this still did not prevent him from owning the cookbook.

Mesmerized by the yellowed pages and the enchanting old-book smell, I had to cook something. But what ingredients would I have on hand with such short notice? I don’t just have various cuts of beef laying around in my fridge waiting to be handled. So I flipped to the dessert section knowing that I could find some arrangement of flour, sugar and butter that I’d be in the mood for. I didn’t want to make a cake; it would be too much of a mess.

So, on to the cookies.What could be better than chocolate chip? Not much. So I meandered around my kitchen, made sure I had everything I needed and began to cook.

There are so many recipes for chocolate chip cookies out there, but this one takes the cake. They are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. When you break them apart, there is an apparent drizzle of semi-sweet chocolate between the halves. These cookies pair perfectly with a glass of milk.

If you are like Monica Geller of Friends and are looking for the perfect chocolate chip cookies to have on the table for your friends and future children, this is the one. You can kiss the Nestle Tollhouse recipe goodbye because this one is, for lack of better words, better. The recipe on the back of the yellow packaging is fine,but The Joy of Cooking one requires a smaller quantity of ingredients and makes generally the same amount of cookies. Plus, they taste better!

You can also say that you used a recipe from The Joy of Cooking, which is by far one of the most monumental cookbooks ever printed.

Even on the first attempt, this cookie proved to be the best I’ve ever made. It is important, like with any other cookie, that you bake them until golden around the edges. If you take them out of the oven too soon, they won’t develop their rich flavor or their optimal texture.

You want a cookie that is crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside without being underbaked.

Makes about 30 chocolate chip drop cookies

Ingredients

1⁄2 cup butter
6 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons white sugar
1 egg
1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sifted all-purpose flour
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup chipped chocolate

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Cream the butter with an electric mixer, or by hand, gradually adding the brown and white sugar. Once combined, beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture and then fold in the chipped chocolate.
3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
4. Use a teaspoon to drop cookie dough on parchment paper.
5. Put tray in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. Rotate tray 180 degrees halfway through baking. You know when they are done when the edges are a deep, golden brown, but not burnt. Let cool. The outcome is a crusty exterior and a chewy, chocolatey inside.

*Chipped chocolate is just chocolate chips. I recommend using semi-sweet. The recipe also says you can use 1⁄2 cup of choco late chips and 1⁄2 cup of chopped nuts, but…
**You can also nix the chocolate and just make sugar drop cookies.