12 DAYS & SOFT AND CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Have you ever felt hunger? I mean true hunger, the desperate type where it was the result of not having enough around? I'll share with you some personal insight, not mine but a close friend's. On very rare occasions he will open up and recount his painful memories of going to bed hungry. He would tell me, "It was only a matter of $3, if someone could have spared $3, I would have been able to get something to eat."

Perhaps it was the desperate way he said it that was so heart breaking to me. I felt very uncomfortable because the idea of going hungry in such a state of despair was so foreign to me. But I also felt deep, deep compassion for the painful nature of his shame. Likewise I also felt ashamed for not being able to act on a sense of urgency from years ago, and in hearing his story I witnessed the small bit of humanity and fairness he lost over that time period. There was nothing to do except to shed tears of compassion.

Today I am offering you a chance to help out. I realize that this year continues to be a challenging environment for most people, and we all have to dig deep into our pockets to help out. Share your strength was created to raise awareness about childhood hunger. It is heartbreaking but together we can make a difference.

By clicking on the 12 days of sharing banner on my sidebar and making a donation to Share Our Strength, you'll also be entered in some really great giveaways including a Cuisinart stand mixer valued at $300!  Also, feel free to grab the badge and display it on your own blog! You may also help by spreading the word and tweeting about it, any help would be appreciated!

As part of the Share Our Strength 12 Days of Sharing campaign I am participating in the virtual cookie jar where I share a cookie recipe. As you probably know, I don't often bake sweets very often. I have very little self-restraint, and when it comes to cookies, especially if it is a soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie, I will demolish them faster than you can say cookie monster.
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This recipe uses the addition of cornstarch to help the cookie retain its soft and moist center. I discovered this on accident one day when I found myself slightly short on all-purpose flour and supplemented with cornstarch. The pictures tells it all: a taller, fatter and softer chocolate chip cookie, and I'm convinced it's because of the cornstarch.

SOFT AND CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter or 2 sticks, room temperature
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
  
• 1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, corn starch, baking soda, baking powder and salt, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar, this should take roughly 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract until blended. Mix in the flour mixture gradually roughly a cup at a time. Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts. 
3. Scoop roughly 2 tablespoons of cookie dough or roughly the size of golf balls onto ungreased baking sheets. Refrigerate the remaining cookie dough, while waiting for batches in the oven to finish baking.
4. Bake for roughly 10 to 12 minutes in a preheated oven. The cookies are done when the edges are golden brown.