Sidney's Egg Challenge Cookies

I mentioned yesterday that Sidney had her first egg challenge (and failed).  I did a lot of feeling sorry for myself and Sidney yesterday, but promised myself that I'd get over it.  So I'm over it.  Kind of.

But let me back up a bit.  I'm a newbie when it comes to the food challenge ordeal.  With Ava's nut allergy, our pediatrician gave us the go ahead to do an "at-home" food challenge after her blood work indicated there was no nut allergy.  That pretty much meant that we fed Ava a bunch of nuts and peanut butter and kept the EpiPen nearby for a few hours.  Good thing Ava's blood work was accurate!  When you do an official food challenge in a medical setting, they mix a small amount of the food product with a binding food, like pudding or yogurt (neither of which Sidney can eat because of her dairy allergy).  I came up with a few alternative binding foods, but I was worried that Sidney wouldn't go for it and the food challenge would be a big waste of time.  So I got the doctor's okay to back some cookies and brownies with eggs if all else fails.

As I mentioned yesterday, Sidney didn't even come close to trying my yummy baked goods. By bite number 2 of egg powder mixed with her fave Alphabet Noodles, Sidney officially failed the egg challenge :(  While I wallowed in my sorrows yesterday, I polished off at least 4 of Sidney's egg challenge cookies.  They are so good - I wish Sidney could try them!  The recipe comes from Cooks Illustrated.  My husband loves Cooks Illustrated because they test and re-test all their recipes over and over again until it's perfect.  So in essence, these should be the perfect chocolate chip cookie EVER.  You decide:

Ingredients:
2 ⅛ cups bleached all-purpose flour (about 10½ ounces)
½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks), melted and cooled slightly (I used Sidney's dairy-free vegan butter)
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark), 7 ounces
½ cup granulated sugar (3½ ounces)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-2 cups chocolate chips or chunks (semi or bittersweet)

Instructions:
1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position.  Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
2.  Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.
3.  Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. 
4.  Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. 
5.  Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. 
6.  Stir in chips.

7.  Drop ~1/4 cup cookie dough balls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
8.  Bake until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes - I took mine out at ~14 minutes).

9.  Cool cookies on cookie sheets. 
10.  Serve or store in airtight container.  I like to put a piece of bread in the container to keep the cookies chewy.

Enjoy a few for Sidney!