Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite. That being said, they can't just be any type of chocolate chip cookie. They have to be crispy on the edges, chewy and soft in the center. There is no room for store bought chocolate chip cookies in my heart. They are just weird and dusty tasting.

So I would naturally have a perfect recipe I make all the time, right? Don't be silly.

I have been on the hunt for the perfect recipe for years. In high school I used my beloved Martha Stewart recipe for chocolate chip cookies all the time. Upon moving to New Mexico for college it all resulted in great tragedy. My recipe would not work. Not even a little bit. The altitude of the desert just made it terrible.The cookies were just rock hard and needed to be soaked in milk for a long time. If the makers of Jolly Ranchers ever need a cookie flavored candy I would be a good person to call.

After moving back to Denver I tried the old recipe, but I felt like something better was out there. I am glad I kept searching and tried every Martha Stewart recipe imaginable. This is it! Chewy and soft, chocolaty and crispy edged, these cookies are amazing. Martha continues to be the convict I trust most.

 Ingredients

2 sticks (1 cup) of unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

12 ounce bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

First, combine the butter and sugars until the whole thing is fluffy and light yellow in color. This does two things: puts air into the batter and ensures the butter is really room temperature.

Next, add in the vanilla extract and eggs. Mix this on medium high speed for about one minute. It may seem like a while just to add eggs, but the batter should almost double in size after the addition of the eggs. 

After the one minute of mixing, add in the flour and baking soda in three increments. This is where I stop using the mixer and combine by hand. If the flour is stirred too much, the cookies become tough and bread like instead of tender and chewy. Along with the last bit of flour, add in the chocolate chips and mix well.

Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. It may seem annoying, but it really makes a difference. Eat a piece of the dough, it will make you smile until you really have a cookie.

I like to use a cookie scoop to make two tablespoon sized balls out of the batter. After the dough has chilled, place the balls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet. Then bake for 8 to 10 minutes. If you gently poke the top of them, they should be doughy, but not fully set in the middle. Once they have completely cooled, store these in an airtight container. It should give you about 2 to 3 dozen cookies total.

Enjoy these with a tall glass of milk or a steamy mug of coffee. You will love them!