My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm a sucker for a really good Chocolate Chip cookie.

For me, the perfect Chocolate Chip cookie is warm, slightly crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and never over-baked! I don't like them cake-y or spread out all over the pan. Achieving this requires a drier dough.

As you will see below, my recipe is pretty much the standard recipe with just a couple minor changes. But these minor changes make all the difference. My sweet friends always rave about my Chocolate Chip Cookies (uh...unless they're just being nice! hehe) You be the judge and give them a try!

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks of butter, softened (absolutely NO margarine or shortening....only the real thing will do!)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 granulated sugar
1 egg (yep...one is all you need)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt (I like Kosher, but regular salt is fine)
2 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Sometimes I add a 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped Walnuts, but most of my family prefers them without.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375*
In a large bowl, mix butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla until fluffy, usually a couple of minutes. Add in flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix in the dry ingredients just until slightly incorporated. You want it to be crumbly at this point, not doughy. It's much easier to fold in the chocolate chips when the mixture is still loose and crumbly. 

Add chocolate chips and fold in with a wooden spoon. You'll see your dough come together as you mix in the chips. It will be on the dry side, but wet enough to have come together.

I like uniformity, so I use a (2 Tablespoon) cookie scoop. I also use a stone, but if you don't have one, a regular cookie sheet will do. Place cookies about 1-2 inches apart. Be sure oven rack is set in the middle of oven, not higher or cookies will be too dark on top.

Baking times will vary. On my stone, my first batch bakes for 11 minutes. But my second batch only bakes for 9 minutes since the stone is already hot. If I use a regular cookie sheet, I begin with 8 minutes, check them, and go from there.  DO NOT over bake.  You almost want to ever-so-slightly under bake. On a stone, the cookies will continue to firm up a bit as they sit. Allow cookies to stay on stone or sheet about 10 minutes before transferring to a rack for cooling.

What is your favorite recipe?  Is it similar to this one? 


Photo Credit (I couldn't believe that I didn't have my own photo considering I bake these often, but I found one that looks the same, minus the chocolate chunks.)