Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you only make one thing from my blog, make these cookies! I cannot explain how amazing they are!  Thick, chewy, HUGE, chocolate...YUM YUM YUM!!!  I adore these cookies-the only down side is that they are best when devoured the day you make them. Which isn't much of a bad thing because they won't last until the next day anyway :)

I have made many chocolate chip cookies in my day and none compare to these! I was actually on a quest one Saturday morning, "researching" on the Internet, trying to find the best recipe.  After about two hours of google searches I had the bright idea of looking at all my favorite blog sites (DUH, blonde moment, totally should have done this first).  Lo and behold, I found it here: Brown Eyed Baker.  I will never make another chocolate chip cookie again, unless it's this recipe.  There is one big key to these cookies: GOOD QUALITY INGREDIENTS!  I am all about buying generic/cheaper products with the exception of a few things-two of them are in these cookies: vanilla extract and chocolate.  Now, I always used the store brand chocolate chips and vanilla extract until after reading a few blogs I was convinced I would try the better brands and prove them wrong...one problem; I WAS WRONG! When it comes to vanilla extract and chocolate you MUST buy good quality.  It truly makes all the difference and once you've used the good stuff you won't turn back!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: Brown Eyed Baker
Printable Recipe

yield: about 18 large cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (10 5/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
1 cup packed (7 ounces) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1-1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips  (I don't actually measure them, I just pour them in until I think there are enough)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper, baking mat, or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Either by hand or with an electric mixer (I use my stand mixer b/c I can just turn it on and let it do all the work), mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add the dry ingredients (I do this in two to three additions) and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in the chips to taste. 

I'm in love with these silpat mats

Roll a scant 1/4 cup of the dough into a ball. Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves. Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough’s uneven surface. Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 1/2 inches apart.

Bake until the cookies are light golden brown and the outer edges start to harden yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the sheets. Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a side metal spatula.  ENJOY!!