The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Our family makes chocolate chip cookies almost every Sunday.  I love to try new recipes (I think I've tried every one on this blog), while my husband sticks with good ol' Nestle Toll House.  His argument..."Why try to improve on perfection?"  Well, yesterday, improve we did.  Only, in my humble opinion, this improvement is about 100 times better than Nestle Toll House.  It really is the perfect chocolate chip cookie.  I have to give credit where credit is due, though.  My 13-year-old daughter made these cookies by herself while I was gone, and I only helped her shape them on the pan when I returned.  I assume she followed the recipe exactly as it is (with a few extra chocolate chips, a mix of milk chocolate and semi-sweet).  I did give her one tip before I left the house:  always use a wooden spoon rather than a beater to stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

picture courtesy of Annie's Eats

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie
adapted from a friend's recipe

1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats (or you can use a plain old jelly roll pan)

Beat butter with electric mixer until creamy.  Add the brown sugar and beat for 5 minutes on high speed until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for another minute after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix well.

Whisk together the dry ingredients.  Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture in two or three additions, mixing on low speed just until the flour is incorporated.  Stir in the chocolate chips using a silicone spatula or the mixer on low speed.

Using a small ice cream scoop or tablespoon, drop balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving a few inches of room between them.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Let cookies cool on baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.

*my daughter used a rather large ice cream scoop and made bigger cookies, pressing the dough down so they were evenly spread.