The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love Christmastime and all the feel good giving, time with family, and parties with great food. Oh, the food *wipes drool and loosens belt in preparation for some epicurean debauchery*. This is the time of year that people bring out their best party recipes or their personal food treasures and share amongst their friends. I’m not the bravest party goer who will try one of everything on the buffet table – unless it’s the sweets table because “yes” to everything with sugar and butter as the first two ingredients – but I will give most things a try, especially when goaded by my friends because insert party food here is “soooo gooood”. I have definitely expanded my taste horizons thanks to Christmas parties, but I have also cemented the value I put on tried and true, best of the best, delicious comfort food. For me, comfort food takes the form of cookies, and I just so happen to have a recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies ever.

Some people thing that chocolate chip cookies are the plain Jane of cookies, but oh no, they are the pinnacle of cookies. A good chocolate chip cookie is what all other cookies are compared to to find their rank in the cookie hierarchy. Chocolate chip cookies are the all-season, any-occasion cookie and should definitely make an appearance on the Christmas sweets table.

This recipe came to me in 2006 from my husband who scoured epicurious.com looking for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe to make with the kids while I was off teaching karate. I came home one night and was greeted with the most delicious smell emanating from my kitchen and my kids all exclaiming that daddy had found it, thee best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. It was like he had found the holy grail, and I guess he sort of had, he found the holy grail of chocolate chip cookie recipes. I adapted this recipe slightly, but only because I’m all about easy and simple and there was some finicky business about whisking an egg and only adding a portion of it to the dough. My thought was Meh, a little extra egg isn’t going to hurt anything and threw the whole egg in. I doubt a fraction of an egg is going to change the heavenliness of these cookies, and my way makes things easier.

As with all cookies and other lovely treats from the kitchen, feel free to package these up and give them as gifts. I guarantee you will make someone’s day merry and bright.

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The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

The holy grail of chocolate chip cookies.

Ingredients

• 3 c all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 c 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 1/2 c packed brown sugar
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the dough

1. Whisk together: flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.
2. Beat together: butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy (2-3 minutes).
3. Add eggs and beat until creamy (1 minute).
4. Beat in vanilla.
5. Reduce speed to low and add in flour mixture until just blended.
6. Stir in chocolate chips.

Baking

1. Form balls between 1-2 inches in size and place 2-3 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
2. Flatten balls of dough slightly.
3. Bake until golden (9-12 minutes).
4. Transfer to a cooling rack.
5. Repeat from Baking step 1.

Recipe Notes

Adapted from epicurious