I've tried lots - lots and lots - of chocolate chip cookie recipes. Lots. This is the best, my recipe, the one I eat out of the bowl and only some of the dough makes it into cookie form and when it does end up as cookies they're the ooey gooey chewy kind. If you like your cookies puffy and fluffy then this is the World's Least of the Worst of the Least recipes.
On chips: How many chips you add is a deeply personal decision. I won't judge. Me, I like a relatively moderate chip-to-cookie ratio. Also, try a milk chocolate chip instead of semi-sweets, or dark chocolate if that's your thing.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
(about 24 cookies)
2 1/4 c AP flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
2 sticks butter, cold cold cold from the fridge
3/4 c dark brown sugar - packed
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 tsp almond extract
2 eggs
chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 375 F
1) Cream the butter and sugars. I don't want to hear any complaints about how this is hard work since the butter is cold, I don't even have a mixer and I can do this in minutes! (if any step were more important than the rest, it would be this one)
2) Add the extract and the eggs, give 'em a good mix.
3) Combine the flour, salt and baking soda then add to the wet ingredients and stir til evenly mixed.
4) Add the chips. At this stage you can chill the dough for a bit - it only helps - but cooking right away doesn't hurt any.
5) Scoop out (I like to use an ice cream scoop) balls of dough leaving plenty of room - otherwise you get what my niece calls a "double cookie", which, while it is cooler than a double rainbow is a pain to transfer from sheet to cooling rack.
6) Bake for 10-12 minutes until they're brown on the edges. The cookies will look a bit underdone in the center when you remove them from the tray to the cooling rack.
