Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!

Looking for the perfect treat for, well, everything? Here’s the perfect recipe for homemade chocolate chip cookies! Make sure to check out the tips and tricks at the end for best results!

¾ cup granulated (white) sugar
¾ cup light brown sugar
½ cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 eggs (large, room temp)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 ¼ cups flour, sifted
2 cups chocolate chips
(Optional: walnuts, M&Ms, etc.)
 
In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In medium mixing bowl, beat sugars and butter at medium speed until well blended.
Add eggs, one at a time. Beat low/medium until just combined.
While mixing, add vanilla extract.
Gently add dry ingredients, ¼ cup at a time until mixture is fully combined.
Fold chocolate chips, M&Ms, walnuts, etc. into mixture
 
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 12 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. (Middles may still look a little gooey.)

 

Tips and tricks:
Start prepping approximately one hour before baking. Set butter and eggs out to cool. It’s best for these to be close to the same temperature when blended.
I make my dough a couple days prior to baking – this allows the butter to redistribute throughout the mixture. It gives the cookies that perfect sheen rather than the fluffy texture you get when baking immediately after mixing!
If you’re only planning to bake a portion, seal the remaining dough in an airtight container and refrigerate. (Mine usually keeps up to about two weeks.)
DO NOT, I reiterate, DO NOT OVERBAKE. <<<<< This is my pet peeve. If the cookie is completely brown coming out of the oven, you’ve baked them too long. The dough will continue to bake for a few minutes after coming out of the oven – as soon as the edges begin to brown, pull those babies out! The inside will look a little gooey, but that’s okay! Once they cool, they’ll be perfectly soft and chewy! I promise!

For a (slightly) healthier alternative, you can sub applesauce for the eggs. I typically use about one cup applesauce with a tablespoon or so of baking powder. This gives the dough a slightly better consistency than using applesauce alone.

Like anything else, baking takes time and practice. Every oven is different, too, so your time may vary by a minute or two. I have a convection oven, so I use the “fast bake” function at 325 and bake for 11 minutes. If you have a regular oven, try 350 for 10-12 minutes. If one side begins to brown faster than the other, wait until they’re AT LEAST halfway through. Opening the oven changes the temperature and jeopardizes the baking process. I typically turn mine when there’s about 3-4 minutes left on the timer.


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