The Only Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe You'll Ever Need

Fresh out of the oven!

After a coworker of mine brought in a batch of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies that had the perfect chewy-to-crunchy ratio, I knew I had to get my hands on the recipe. After snagging the recipe that she found online, I switched on Barefoot Contessa, grabbed my apron and turned a lovely Saturday afternoon into a baking bonanza.

Ingredients for the best chocolate chip cookies ever!

Now, I had very little experience creating cookies from scratch, often opting for the "break and bake" variety, so this was a true test of my baking abilities.

Luckily, this recipe uses a lot of common baking ingredients, so you just may have everything on hand already! I started out by creaming together butter, ( I used a butter substitute in an attempt to make these healthier) brown sugar and white sugar, with my hand mixer (while dreaming of someday owning a beautiful Tiffany's blue KitchenAid stand mixer!).

Butter, Brown & White Sugar

Next, you slowly beat in one egg at a time (two total) and then drop in two teaspoons of vanilla extract. Then dissolve one teaspoon of baking soda into two teaspoons of hot water. I used a tall shot glass (classy, I know) to do this, before pouring it into my mixture along with half a teaspoon of salt.

All that's left is to add three cups of flour in slowly, along with two cups of semisweet chocolate chips (a.k.a. an entire bag!) and a cup of walnuts if you prefer (I left these out--they make my mouth itch!)

Flour & Chocolate Chips

Using "the universal kitchen tool" (wooden spoon), slowly incorporate all of the ingredients until you have a thick batter with no dry spots.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Batter

Next, drop rounded spoonfuls of batter onto several ungreased cookie sheets. I placed a dozen cookies on each cookie sheet and baked them in shifts since the batter makes so many cookies!

Drop batter by rounded spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet

 

I baked these cookies at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes, until they barely got brown in color. Make sure to keep your eye on them as they do bake quickly!

Allow to cool for several minutes

Allow to cool (if you can wait!), invite some friends over, and enjoy! The result is the perfect gooey-yet-crunchy cookie with a wonderful vanilla aroma! I was able to make 50 cookies out of one batch of batter so you'll have more than enough to give to friends, coworkers, or even your trusty tax accountant! Happy baking!


Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe via allrecipes.com
Yields 4 dozen

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons hot water

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

 

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans. 

Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned.