Does it get much better than just a good, old-fashioned, perfect, classic chocolate chip cookie?

Cookies are, of course, my favorite food group, so I tend to do a lot of experimenting. It also happens to be my son's new favorite thing to do together. Pretty sure that's a sign I bake too much. He will come up to me when I am in the kitchen and say, "mama let's bake!" and who am I to say no to a 2 year old? I began simply throwing ingredients together, and decided it would be a great way to experiment with different measurements, and ingredients. My son never complained about it, and it was fun for me too. I mean, who is really going to complain about that?

After many experiments, I created a cookie recipe that is easy to memorize, and have around for those cookie cravings that always seem to sneak up on you. My mom taught me that my pantry and fridge should always be stocked with ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies, and I must say that is good advice.

This recipe is simple! Brown sugar is a great secret for adding a nice chewiness to the cookies while keeping the center gooey and soft. These are NOT cakey cookies though. I would describe them as chewy, soft, and gooey on the side, with a nice crunch on the outside. I like to have a little bit of a crisp outside to the cookie because it adds really nice texture. That is created by both the sugar and the butter. Creaming them together is one of the most important parts of the process. Making sure the butter and sugar cream (aka mix) well together to create a light and fluffy texture will help to prevent a dense cookie.

Another important part of these cookies is the chocolate. You can use chocolate chips, and they will taste wonderful, but I love using chopped chocolate. I buy a large block of chocolate (not a candy bar though), and roughly chop it, and that allows the chocolate to spread around the batter so that every bite you take has chocolate. The "bar chocolate" doesn't harden back up as much as the chocolate chips, which keeps the cookies chewy, and not dry. I like to use dark chocolate, but semi-sweet is great as well.

One of my favorite flavor combinations is chocolate and cinnamon. This cookie really benefits from the warm spice that the cinnamon adds. It is subtle, but balances out the flavors.

Now, I don't want to hear any complaints about how much butter I add to my cookies. If you are going to eat a cookie, it might as well be a really freaking good cookie!

Tips to make perfect Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

*Use room temperature ingredients. This allows everything to incorporate evenly.

*Cream the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy. This can take a few minutes.

*Try using chopped chocolate instead of chocolate chips. It has a more gourmet flavor and distributes chocolate throughout the batter so that it is in every bite.

*Don't over mix once you add the flour. If you overmix, then you will have a tough cookie.

*Careful not to overbake. I would lean more towards underbaking these. I scoop them into the size of about 2 tablespoons, using a cookie scoop. When the outsides start to get golden, then they are done.

*I like using a cookie scoop when making cookies, because then they are uniform size, and bake evenly.

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Author:

Maria Provenzano

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar (I like using dark, but either dark or light brown sugar is good)
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (if using chopped chocolate, you may need a little less since it spread out more than the chocolate chip)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (or a hand mixer can be used as well).

Pour in the sugar and brown sugar, and mix together until light and fluffy, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl every so often.

Stir in the egg and vanilla, and mix until well combined.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon; use a whisk to mix them together well.

Slowly pour the flour into butter/sugar mixture and mix until just combined.

Stir in the chocolate until evenly mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is mixed in being careful not to over mix.

Use a cookie scoop (or two spoons) to scoop out the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; you can make them any size you like, but I do the size of about 2 tablespoons, if making them smaller or larger make sure to adjust the baking time.

Evenly space the cookies out onto a baking sheet so they are at least a couple inches away from each other.

Bake for 8-10 minutes depending on their size; until the edges are starting to become golden.

Allow to cool.