Chocolate Chip Cookies

Making cookies with my Mom is a very fond memory from my childhood. We had so much fun baking together and these cookies just remind me of home. A couple of months ago my girls and I spent the weekend at my parent's house. There is just something so comforting about going me. The last time we spent the weekend we had a PJ party and my Mom made these chocolate chip cookies with my oldest daughter. It was so sweet to watch them bake together the way my Mom baked with me. My daughter loves being in the kitchen and I hope she will remember these times with her Gran. My youngest was also trying to get in on the baking fun. She was a good helper loading the dishes. :)

Not all chocolate cookies are created equal and this recipe my all-time favorite. The cookies are chewy, full of chocolate, buttery and they aren't flat. Seriously, I hate flat cookies. The butter is what makes these cookies amazing, so make sure you don't substitute it with margarine (BTW "margarine" is a swear word in my kitchen..). Also, these don't bake very long and when you take them out they will look under-cooked and slightly doughy, but after they are cooled they will be perfectly chewy. I hope you love these cookies.

This dough also makes a perfect base for other cookies. I love using this recipe and using white chocolate chips and pecans. You can also substitute milk chocolate chips for any other favorite baking chip that you like or have on-hand. I also like using the mini mint chocolate chips from Ghirardelli and adding a few drops of green food coloring to the dough to make green cookies for St. Patty's Day.

Here's what you need:

-1 C butter (2 sticks), room temperature

-1 C brown sugar
-3/4 C white sugar
-2 eggs (If doubling the batch use 3 eggs)
-1 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I usually double this)
-3 C all-purpose flour
-3/4 tsp. baking soda

-3/4 tsp. salt
-(1) 12 oz. bag milk chocolate chips
-1 C nuts, optional (I like walnut, pecans or chopped almonds)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugars, butter, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients and mix until well incorporated. Add chocolate chips and nuts and stir to combine.

2. Take 2 teaspoons and spoon cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Mine usually bake 11-12 minutes. The edges will start to look golden and the cookie will look like it's not baked enough. This is how it's suppose to look. **If baking from frozen dough, let the cookies thaw in the oven while it's preheating and then bake 2 minutes longer.

3. Take them out (no longer than 12 minutes) and let them rest on the cookie sheet for 5-8 minutes. Transfer to a cookie rack and allow to cool (if you can resist warm cookies).

These will keep in a cookie jar or an air-tight container for a week or so. Not that they have ever lasted that long at my house. I also like making a double batch and either freezing the baked cookies or the frozen scoops of dough for a quick treat when company comes over.

To make from frozen cookies: scoop dough out on to a baking sheet as if you were going to bake them, but put them in the freezer instead. Once scoops of dough are frozen, transfer them to a gallon Ziploc bag. I like to write the name of the cookie and the baking temperature and time amount right on the front. Then all you have to do is pop them onto a tray and bake.

You can also bake the entire batch of cookies and once the cookies are completely cooled, you can put them in an airtight, freezer-safe container with waxed paper separating the layers. Or I have placed 2 cookies in a sandwich bag and put several of those bags into a Ziploc bag for freezing. Any way works well, it's just personal preference.

Enjoy and happy baking!

Here's the printable recipe.