Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

These have become my choice of cookie as of lately.  As much as I love my Panera Chocolate Chip Cookies, those seem to take a little more work than most chocolate chip cookies.  Don't get me wrong though, they are totally worth it.  But lately when it's been 8:15 at night and Colby is really craving a chocolate chip cookie, and let's not lie here... and when I'm really craving a chocolate chip cookie, this is the recipe I've been turning to.  These cookies are soft.  They are buttery.  They are delicious and go down perfect with a glass of milk.  You can easily half this recipe to make a smaller batch, but trust me - these cookies go pretty fast so making the amount written below can't steer you wrong.  I love using a cookie scoop to make perfect little cookie balls.

Some stay a little puffed in the middle and some sink down, but either way they come out dense and buttery and soft and too hard to resist.

My preferred baking sheet is a baking stone.  (I know they are a little pricey but they are so worth it.  I use it for so much.)  Mine is from Pampered Chef and has handles on the sides so it's easier to grip.  I also love using Silpat liners and I usually end up using both when I'm baking.  You will see here with a Silpat liner the bottoms turn out more golden whereas with a stone the cookies stay the same color top and bottom.

Silpat liner cookie is on the left and baking stone cookie is on the right.  See the difference?  I sometimes like my cookies a little more cooked on the bottom and I sometimes like them softer so that's why I use both sheets when I make a batch of cookies.  Then when I reach into our cookie tupperware to grab a cookie I sometimes look at the bottoms and grab one of each.  Adds a little variety.

All served up and ready to enjoy. 

Love that dense, buttery, soft middle. 

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: About 36 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Microwave the butter for about 40 seconds to just barely melt it.  It shouldn't be very hot, but it should be almost entirely melted.

Using a stand mixer, beat the butter with the sugars until creamy.  Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat again until just incorporated (10-15 seconds).  If you beat the eggs for too long your cookie will become stiff.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Beat again until all is combined.  Add the chocolate chips and either incorporate with your hands or mix one more time for just a few seconds with your mixer.

Scoop your cookies out with a spoon, your hand, or a cookie scoop (making sure it's in a ball) and place onto your preferred baking sheet.  Bake for 9-11 minutes until the cookies look puffy and dry and just barely golden.  DO NOT OVERBAKE.  Take them out even if they don't look all the way done.  

Let the cookies cool on the sheet for about 10 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack.  They may sink down a little but they turn into dense, buttery, soft cookies that really are oh so good.  Store them in an airtight container or you can even freeze them if you'd like.

The most important things about this recipe are:

1. Melting the butter

2. Adding enough flour

3. Not baking for too long.

Recipe Source: Pinch of Yum