THE Chocolate Chip Cookie

The perfect chocolate chip cookie! So delicious!!!

Late last night, I won't tell you how late, Greg and I were craving chocolate chip cookies. I have made many different recipes but I have never found one that I absolutely love. I found a recipe on Pinterest I wanted to try but part of the directions were to let the dough chill for 2 hours +. We didn't want to wait 2 hours so I looked on the website and found another one. I tried it out and it was the easiest chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever made. They turned out perfect! Normally there are problems with them being too soft, too crunchy, spreading too much or not enough, the list goes on and on. But these, on the very first time came out exactly how I like them. The secret is cornstarch. Cornstarch! I never though of using that in a cookie mix but it made the biggest difference. So when you get that craving, try out this recipe. You won't be disappointed!

Fresh from the oven!

Ingredients:

•  3/4 c. (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature (I had half a stick of unsalted so I used that and 1 stick of salted; to soften I microwaved it several times for 10 seconds each time. It worked great!)
• 3/4 c. dark brown sugar (I just used light because that's all i had.)
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt (Because I used 1 stick of salted butter, I used just a bit less salt than called for.)
• 1 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (That was a bit much for me so I used just 1 c.)

Directions:

1.  Line an ungreased cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
3. In a large bowl using a hand or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium speed until light and fluffy (I used a regular hand held mixer).
4. Mix in egg and vanilla; scrape down the sides as needed.
5. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt.
6. On low speed, slowly mix in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
7. Stir in chocolate chips. Dough will be thick and sticky.
8. Cover dough and chill for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 day (I didn't chill it at all and they turned out amazing).
9. Once chilled, if you can wait long enough for that, the dough will be slightly crumbly, but will come together if you work the dough with your hands as you are rolling individual balls.
10. Drop 1 Tbsp. size balls of dough onto cookie sheet.
11. Press a few more chocolate chips into the dough ball for looks if desired (I used milk chocolate chips for this).
12. Bake for 8-9 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges. DO NOT cook them longer than 10 minutes.
13. Remove and let cool for 3 minutes on the cookie sheet. If the cookies are too puffy, try gently pressing down on them with the back of a spoon. They will slightly deflate as you let them cool. Transfer to cooling rack.
14. Cookies stay soft and fresh for up to 10 days in an airtight container.

*Make about 2-2.5 dozen cookies, basically a lot. Do not drop dough onto warm cookie sheets. Allow cookie sheets to cool completely between batches. Baked cookies freeze well, up to 3 months. Unbaked cookie dough balls freeze well, up to 3 months as well.*

(http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/08/06/the-chocolate-chip-cookie/)