The Very Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

This chocolate chip cookie recipe has been perfected for years. It's been tweaked and fine-tuned, tested on everyone from potlucking neighbors to birthday partying kids. After countless hours in the kitchen and many, many batches, the Very Best Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe was created.

And then I stole it from my mother and claimed it as my own.
(And if that's not some sort of metaphor for motherhood, I don't know what is.)

These chocolate chip M&M cookies were always a hit around my house growing up and now I love making them with my kids too. No matter the occasion, when it comes to these cookies, there are never any leftovers.

Start with 2 sticks of butter, softened to room temperature. Just leave them on the kitchen counter a few hours before you make your cookies - no microwaving!

Extra-cute kitchen helper is recommended, but not required.

Mix all the "wet" ingredients together: butter, brown sugar, white sugar and vanilla. You can use a mixer, but mixing by hand works just as well too. 

Next, mix in 2 eggs. 

Be sure to pick out stray eggshells after Extra-Cute Kitchen Helper insists on cracking the eggs into the batter himself. 

Now add the "dry" ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt. Many recipes instruct to mix the dry ingredients together before adding them to the batter, but I've found it doesn't really make a difference either way in this recipe.

Personally, I have never liked the taste of raw cookie dough. 

I think Jack likes it better than the actual cookies.

Finally, stir in the chocolate chips! 

This dough can be made ahead of time and refridgerated until you are ready to make your cookies.

Roll out balls of dough to desired size. Mine usually end up on the larger side because I get lazy and don't want to be in the kitchen making tiny cookies for hours. 

If you're adding M&M's, press them into the tops of the cookies before baking. I love the M&M's because they add a wonderful, sweet crunch and help the cookies keep their shape. 

Bake at 375 degrees, on the middle rack, for 8-12 minutes. The baking time will depend on your oven and the size of your cookies. How do you know when they're done? As soon as the tops start to set and the edges brown, take them out!

Just a couple more minutes...

The most important step in this recipe just may be to NOT OVERBAKE. The cookies should still be doughy and gooey on the inside. (If you're worried about salmonella in raw cookie dough, just know that I've been eating theese cookies for years and I'm still here.)

Perfection!

And they're Henry-approved!

THE VERY BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Makes 1.5-2 dozen

-2 sticks of butter, softened

-1 cup packed brown sugar

-1/2 cup white sugar

-1 tsp vanilla

-2 eggs

-2 3/4 cups flour

-1 tsp salt 

-1 tsp baking soda

-1 bag (12 oz.) chocolate chips

-M&M's (optional)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla. Then mix in the eggs. Next, mix the flour, salt and baking soda into the batter. Finally, add the chocolate chips.

Roll out balls of dough to desired size. Optional: press M&M's into the top of each cookie before baking. Bake at 375 degrees on middle rack for 8-12 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of your cookies. They are done when the tops start to set and the edges are barely brown.  

Finally, check out this resource for the science behind a great chocolate chip cookie!