Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know...you may be saying, "another chocolate chip cookie recipe...why?", but you don't want to pass this one by. I have never had any problems with this recipe. The cookies turn out puffy with a little crunch on the outside and soft/chewy on the inside. Just give it a try!

1 c. sugar
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
1 c. butter (I use it straight out of the fridge)
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 c. flour
12 oz (2 cups) chocolate chips

Place sugar, brown sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in mixer bowl. Attach bowl and flat beater. Turn to speed 2 and mix ~30 seconds. Stop and scrape bowl. Turn to speed 4 and beat ~30 more seconds. Stop and scrape bowl.

Turn to stir speed. Gradually add baking soda, salt, and flour to sugar mixture and mix ~2 minutes. Turn to speed 2 and mix ~30 seconds. Turn to stir speed and add chocolate chips, mixing ~15 seconds.

Roll into tablespoon sized balls and place on cookie sheets. I don't drop them because they tend to stay more fluffy if they are rolled. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes. Remove immediately and place on wire rack to cool.

The key to these cookies (I think) is keeping the dough pretty cool (place it in the fridge between batches of cookies), and NOT over-mixing the dough. The directions are given for use with a Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer, but you can adapt it to a regular mixer if needed. Speed 2 is low and Speed 4 is Medium-High. This is a pretty versatile recipe too. The last batch I made, I used semi-sweet chips, butterscotch chips and coconut combined...it was great! They are also more rich when you use milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet. Just play around with it.