The BEST chocolate chip cookies EVER!

Sometimes blogging is a good influence on me, sometimes its just plain bad. For example, there are times when I see girls posting their cute purchases on their blog, and I think "I need to go shopping"- thats bad! Or my friend Deals, Steals, and Heels telling me there is a great coupon or a good sale on something that I dont need.... yet I THINK I need. Thats really bad! But I also follow blogs talking about God or recycling or making low calorie meals, and those are a good influence on me. Well, what I'm about to share with you, I guess is somewhere in between. Its a great recipe that I know I will use all the time now, yet... Should I REALLY be baking cookies all the time? I think not! So amazingly delish that I could shove them in my mouth by the handful...


One of my favorite food related blogs is Bake at 350. The author is a seriously talented cookie baker who makes my Christmas cookies look like a 4 year old baked them. On her blog I found the recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies that my mouth has ever bitten into. Seriously, they're so good when they hit your lips! Everyone who has tried them, has said so. They're out of this world. Fantastic.

These cookies are delicious for the following reasons...
1. They're chewy. I love chewy cookies
2. They're amazing fresh out of the oven with a big glass of milk
3. The chocolate in them is REAL chocolate, not milk chocolate
4. There is a perfect balance of sweet and salty
5. The recipe makes a lot of cookies, so I can have a few, or all of them...
... I could go on, but you should just see for yourself!

Here is the recipe!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from The New York Times, David Leite, and Jacques Torres



2 cups minus 2 Tbsp. (8 ½ oz.) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 ½ oz.) bread flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. coarse salt, such as kosher
2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups; 10 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
1 ¼ cups (10 oz.) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. (8 oz.) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ pounds bittersweet chocolate chips or chunks, preferably about 60% cacao content, such as ghirardelli
Sea salt

Combine flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Whisk well; then set aside.

Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until very light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Reduce the mixer speed to low; then add dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips, and mix briefly to incorporate. Press plastic wrap against the dough, and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. The dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

When you’re ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the bowl of dough from the refrigerator, and allow it to soften slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat.

Using an ice cream scoop – I used my Pampered Chef one – scoop six mounds of dough onto the baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, and bake until golden brown but still soft, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then transfer the cookies onto the rack to cool a bit more.

*I baked mine at about 12 minutes so that they wouldn't be over cooked*

Repeat with remaining dough.

Note:
Yield: About 24 (5-inch) cookies.