Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!

Growing up, my Mom would spend days in the kitchen before Christmas baking up a storm of yummy goodness. I find that now that I'm a Mom and my daughter is old enough to enjoy a cookie or two, I too am in the kitchen baking up a storm. It's also a great way to spend some quality time with your kids during the day when the rain or snow keeps you in out of the cold.

While a future post will feature Charlotte helping me with some Christmas cookies, this is a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies that I think is great. I find Christmas cookies usually for me end up being different varieties from what I'd bake everyday, but you can't beat a good chocolate chip cookie. I've tried a number of recipes over the last number of years trying to find a yummy version. Growing up I used to think some CC cookies tasted fishy. Yes, fishy. I don't know if it was the baking powder or a combination of ingredients or what, but some cookies (no, not just my Mom's ;) )tasted fishy. Weird? Yes, but I did, a couple of years ago meet someone who said that she knew what I meant when I said fishy.

Anyway, after years of fishing for a good recipe (pun intended) I have found one I like. When we returned to work in January after the Christmas break, there was a package waiting for us from a production company in Halifax called Egg Films. In that package were two scrummy types of cookies. One of them - Chocolate Chip Cookies. They had included the recipe. These cookies can be baked to make large cookies like you'd find at Starbucks, or small like a drop cookie so that when you have two you don't feel like a pig. At least that's my justification.

Here's the recipe:

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tbl vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups chocolate chips (I quite enjoy milk chocolate chips rather than semi sweet)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease cookie sheet.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Cream butter with brown and white sugar. Beat in vanilla, egg and egg yolk. Mix in dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chops with wooden spoon.

I LOVE the cookie dough (raw egg be damned). If you don't eat it all....

For large cookies:
Drop cookie dough (1/4 cup) bake for 15-17 mins

For smaller cookies:
Drop cookie dough (1/2 tsp) bake for 10-12 mins

I freeze them (out of sight out of mind) and they're great with a cup of tea. Or coffee. Or milk. Or with another one.

Enjoy!