the chocolate chip cookie.

there is one thing in life you can always count on. it's like a hug and kiss from a loved one, a really good movie or a great sale. it's the perfect chocolate chip cookie. the classic. the ultimate.

this is one recipe that really took me a while (and a couple of pounds) to perfect. to get it to the point that when it came out of the oven you go - ahhh. the recipe is pretty standard - probably the one you are using right now - but it's the technique that will help you achieve perfection; greatness.

the base of the technique is two things - room temperature and cold cold cold.

when creating this recipe you want to make sure all your ingredients are room temperature. Pull out your butter and eggs the night before. Do the mix then wrap in plastic wrap and chill for no less than 2 hours. very important! do you ever get cookies where the edges just spread out over your cookie sheet? that's because the dough was too warm! i even go as far to chill my cookie sheets before and during the baking process. this will give you beautiful round crisp edges and soft chewy centers.

while baking the cookies my way i checked in with my favorite baking boys - the team from baked in brooklyn - to see their recipe and technique. while the recipe was quite similar, some technique was as well but there size was completely different. they use warm ingredients, they chill but they only use 2 tablespoons of mix and they roll them into perfect balls and place on the sheet. Although their cookies looked nice it really did yield a smaller cookie - good for children, a pity for adults. i'll stick with my size, thank you very much!

chocolate chip cookie

1 cup salted butter - room temperature (softened)
1cup packed golden brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs - room temperature
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips - pick semi-sweet, milk or dark.

pre-heat oven to 375. prepare two half sheet pans with parchment paper.

sift together flour, baking soda and salt in separate bowl. set aside.

cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. add eggs; one at a time, until fully incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl when necessary. beat in vanilla.

add flour mix to butter mix and beat until just incorporated. add chocolate chips and mix together. wrap mix to plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of two hours.

make 1/4 cup pucks out of the mix and place on prepared cookie sheets 2-inches apart. remember to place mix or pre-dressed cookie sheets back into the fridge between batches so mixture remains chilled! bake for 14 to 16 minutes (depending on oven) or until golden brown. (**cookies will continue baking once removed from oven.) remove from oven, set on wire rack for 2 minutes before removing cookies completely from pan and onto the wire rack to cool completely.  place cookie sheet in fridge or freezer to cool down between batches.

makes 18 cookies (if using the two tablespoon method you will get about 3 1/2 dozen cookies)