Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle, cream together butter and sugars until well blended and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then mix in vanilla and beat until well incorporated.

2. Add flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and mix until just combined. Gently fold in chocolate chips/chunks and nuts. I ended up using a combination of mini chocolate chips and regular chocolate chips because I had some bags left over from Christmas baking and I needed to use them. Worked great!

3. Transfer dough to clean work surface and gently mix dough by hand to ensure even distribution of ingredients.

4. Scoop dough (about a tablespoon each) onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I used one of those spring release cookie scoopers – makes it so much easier.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes, depending on how gooey and rawish you like the interior, until very lightly browned, taking care not to overbake. I had my rack in the middle part of my oven and it took about 11 minutes. Only bake one sheet pan at a time. Also, in between cookie batches, I kept my bowl of dough in the fridge to keep it cool.

6. Let cookies cool on rack and store what you don’t immediately eat in an airtight container.

Cook’s Notes: The original recipe called for these to be 4 ounce sized cookies. I scaled them down to be more kid-friendly. If you want to make the 4 ounce size, you’ll need to bake them for about 15-20 minutes and you’ll probably only get about 10 cookies out of this recipe. These are best eaten on the day they are made (they are ESPECIALLY great warm out of the oven – like most chocolate chip cookies). What you don’t eat, put into an airtight container. To freshen them after a few days (if they last that long), give them a quick nuke in the microwave for 3-5 seconds. Also, for a little variation, try adding 1 cup of chopped walnuts.

Original Recipe credited to: Levain Bakery