Cookie Carnival: Chocolate Chip Cookies

It has been a while since I participated in Cookie Carnival; time has been against me and some of my baking efforts. Because this month's cookie selection was chocolate chip cookies I made sure to make time. Chocolate chip cookies are my absolute favorite cookies and it had been a while since I made some. I was happy to try a new recipe since I am constantly in search of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. Regan Daley's recipe was a good recipe and it produced some incredbly cute and compact cookies. These cookies are cakey and chewy and, while I thought they were good, I am more a fan of the thin, crispy cookies. But I will never, ever, ever turn away a chocolate chip cookie!

The Ultimate Chewy and Soft Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Source: Regan Daley's In The Sweet Kitchen

1 cup unsalted butter at room temp
1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsps. pure vanilla extract
3 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
16 oz. flavorful bitter or semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, or lightly butter them, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, or a large bowl if mixing by hand, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter-sugar mixture, and mix until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

Using your hands, shape knobs of dough about the size of a large walnut and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Stagger the rows of cookies to ensure even baking. Bake 12-15 for smaller cookies, 14-17 for larger ones or until the tops are a light golden brown. If the cookies are neither firm nor dark when they are removed from the oven, they will cool chewy and soft. Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. If somehow they don't get inhaled immediately, they may be stored airtight at room temperature for up to one week.

Yum!