Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

You guys, this is the BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. I'm not just saying that. You have to try these. They are seriously easy to make and taste sooo good. They are soft in the middle and crispy on the edges. A little bit of crunch, with that soft center and oozing chocolate...  what's not to love? And the best part of it all is these are totally customizable. 

You can add in walnuts, m&m's, coconut, chopped Andes mints, white chocolate chips, peanut butter chocolate chips, chopped Snickers bars, or anything else you would like. I've done all of these and they turned on great. The cookies pictured are just straight up chocolate chips. I was feeling like I just wanted a classic cookie today. But the possibilities with this recipe are endless!

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons hot water

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups flour

2 cups chocolate chips

1-2 cups additional item (see above - optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.

2. Using mixer (I use my stand mixer generally for this recipe but have also used a hand held and they turned out the same) mix together butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. 

3. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Add vanilla extract. 

4. Mix together hot water and baking soda until dissolved. Add into batter. Add salt. Mix until combined.

5. Beat in flour one cup at a time until combined. 

6. Stir in chocolate chips. If you are using the optional additional ingredient stir that in as well. 

7. Spoon heaping tablespoons of batter onto your cookie sheet leaving a few inches in between lumps of batter. Tip: for very round cookies, roll dough into balls lightly and then slightly push down with your fingers.

8. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. 

9. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Once slightly cooled transfer to wire rack to cool completely. But who are we trying to kid? You'll probably eat a few when hot. What's better than hot cookies?