…also known as my mom’s chocolate chip cookies, which I was lucky enough to eat throughout my childhood. I know there’s a lot of competition and discussion out there about which are the best chocolate chip cookies, but you can never beat mom’s. This is the recipe that started it all, folks. The first recipe that I actually learned to make.
You see, in college a certain boy always raved about the cookies that my mother would send me in the mail. So I decided to learn the secret in order to impress him. I would learn how to bake before I visited him far away in Washington, DC. Up to that point, the extent of my expertise was microwave Easy Mac, so this seemed like a big deal at the time. (Yes, I did not start cooking until college.) Little did I know that this recipe would open the door to an entire new love of baking and cooking.
These chocolate chip cookies have received high praise from friends, family, teachers—you name it. And the recipe is more simple than many people believe. The secret, my friends, can be found on the back of your Nestle chocolate chip bag. Yes that’s right. It’s been right in front of you all along.
Using the recipe on the bag, you really only make two small changes (see below). So far, the recipe has not failed me. The cookies turn out soft in the center, but still have a little crunch. And the Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips seem to work the best. A little extra wisdom for you as well: store the cookies in a container or Ziploc bag with a slice of bread to keep the cookies soft. It works, I swear! Now, go make some of these for all your friends. Or if you want to make some new friends. These cookies snagged me a man, after all.
P.S.: I retook photos for this recipe in June 2018, this time with the master herself (my mama) there to bake them. While watching her work her magic, I learned that I actually made smaller, flatter cookies, and the key to the nice soft domed cookies is to plop down a huge heaping tablespoon of dough right onto the cookie sheet and call it good.
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, mostly melted
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (a 12-oz. package) Nestle Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Combine the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together in a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until creamy. The dough color should slightly lighten. Mix in the vanilla.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each - the color of the dough should lighten again. Add in the baking soda and salt and briefly stir.
- Gradually beat the flour into the mixture. You may have to stir with a spoon at this point. Stir in the chocolate chips with a spoon.
- Scoop big tablespoons of dough onto ungreased baking sheets, spaced a couple of inches apart. (Just plop a large tablespoon-sized ball of dough on the cookie sheet for the best domed cookies.) Bake for 8-12 minutes or until golden. Cool for 2-3 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
