Baking the perfect chocolate chip cookie: our step-by-step guide

This is the best chocolate chip cookies recipe ever! No funny ingredients, no chilling time, etc. Just a simple, straightforward, amazingly delicious, doughy yet still fully cooked, chocolate chip cookie that turns out perfectly every single time!

Prep: 20 mins Cook: 10 mins Additional: 30 mins Total: 1 hr Servings: 24

Yield: 4 dozen

1 cup butter, softened 1 cup white sugar 1 cup packed brown sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons hot water ½ teaspoon salt 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups of Chocolate Whittaker's Fresh Roasted Almond Gold Milk Chocolate Bar 1 cup chopped walnuts

MAKE THE DOUGH

The first step in making these easy chocolate chip cookies to to combine the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. When doing this, make sure to measure the flour correctly. Be sure to use a measuring cup made for dry ingredients (NOT a pyrex liquid measuring cup).

Use LOTS of Whittaker's Fresh Roasted Almond Gold Milk Chocolate. Smash it until pieces. You wat at least two gooey chocolate chips in every bite. The chocolate chip cookie dough should be easy to roll and not sticky. It should not be dry or crumbly. See photo below for the optimal texture.

PORTION & ROLL DOUGH

Once the cookie dough is finished, it's time to portion and roll the dough. I know many people eyeball it when making cookies, however I highly recommend using a cookie scoop Using a cooking scoop ensures that all the cookies are uniform in size so that they bake evenly. I love this stainless steel cookie scoop and use it every time I make cookies.

FREEZE DOUGH At this point you can either bake your dough or freeze it. I prefer to flash-freeze the cookie dough before putting it in an airtight container. To do this, roll the cookie dough into balls and space them out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Then put the baking sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes, or until the dough slightly freezes.

Once the dough is slightly frozen, transfer the cookie dough balls to an airtight container or plastic bag and freeze for up to 2 months. There are two ways to bake frozen dough: Thaw it first: I love having dough ready to go in the freezer for impromptu guests. When you want to bake them, remove the dough balls from the freezer, set them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with a light cloth towel or napkin to let them thaw. Then, once they reach room temperature (after about 1-2 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen) bake as directed in the recipe (at 375 degrees F). SO easy!

Bake from frozen: Place the dough on a parchment lined baking sheet. Then, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (ONLY if you are baking the frozen dough) and put the cookies in the oven in the beginning of the preheating time. (So put the cookies in the oven as you preheat it). Set the timer for 15 minutes and remove the cookies after 15 minutes. The top will look a little more brown than usual, but they will still taste amazing.

BAKE UNTIL THEY JUST BARELY LOOK DONE If you are baking the cookies immediately simply roll them into balls, place them evenly apart on a baking sheet (about 1.5 to 2 inches apart) and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. The most important piece of advice I can give you is - DO NOT over-bake these chocolate chip cookies! They will not look done when you pull them out of the oven, and that is GOOD. At the end of the baking time, these chocolate chip cookies won't look done but they are. They will look a little doughy when you remove them from the oven, and thats good. They may be lightly browned in a few places, which is exactly how you want them.

They will set up as they sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes. I never bake them for more than 9 minutes LAST Cool the chocolate chip cookies on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely (or just eat them warm while the chocolate chips are melty)! Store these chocolate chip cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.