We’ve all been there. Your reach for the chocolate chip cookie happens in slow motion – the whole time you are saying “you can’t possibly have another one…don’t do it.” If you are anything like me, that is where the internal dialogue ends. I simply say “yes I DO want another one” and that is it. I just can’t resist a delicious cookie when I come across one and the “it isn’t worth it speech” means nothing to me. Yes it is worth it. It is a moment to myself when I really try to appreciate everything about what is happening… the taste, the texture, the delightful internal smile it conjures up… I know, I tend to take these moments in a bit of a dramatic fashion, but hey, I really enjoy a great baked good. Therefore, yes, the experience for me is nothing short of TOTALLY worth it.

It is no secret… ask 10 people to define THE perfect chocolate chip cookie and you will get 10 different responses in return. I’ve spent hours… I MEAN HOURS… testing different recipes and different techniques on my quest to make the very best chocolate chip cookie for me. I’ve tried everything – adding cornstarch, freezing the dough overnight, using different butters…everything. Yet it was fail after fail. I was beginning to fear that I would be stuck with pre-made cookie mix for the rest of my life … chills.

Until one night, my husband strolled into the kitchen and baked up the answer to my dream CC cookie. How could this be? He doesn’t bake. He hasn’t spent hours scouring around for “the trick” to success. He did this in 10 minutes. Not one ounce of it made sense. Yet, I’ve learned through the years that these are instances you do not question. When something is handed to you, you appreciate it and carry on! And, so, after eating 10 of them, that is what I’ve done.

What was his secret? A FORK. “Whhhaaaaaa?” you say? I know. Forget the fancy blenders, creaming the butter and sugar to perfection or even making sure you don’t over beat the dough once the flour is added to avoid gluten production. A bowl and a fork is all he, and apparently the world, needs to mix the ingredients. There wasn’t even a secret to assembly. He didn’t roll the dough, spoon the dough, nada… Took ping-pong size chunks from the bowl, placed them on the cookie sheet and away they went. Talk about getting back to basics.

A quick list regarding MY ideal cookie (and how these turn out):

• Soft and doughy in the center, golden around the edges.
• Textured top (I don’t like smooth-topped cookies… The visual side of me prefers a cookie that still looks a little like dough on top).
• Buttery and Chocolatey
• *Microwaved for 7 seconds on days 2 and beyond to re-melt those little chips of chocolate yumminess and re-soften the center.

“THE” Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients.

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar (he went with dark on the first batch, a mix of dark and light on the second. Any type works)
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Mix together (really well) the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth.
3. Mix in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla.
4. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Mix in to batter along with salt.
5. Mix in flour and chocolate chips.
6. Drop in chunks about the size of ping-pong balls onto your baking sheet. Either use and ungreased sheet or a sheet lined with a silpat (which is what we do).
7. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are JUST turning a LITTLE golden. Even though they may seem under cooked when you take them out, leave them on the baking sheet for another 5-10 minutes. They will continue to bake on the sheet. Do not over bake them. If they look perfectly baked in the oven, they will over cook by the time you remove them from the sheet to a cooling rack.

**Notice I used “MIX” throughout the directions. Remember, he used only a fork!**

Once I had these, I immediately requested he make them for Thanksgiving for two reasons: a) I had to see exactly how he made these; and b) it was one less dessert for me to make 🙂

Truth be told, our brother-in-law ended up sneaking the entire tray of remaining cookies out after dessert. Thankfully, we now know how to make these and they are SUPER simple, so making another batch was no problem at all!