Kathy's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

What could be cozier than a batch of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies? Seriously, nothing! Homemade cookies are truly the best.

This chocolate chip cookie recipe has been my go-to for a while now. It makes a nice, chewy cookie, no chilling required (although, if you can stand to wait, they're even better after the dough has had a night to rest in the fridge). 

Kathy's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (12­-ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set it aside. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer or by hand with a wooden spoon until it’s light and fluffy. This may take several minutes. Mix in the egg, yolk, and vanilla extract until the mixture is well combined. Add the flour mixture and mix slowly until it’s all blended in. Mix in the chocolate chips.

Scoop a golf ball-sized hunk of dough into your clean hands and gently roll it between your palms to form a ball. Transfer it to one of the prepared baking sheets. Gently press down the top of the ball to create a little round disc, about 1/2-­inch thick. Repeat for the rest of the dough, leaving about 2 inches of space between each dough disc.

Bake until the cookies are browned at the edges but still a bit pale in the middle, 10 to 12 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them with a spatula to a wire rack to cool completely.