How to make the best chocolate chip cookies ever

Start by sifting together your flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. From my other guides, you know I love my big mesh strainer. Here is another use for it. Put everything in and sift together.

For now, just set this aside.

Soften your butter in the microwave for about a minute on half-power. Then add it and your sugars together in a mixer. If you don't have a KitchenAid, start saving your pennies. These things rock!

I used my own homemade brown sugar for this. Check out my other Snapguides for the recipe.

Mix vigorously for about 5 minutes or until it becomes creamy (or fluffy, I can't decide which adjective is better). Then add eggs and mix again. Then add vanilla extract and mix again.

Ok, so right now, some of you more astute bakers are saying something like: "5 tbs of vanilla extract?!? Who does this guy think he is?!" But trust me, it will taste amazing!

Set your mixer to low and start adding your sifted flour about a 1/2 cup at a time. You don't want to mix too much here, so go ahead and just keep adding flour. Once all the flour is mixed in, stop.

Now go ahead and pour in your chocolate chips. I do 50/50 mix of mini chips and regular chips. If you wanted to add nuts, now is the time. Mix on low for about 10-15 seconds and then stop.

I love the way cookie dough looks {and tastes, but due to the risk of salmonella, I shouldn't tell you to taste a spoonful, even though I totally did!}.

Here is a step that a lot of people skip: put your dough in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight to let all the flavors sink in. This will pay off if you can be patient enough to wait.

When you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 F. If you're going to use baking sheets, go ahead and line them with parchment paper. I'm using a baking stone because it cooks more evenly.

Make a ball a little smaller than the size of a golf ball & lay them out on your baking stone or cookie sheet. I prefer the stone because it cooks more evenly, just be sure to preheat it in your oven.

Then take a spoon or a spatula and press the balls down a bit. You could even do this in your hand before you place the dough on your stone.

Now don't yell at me until you've tasted cookies this way, but take just a pinch of salt and sprinkle the cookie tops. This is a flavor you won't know that you've been missing till you've tried it.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a nice golden brown edge forms around the cookies.

Let them sit on on the stone for just about 20 seconds and then use a firm spatula to remove them. You better be quick with your spatula because you don't want to fold the cookies while they are hot.

Place on a cooling rack for a few minutes to let them cool. BUT... don't forget to taste one as soon as you can. There is no greater flavor than a cookie straight out of the oven!

And there you go. The nice thing about this recipe is that you will have plenty of dough left over. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks (or bake again tomorrow, lol).

And the proof of their deliciousness...

Got an idea for another guide? Let me know. And while you're here, check out my other guides. Enjoy!