BETTER Than Hilltop: Try These Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Kedron Phillips

I have officially cracked the code for the best chocolate chip cookies in the universe. I came across this recipe on taraobrady.com on a cold, winter day and I swore to myself that I would never buy premade cookie dough again. Real cookies are really worth it. In fact, when I made these for my husband for the first time, I think I created a monster…a cookie monster! I don’t know if I will ever be able to get him to eat Pillsbury cookies from the store again. Cooking from scratch may seem intimidating, but I promise you that if you follow this recipe from start to finish, you too may ditch store bought cookie dough!

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup salted butter, chopped

3 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

Flaky sea salt, for sprinkling (optional)

The key to this is to take your time. Don’t rush the process! Good things take time. Take care of the dough! Have you ever heard the phrase “there’s a method to the madness?” Let’s get straight to the method!

Method

Preheat your oven to 360 degrees F. Line the baking sheets or sheet pans with parchment paper. I prefer parchment paper over cooking spray because it is less clean up, and also prevents your cookies from becoming oily.

In a medium sized bowl, melt the butter slowly in the microwave. You may want to do this in increments of 8 seconds. There should be no sizzle or crackling; let the butter ooze into liquid. This ensures minimal moisture is lost.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside for later.

Pour melted butter into a large bowl and whisk in the sugars. This is where I begin to use my KitchenAid mixer; however, a handheld mixer will work as well. The mixture should relax within a few seconds of stirring. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking briskly after each addition, but only to combine. Stir in the vanilla.

Use a wooden spoon or silicone spatula to stir in the dry ingredients.

Your dough will go through three phases.

Phase One:

At first your dough will appear very powdery. As you mix and fold the dough into itself, the moisture trapped inside will emerge and absorb the flour.

Phase Two:

Your dough is beginning to properly mix.

Phase Three:

At this stage, your dough is ready for the chocolate chips.

Once mostly blended, fold the chocolate chips into the dough until the remaining flour is incorporated and the dough no longer looks dusty. Be careful not to overwork the dough.

**Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least thirty minutes.

Roll your dough into balls. Arrange on the pans with three inches between each.

Optional, but highly recommended, *sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake in the oven until the tops are lightly golden, but still soft at the center for 10 to 12 minutes. Rotate your pan halfway through cooking. After removal from the oven, leave the cookies on the sheet pan for 2 minutes, this allows the bottoms to brown up, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Continue baking cookies with remaining dough.

IMPORTANT! Use a cooled sheet pan for each batch. This may cause the process to take longer, but as I said, it’s worth it. Trust the process! I find it beneficial to alternate between two pans.

Normally these cookies stay puffed up. I went a different route and used less chocolate chips which caused them to flatten out.