The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

Happy National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day!

I have never tasted a better chocolate chip cookie than this recipe produces. They are chewy, soft, packed with rich flavor and bursting with chocolatey goodness. The recipe comes from America’s Test Kitchen  and utilizes melted butter and a unique shaping technique to produce craggy stay-soft oversized cookies. You will love them. Because the cookies cool on the still hot baking sheets, they will look a wee bit underdone when it’s time to remove them from the oven. Cook them just until the edges are golden. They’ll continue cooking on the residual heat of the pans and be perfect once cooled.

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
12 tbsp/1½ sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 325°. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the melted butter and sugars together with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth, 1 or 2 minutes. Beat in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beater as needed.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Mix in the chips until incorporated.

Roll a scant 1/4 of dough into a ball & follow the illustrations below to pull the ball in half and smush back together. (click on the photo to view larger)

Lay dough jagged side up on the prepared baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies,  rotating sheets top to bottom and back to front halfway thru baking, until the edges are set and beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 20 minutes.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.