Chocolate Chip Heaven

My husband Sean is not a fan of recipes; he is far too casual a cook to follow someone else's instructions. His favorite day to make dinner is the day when I look at the crossed-out list of meal options on the fridge and swear there is nothing to eat. He then opens the fridge, roots around, and comes up with something delicious and surprising.

While not a recipe guy, he is very much a technique guy. Most recently, he caught a video on chow.com about how to make the perfect chocolate chip cookie and decided he had to give it a try.

I concur. They were the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever had -- chewy and chocolatey and sweet and moist. They tasted best -- of course -- right out of the oven, but we had no trouble eating the rest after the boys went to bed. Don't judge; I know you do it too.

The recipe came from The Bon Appetit Cookbook, but Sean swears it is not the recipe but the techniques that made them so crazy good. Here are his specific tips:

• The eggs and the butter should be room temperature. You can speed the eggs along by putting them in a cup of warm water for about ten minutes.
• Use the whisk attachment on your stand mixer to beat the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat it really well. Switch the whisk for the paddle attachment before adding the flour.
• Mix the flour in as minimally as possible - just until incorporated.
• The better the chocolate, the better the cookie. A no-brainer, but worth mentioning before you head to the store. Sean recommends using an equal amount of flour and chocolate chips. This makes really, really chocolatey cookies.
• Sean made our cookies extra big and thus adjusted the time accordingly. As a general rule, remove the cookies from the oven before they look completely done. You'll be glad you did.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from The Bon Appetit Cookbook
Makes about 30

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Nonstick vegetable oil spray
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with spray.

Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat butter until light and fluffy.  Add sugar and brown sugar; beat until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until creamy and well blended.

Switch whisk attachment for paddle attachment. Gradually add flour mixture, beating just until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Working in batches, drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet, spacing three inches apart. Bake cookies until pale brown, about 15 minutes.  Cool 15 minutes on sheet. Transfer to racks to cool completely.