The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies...Ever!

While I realize the title of this post contains the words "chocolate chip" in it, I went ahead and substituted mini M&M's instead. However, this is by far the best chocolate chip recipe I've come across, hands down.  They are slightly crispy on the outside and moist and chewy on the inside. These cookies have that "just out of the oven" taste even days after they are baked and they look as if they came straight from a bakery!  These cookies can harbor any kind of fix in, i.e toffee bits, peanut butter chips, nuts, etc.  I strongly advise you to make these! All of my guests last week absolutely loved these. I heard many "these are the best cookies I've ever had" comments circulating the room when I put these out. For a rounder, puffier cookie I would suggest putting the dough in the refrigerator for about an hour before baking. I baked these immediately and they were amazing. Also, the original recipe calls for you to drop the dough in 1/4 cupfuls, however, this seemed extraordinarily large to me so I knocked it down to 1/8 cupfuls and they came out to be a perfect cookie size.  Thank you Hilary for exposing such an unbelievable recipe!

BIG FAT CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Courtesy of Hilary at Allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted 1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 1 egg 1 egg yolk 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2.	Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3.	In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/8 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4.	Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.