I have learned, through a little trial and error, that a slightly chewy cookie with a crispy edge is really easy to make!

The basic cookie recipe calls for butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, baking soda, and the best vanilla extract you can find. The variation, here, obviously is the addition of chocolate chips!

All ingredients in grams (imperial equivalent in [ ])

**in grams**

227g unsalted butter (room temp) [2 cubes]

125g brown sugar [1 cups]

125g sugar [1 cups]

2.5g salt [1/2 teaspoon]

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

—

1 egg

—

250g All Purpose flour [2 cups] and

62.5g All Purpose flour [`1/4 cup]

2.5 g baking soda [1/2 teaspoon]

—

2 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven (convection) to bake at 350°

Cream first 5 ingredients.

Add egg, incorporate fully.

Sift dry ingredients (flour and baking soda) and combine.

Fold in chips. Do not over mix.

Spoon into rounded balls on parchment paper lined cookie sheet about 2 in. apart.

[Place leftover cookie dough on waxed paper, then roll in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator]

Bake at 350° preheated convection oven for 9-11 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Note: I prefer them cooked at 9 minutes. That way they stay slightly chewy. Don’t worry if they look a little pale in the center, it’s the edges that matter, they should be golden brown

Lessons from my Mother:

• Vanilla extract is your secret weapon for any sweet dessert.

• I used organic butter and sugar, just because.

• When measuring dry goods, such as sugar and flour, never pack your measuring cup unless the instructions tell you to. Lightly spoon your ingredients into the correct measuring cup, and level with the back of a knife. This will ensure consistent and accurate measurements every time.

• Be careful with baking soda, even a tiny bit over the measure can give your baked goods a funny taste. Not enough will give you a soft cookie with no crunch.

• Creaming and sifting are important because they ensure all your ingredients are fully incorporated, preventing surprise flavors from showing up when eating, and they ensure even cooking. For example, you don’t want to bite into a tiny baking soda pocket in your cookie.

• Use parchment paper when preparing your cookie sheets. It’s easy, doesn’t stick, feels clean and you will know your ingredients are exact.

• I like to use extra large eggs in all my recipes because they give added richness.

• Always cool your cookies after removing from the oven on a wire rack. The wire rack allows air to circulate around your cookie, allowing it to develop fully. By not using a wire rack, or allowing air to circulate above and below your cookie, you will have a cookie with a mushy center or it will be hard.

The products I used in this recipe are:

• Straus Family Creamery Organic Unsalted butter

• Wholesome Mindfully Delicious Organic Dark Brown Sugar

• 365 Everyday Value Organic Cane Sugar

• Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Morsels

• Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda (I wouldn’t know what else to use, it’s the only baking soda I see at the store, and it’s what my mother used when I was a child)

• Frontier Co-op Organic Vanilla Extract

• Hain Pure Foods Iodized Sea Salt