Chocolate Chip Cookies

I know what you're thinking: everyone knows how to bake chocolate chip cookies! Well, in case your batches are hit or miss (like mine usually are) here's my fool-proof cookie recipe! Seriously - perfectly soft, but not too mushy cookies every time! Without fail!

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips1 cup chopped walnuts (optional - I omit this because I hate nuts)

1. Cream ingredients together

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. 
Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla.

Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt.

(I secretly think this baking soda step is the key to the perfection of these cookies. It is the only thing different about this recipe from all the other cookie recipes I've tried. So, just in case I jinx it, I do this every time!)

Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts (if desired).

2. Bake

Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans. Tip: instead of using a spoon, wash your hands and ball them up by rolling your palms together.

If your cookie balls start looking like this and leaving a lot more residue on your palms than you would prefer, just stick the batter in the fridge for 10 minutes and then resume.

Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned. Tip: if you're using two pans, switch the pans after 5 minutes otherwise one might be overcooked and the other undercooked.

This recipe yielded 52 cookies for me! I had a bunch of family over and we ate 40 of them and I froze the other 12 for Hubby and me to enjoy later.

[Original recipe found here].