Great Chocolate Chip Cookies

I adapted this recipe from "The Great Book of Chocolate" by David Lebovitz. They bake into thin cookies with a slightly crisp exterior and a nice chewiness on the inside. Don't skimp on the ingredients...using higher-end products like Plugra unsalted butter, Penzey's vanilla extract, King Arthur Flour all-purpose flour and Guittard chocolate chips makes these cookies extraordinarily delicious. Next time you are craving chocolate chip cookies, give this recipe a try. Please note to keep the recommended 4 inches between cookies since they do spread a lot while baking.

Great Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1 cup)
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped (I omitted the pecans)

Adjust the oven rack to the top 1/3 of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F. Line three baking sheets with parchment paper. (I didn't use parchment paper. I used ungreased non-stick baking sheets.)

Beat the sugars and butter together until smooth. (Make sure to use a low speed with your hand mixer or stand mixer until the ingredients start to combine.) Mix in the egg, vanilla and baking soda. Sift together the flour and salt, then mix them into the batter. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans (if using).

At this point, I placed the cookie dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling into balls since the dough was a bit sticky.

Scoop the cookie dough into 2-tablespoon balls and place 8 balls, spaced 4 inches apart, on each of the baking sheets.

Bake for 18 minutes (check cookies at 15-16 minutes), or until pale golden brown. Remove from the oven and let stand on the baking sheets for 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Makes about 20 cookies.