Chocolate Chips, oh how I love thee!

Having spent one gloriously quiet night home without having to worry about room mates coming home in the middle of the night yelling at the top of their lungs, I was ready to bake my first dessert and really what better treat to begin the summer with than the classic chocolate chip cookie? After scouring other blogs for no less than an hour and a half, I found a recipe that looked perfect, thanks to AllRecipes.com.

Although I know the lighting isn't great, these cookies turned out to be delicious. I added in an extra 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla and it really came through in the cookies. They were soft and chewy throughout with a little crunch along the edges.

The only thing I wish I had done differently would be to refrigerate the cookie dough for a couple hours or even overnight. I think that would have helped them better keep their condensed shape and would have made them EVEN chewier on the inside. Not bad for my first try, right? Either way, my brother and dad ate them up and I think they're definitely ready for the next batch!

Big, Fat, Chocolate Chip Cookies (I halved the recipe to make it a little easier on my friends and family's stomachs over the next few months with all the crazy baking that will be going on in my house) :)

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 small egg*

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

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Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter and sugars until well blended. Beat in the vanilla and egg 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 by 2 tbsp at a time onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 2 inches apart. (I made mine this size instead of 1/4 cup per cookie as in the original recipe)

Bake for about 12 minutes or until sides are lightly toasted, and enjoy delicious cookies!

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Makes about 20 cookies

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*Yes, I realize the original BFCC uses an egg and an egg yolk in the recipe, but when I halved it I opted to use just one smaller egg.

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Happy Baking!

Jessica