Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love a sweet treat now and then?

Everyone needs a sweet escape from work once in awhile. Go ahead, you've earned it! Enjoy!

• Ingredients List
• Directions

Ingredients List

• 1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter OR  1/2 cup butter and 1/2 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  Note: You can really get creative here! Try cinnamon, orange zest, cardamom, cayenne pepper, ginger, Chinese 5-spice, garam masalsa, instant espresso powder, chai spice, or pumpkin pie spice, just to name a few. Amounts will vary based on your palette!)
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, chunks, mini chips, or whatever combination you love
• (Optional) 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350° (for a thinner, crisper cookie) OR 375° (for a gooey cookie).
2. Cream softened butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and honey together until soft and fluffy.
   Tip: Have a little extra time? Brown your butter and let it cool back down. It makes the cookies taste nuttier.
3. Add egg and vanilla and beat again until the mixture is soft, fluffy, and pale. Give your bowl a good scrape-down partway through to make sure everything is incorporated.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg together.
5. Add the flour mixture a little at a time to the butter mixture until it's fully incorporated.
6. Add chocolate chips and chopped nuts (if using), and mix until evenly incorporated.
   Tip: If you're using an electric mixer, save a few chips for when you're done portioning your cookies because sometimes you end up with chip-less batter as you get to the bottom of the bowl.
7. Spoon the dough into uniform portions onto a cookie sheet. Two-tablespoon portions yield about two dozen cookies.
   Tip: Letting the cookie dough chill in the fridge overnight enhances the flavor too!
8. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes at 350° OR 9 - 11 minutes at 375°, or until the edges are golden-brown and the middle still looks a little doughy. (Baking them until they look fully cooked results in over-baked cookies because they keep cooking after they come out of the oven.)
9. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.
10. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling for as long as you can stand it, and enjoy with a cool glass of your favorite kind of milk.

Questions?