The Mellow Mallow: Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is by far my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. About two months ago I purchased my first ice cream & dessert recipe book. It is the Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones from Bi-Rite Creamery. So many different ice creams, cookies and cakes that I can hardly contain myself!!!

Well, we love dessert at my house and cookies are one of those easy to make, usually have the ingredients on hand kind of desserts. So after dinner I thought why the heck not?!?!

I pulled out my recipe book and all of the ingredients and got to work.

Recipe courtesy of Bi-Rite Creamery.

Here is what you will need:

2 1/2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
9 oz. or about 2 cups of bittersweet chocolate (52% to 60% cacao) chopped

In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
In a bowl of stand mixer, or you can use a hand mixer, use paddle attachment and combine the butter and both sugars on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy. Then with the motor running, add eggs one at a time blending thoroughly after each egg. Then add the vanilla.
Scrape down the bowl and add the chopped chocolate. (Even though I used chocolate chips, I still chopped the chocolate a little bit. This adds tiny shards that permeate the dough itself, as well as the large chunks that create pockets of chocolate deliciousness. Chocolate on chocolate. I found this is the best when making chocolate chip cookies. It really makes them my own.)
Once chocolate is added, turn mixer speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture just until dough comes together, about 15 seconds.
Cover dough with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 2 hours or freezer for 30 minutes if you just can't wait to bake your cookies like I did!
When you are ready to bake, position racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick mats.
Scoop up two tablespoons or dough (I used a 1-ounce dough scoop) and form the dough into a ball. Repeat until all dough has been shaped. Then use your palm to flatten the dough balls so that they are about 1/2 inch thick.
Bake for 7 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets top to bottom and front to back. This allows for even baking of the cookies. Bake about 7 minutes longer or until cookies are slightly golden brown.
Let the cookies cool for a minute or two on the baking sheet then transfer to a rack and let cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough and store cookies in an airtight container.

Makes about 40 cookies.