In what ended up being a 4 part experiment in nailing the perfect chocolate chip cookie…I did what anyone at their wits end would have done. I asked my mom!

With this batch, I did the butter traditionally, softening it using a cool trick because my kitchen is almost the second coldest room in our home! The trick: Fill a tall glass—big enough to fully cover a stick of butter—with water, and microwave until hot. Dump out water, and cover a standing stick of butter with the glass. Leave for about 5 minutes before checking to see if it needs more time, but as soon as it’s soft, get it in the bowl and start to cream. Ta-da! And I adjusted the sugars, just as I had mentioned I would, which I think allowed the cookies to stay soft, just how I like them! There’s structure around the edges, but it’s soft in the middle. But since I was going on my second batch of batter in 24 hours, I stopped caring about making each scoop PERFECT, and the ones I just scooped & plopped onto my pan, those were the ones that turned out the best I think…oh! And I also realized, when I was trying to prepare a second round of trays to go in, while my first batch was baking, that I liked the cookies that were baked on parchment paper MORE than the ones I baked on my silicone pads! WHO KNEW THERE WOULD BE A DIFFERENCE!? As I understand it, parchment paper is better for crisper edges, and that’s I think why I like the parchment paper better. I like it when there’s a little structure/crispness to the edges, but the cookie stays soft and gooey in the middle. Those are the best, and that makes them great for dunking into milk, which is my favorite way to eat a cookie! YUM!

So, without further adieu, I would like to present my FINAL go-to Chocolate Cookie Recipe! Bye bye cookies, hello cake! —Cooking Maggie

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Thank you Mama!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups oatmeal, slightly ground up
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 10oz bag of chocolate chips (roughly 1 1/2 cups, but you can add less or more depending on your preference for cookie chocolatey-ness)

Instructions

1. Preheat your over to 375°F. Prepare your baking sheets with either parchment paper, or silicone pads. (See blog note above about the difference between parchment paper & silicone pads.)
2. Cream together butter & sugars.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just till incorporated, then add the vanilla extract.
4. In a separate bowl, add all the remaining dry ingredients, mixing with a spoon or whisk, then add the dry to the wet just a little at a time, mixing to fully incorporate before adding more (so you can gauge if you have enough versus too much).
5. Scoop 3 tablespoons work of the batter on your sheets (about 1-2 inches between each ball), and bake for 8-9 minutes.
6. Let cookies rest on cookie sheet until completely cool (I even let them sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes, then let them set out over night). Then ENJOY!