Soft and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

When we were planning school lunches for this week, my kids declared that they wanted to make chocolate chip cookies. Fortunately, I have a great recipe for them and all the ingredients in the refrigerator and the pantry, so we set about making cookies for the week.

These cookies are soft and chewy, just like the kind you get from a certain cookie chain. If you like them more crisp, feel free to leave them in the oven for a few more minutes, but make sure you keep your eye on them so they don't get too overdone!

While the initial idea was to save the cookies for lunches during the week, who can resist a cookie (or two) warm out of the oven, preferably with a glass of cold milk on the side? We're happy to report that most of the cookies did survive for this week.

Makes approximately two dozen cookies.

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 sticks (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 12 ounces dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, combine sugars and butter and beat until light and fluffy.

In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt, and whisk to mix thoroughly.

In your mixer, add eggs and vanilla and beat until thoroughly combined. Add flour mixture and mix until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts, if using.

Place rounded tablespoons of cookie dough about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes. They should be brown around the edges but still soft in the middle.

Let cookies cool on the baking sheet and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool thoroughly. (Don't let the kids eat them right out of the oven—those melted chocolate chips are hot!)