Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.  You can add 1/2 C of rolled oats or I like putting in 1/2 C of a good granola, my favorite is a Hemp granola with flax seeds.   Also, try adding dried cherries and/or nuts. 

Make sure to whip butter and sugar so some of the sugar dissolves in the butter and the butter becomes fluffy.  I like using my Kitchen Aid stand mix with the paddle attachment.   I usually let the butter and sugar whip on medium for ~3 mins.

After mixing, I like putting the dough in the refrigerator for ~1 hr to cool and let the gluten in the flour relax. 

Makes about 18 large cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) unsalted butter,
melted and cooled until warm
1 cup light or dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1–11/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside.

3. Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined. Stir in chips to taste.  Optional, place dough in refrigerator for 1 hour. 

4. Roll scant ¼ cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join halves together at their base, again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto cookie sheet, leaving 2 1/2 inches between each ball.

5. Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking (from top to bottom and front to back), until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets. When cooled, peel cookies from parchment.