Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk

• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.

4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

We thought these were great. It's not the only chocolate chip cookie recipe I'll use, but when you want a "big, fat, chewy cookie," this is awesome. For the cookies to stay chewy, they need to be left on the cookie sheet until cool. (Except, of course, for the few you just can't resist eating right out of the oven.)

Also, the butter MUST be melted, and the flour should be all-purpose UNsifted.

 I don't really like cakey cookies. My suggestions to avoid cakiness are: use real butter, ( Although I have used margarine) be sure to melt the butter, don't overbeat your eggs, and do NOT skip the extra egg yolk.

HELPFUL TIPS NOT MENTIONED: This is very forgiving! Just keep baking until it becomes golden brown around the edges. If they cool COMPLETELY & they're not done..put back in for another 5 min.

Can't go wrong! I promise they'll be super chewy although they must sit (set) for awhile as they won't appear it. I've had to bake for 20 min. several times! Everything is dependent on if you put in fridge & for how long (I've left overnight or for DAYS). But if you don't refrigerate long enough or at all, they'll be flat!

Sift the dry ingredients. Melt the butter in microwave then mix in sugars. DO use the room temp. yoke of one egg & 1 other egg. Dump rest of ingredients on top. Mix by hand until blended. Make sure butter isn't hot or it'll melt chocolate chips!

Refrigerate batter for 1hr then preheat oven. Drop 1/4C scoop (should make 16-18) Bake! If I use a med. scoop, I just bake 2 min less.